Columbia, SC vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Columbia to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($256,154 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Columbia vs Las Vegas at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Columbia, SC, you'd need about $105,431 in Las Vegas, NV (+$5,431).
Livability — Columbia, SC: 69 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Columbia vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($128 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbia, SC | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,444 | $20,844 | +$2,400 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $4,841 | +$44 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $4,740 | +$1,275 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $1,548 | −$300 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,300 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $10,215 | $4,779 | −$5,436 |
| Total | $40,769 | $38,052 | −$2,717 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbia, SC | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $256,154 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,537 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.63% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |