Las Vegas, NV vs Gainesville, FL
Moving from Las Vegas to Gainesville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $306,605 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Gainesville 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 $98,933 in Gainesville, FL (−$1,067).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Gainesville, FL: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 3,018 sqft in Gainesville ($227 vs $166 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Gainesville, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $20,172 | −$672 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,813 | −$28 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $4,800 | +$60 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,656 | +$108 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $4,200 | +$2,900 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $4,548 | −$230 |
| Total | $38,052 | $40,189 | +$2,138 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Gainesville, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 97.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 4.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 23.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $306,605 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | -1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $166 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,681 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |