Portland, ME vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Portland to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Portland vs Las Vegas 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 Portland, ME, you'd need about $94,185 in Las Vegas, NV (−$5,815).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($319 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $20,844 | −$6,996 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $4,841 | −$75 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $4,740 | +$1,965 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $1,548 | −$1,524 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $1,300 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $4,779 | −$8,218 |
| Total | $52,601 | $38,052 | −$14,549 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $227 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |