Salem, OR vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Salem to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $95,927 in Las Vegas, NV (−$4,073).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($268 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $20,844 | +$1,308 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $4,841 | −$397 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $4,740 | +$1,060 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,548 | −$156 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,300 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $4,779 | −$8,356 |
| Total | $44,194 | $38,052 | −$6,142 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 4.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $48 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $89 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 4.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |