Las Vegas, NV vs Waco, TX
Moving from Las Vegas to Waco? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $256,772 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Waco 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 $92,724 in Waco, TX (−$7,276).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Waco, TX: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 4,088 sqft in Waco ($227 vs $122 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Waco, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $16,848 | −$3,996 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,647 | −$195 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $3,675 | −$1,065 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,836 | +$288 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $3,600 | +$2,300 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $5,779 | +$1,001 |
| Total | $38,052 | $36,385 | −$1,667 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Waco, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 91.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $256,772 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $122 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 1.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |
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