Richmond, VA vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Richmond to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($397,705 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Richmond 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 Richmond, VA, you'd need about $99,948 in Las Vegas, NV (−$52).
Livability — Richmond, VA: 66 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,514 sqft in Richmond vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($199 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Richmond, VA | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,156 | $20,844 | −$312 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,841 | −$12 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $4,740 | +$1,660 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,548 | −$324 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $10,041 | $4,779 | −$5,262 |
| Total | $42,502 | $38,052 | −$4,450 |
Side by side
| Metric | Richmond, VA | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.78% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.60 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $397,705 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.3% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $199 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,763 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.76% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |