Las Vegas, NV vs Portland, ME
Moving from Las Vegas to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Portland 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 $106,174 in Portland, ME (+$6,174).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($227 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $27,840 | +$6,996 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,917 | +$75 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $2,775 | −$1,965 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $3,072 | +$1,524 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,000 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $12,997 | +$8,219 |
| Total | $38,052 | $52,601 | +$14,549 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $319 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $48 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $86 |
| Home internet / mo | $89 | $71 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 10 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 4.2 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.2 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |