Detroit, MI vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Detroit to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Detroit 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $100,101 in Las Vegas, NV (+$101).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($163 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $20,844 | +$2,844 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $4,841 | −$55 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $4,740 | +$165 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,548 | −$768 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $4,779 | −$4,768 |
| Total | $40,634 | $38,052 | −$2,582 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |