Las Vegas, NV vs Olympia, WA
Moving from Las Vegas to Olympia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $533,918 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Olympia 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 $108,215 in Olympia, WA (+$8,215).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Olympia, WA: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 1,686 sqft in Olympia ($227 vs $297 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Olympia, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $24,492 | +$3,648 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $5,246 | +$404 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $4,075 | −$665 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,548 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $7,085 | +$2,307 |
| Total | $38,052 | $43,946 | +$5,894 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Olympia, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 106.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 5.49% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 9.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 26 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $6.05 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $533,918 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 6.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $297 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $2,041 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 4.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 37 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |