Las Vegas, NV vs Boulder, CO
Moving from Las Vegas to Boulder? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $727,954 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Boulder 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 $102,369 in Boulder, CO (+$2,369).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Boulder, CO: 54 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 1,305 sqft in Boulder ($227 vs $383 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Boulder, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $27,084 | +$6,240 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,814 | −$27 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $4,050 | −$690 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,788 | +$240 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $10,679 | +$5,900 |
| Total | $38,052 | $51,214 | +$13,163 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Boulder, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 100.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 4.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 3.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.72 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $727,954 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 7.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | -2.6% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $383 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $2,257 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |