Las Vegas, NV vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Las Vegas to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Seattle 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 $114,697 in Seattle, WA (+$14,697).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($227 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $26,784 | +$5,940 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $5,405 | +$564 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $4,075 | −$665 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,548 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $8,826 | +$4,048 |
| Total | $38,052 | $48,138 | +$10,086 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $2,232 |
| 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% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| 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 |