Las Vegas, NV vs Anchorage, AK
Moving from Las Vegas to Anchorage? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $422,103 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Anchorage 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 Las Vegas, NV, you'd need about $108,633 in Anchorage, AK (+$8,633).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Anchorage, AK: 49 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 2,132 sqft in Anchorage ($227 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Anchorage, AK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $21,240 | +$396 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $5,224 | +$382 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $3,350 | −$1,390 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,952 | +$1,404 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,000 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $4,919 | +$141 |
| Total | $38,052 | $38,685 | +$633 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Anchorage, AK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 106.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 5.62% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | -0.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $6.08 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $422,103 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $235 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,770 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 4.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 1.82% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 1.24% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $9,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $800 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 27.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.90 |
| Natural gas / mo | $48 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $164 |
| Home internet / mo | $89 | $110 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 760 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 65 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 5 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 4.2 | 16.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.2 | 74.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 41% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |