Columbus, OH vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Columbus to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($333,537 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Columbus 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 Columbus, OH, you'd need about $103,863 in Las Vegas, NV (+$3,863).
Livability — Columbus, OH: 69 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,474 sqft in Columbus vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($202 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, OH | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,288 | $20,844 | +$2,556 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $4,841 | +$135 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $4,740 | +$1,715 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,548 | −$552 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $9,711 | $4,779 | −$4,932 |
| Total | $39,130 | $38,052 | −$1,078 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, OH | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.6 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.20% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.38 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $333,537 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,524 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.46% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |