Las Vegas, NV vs Des Moines, IA
Moving from Las Vegas to Des Moines? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $296,070 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Des Moines 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 $94,369 in Des Moines, IA (−$5,631).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Des Moines, IA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 2,787 sqft in Des Moines ($227 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Des Moines, IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $15,516 | −$5,328 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,831 | −$10 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $3,150 | −$1,590 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,500 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,700 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $10,265 | +$5,487 |
| Total | $38,052 | $36,962 | −$1,090 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Des Moines, IA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 92.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 4.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 14.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 45 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.28 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $296,070 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $179 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,293 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 6.94% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | 1.00% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 13.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 12 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |