Las Vegas, NV vs Worcester, MA
Moving from Las Vegas to Worcester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $482,611 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Worcester 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 $104,778 in Worcester, MA (+$4,778).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Worcester, MA: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 1,761 sqft in Worcester ($227 vs $284 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Worcester, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $26,184 | +$5,340 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,938 | +$96 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $3,210 | −$1,530 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $3,180 | +$1,632 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,800 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $16,011 | +$11,232 |
| Total | $38,052 | $55,322 | +$17,270 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Worcester, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 103.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 5.78% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 4.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 37 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.86 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $482,611 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 1.8% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $284 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $2,182 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 1.39% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |