Las Vegas, NV vs Portland, OR
Moving from Las Vegas to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $552,022 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 $108,575 in Portland, OR (+$8,575).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Portland, OR: 55 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 1,540 sqft in Portland ($227 vs $325 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Portland, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $21,564 | +$720 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $5,240 | +$399 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $3,680 | −$1,060 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,704 | +$156 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $900 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $14,382 | +$9,604 |
| Total | $38,052 | $47,470 | +$9,418 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Portland, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 5.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $6.07 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $552,022 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $325 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,797 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $48 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $89 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 4.2 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |