Santa Cruz, CA vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Santa Cruz to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,157,157 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz, CA, you'd need about $87,153 in Las Vegas, NV (−$12,847).
Livability — Santa Cruz, CA: 38 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 648 sqft in Santa Cruz vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($771 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Santa Cruz, CA | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $43,188 | $20,844 | −$22,344 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $4,841 | −$405 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $4,740 | −$385 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,548 | −$2,256 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $22,398 | $4,779 | −$17,619 |
| Total | $81,262 | $38,052 | −$43,210 |
Side by side
| Metric | Santa Cruz, CA | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.8 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.94% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.7% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.42 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $1,157,157 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 11.1× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $771 | $227 |
| Median rent | $3,599 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.63% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |