Las Vegas, NV vs Yakima, WA
Moving from Las Vegas to Yakima? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $355,256 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas vs Yakima 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 $99,609 in Yakima, WA (−$391).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Yakima, WA: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 2,533 sqft in Yakima ($227 vs $197 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Yakima, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $16,452 | −$4,392 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $5,246 | +$404 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $4,075 | −$665 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,548 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $5,427 | +$649 |
| Total | $38,052 | $34,248 | −$3,804 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Yakima, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 97.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 7.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 3.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.57 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $355,256 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $197 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,371 |
| 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% | 0.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 20 |
| 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $48 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $89 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 4.2 | 6.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.2 | 20.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |