Scranton, PA vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Scranton to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($227,793 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Scranton 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 Scranton, PA, you'd need about $105,241 in Las Vegas, NV (+$5,241).
Livability — Scranton, PA: 68 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,840 sqft in Scranton vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($130 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Scranton, PA | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,296 | $20,844 | +$4,548 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,841 | −$74 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $4,740 | +$1,300 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,548 | −$768 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,300 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $7,898 | $4,779 | −$3,119 |
| Total | $36,065 | $38,052 | +$1,987 |
Side by side
| Metric | Scranton, PA | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.4 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.40% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.31 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $227,793 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $130 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,358 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.60% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 4.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $48 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $65 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $89 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 44.1 | 4.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 44.0 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 45% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |