Las Vegas, NV vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Las Vegas to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Detroit 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 $99,899 in Detroit, MI (−$101).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($227 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $18,000 | −$2,844 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,896 | +$55 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $4,575 | −$165 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,316 | +$768 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $9,547 | +$4,769 |
| Total | $38,052 | $40,634 | +$2,582 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |