What salary do you need to live in Las Vegas, NV?

What housing costs in Las Vegas

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV metro at $1,308 for a one-bedroom, $1,553 for a two-bedroom and $1,908 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $245 a month, and the third bedroom another $355.

Homeowners in Las Vegas report a median home value of $431,000. Local median household income is $76,472, so the median home is 5.6× a typical income — high enough that ownership weighs heavily in the score unless income is well above the median.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Las Vegas's Regional Price Parity at 100.2, essentially the US average of 100: a dollar of income here buys about what it would anywhere on average, rents and everyday goods included.

Las Vegas: the pre-tax income for each grade

With a two-bedroom at the median rent, the score enters Tight at $57,000, Okay at $114,000 and Comfortable at $229,000 a year before tax. At the Comfortable line, a year of rent takes 8% of income and the median home is 1.9× income.

The Royal grade is within reach at $682,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

Nothing here is a separate rule of thumb; plug any of these incomes into the calculator with two bedrooms and Las Vegas shows the matching grade.

What different incomes look like in Las Vegas

At $75,000 home size barely changes the picture: one, two and three bedrooms all grade Tight, with scores from 30 to 36.

Comfortable is above every row of the table here. At $150,000 a two-bedroom still grades Okay, with rent taking 12% of income.

Las Vegas on the national list

Out of 387 metros, Las Vegas has the 86th highest price parity and the 62nd highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it in the top quarter on overall prices and in the most expensive quarter on rent.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are Modesto, CA ($1,554) and Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI ($1,553).

Las Vegas next to Nevada and similar metros

How Las Vegas stacks up against its state: $1,553 for a two-bedroom against Nevada's $1,541, $431,000 for the median home against $435,400, and a price level of 100.2 against 100.0.

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $228,000, so Las Vegas needs $1,000 more than Nevada overall.

Nevada has only 2 other metros in the data, Reno, NV and Carson City, NV, so the closest match elsewhere, Ann Arbor, MI, is included too.

The median Las Vegas household

A household at the Las Vegas median income of $76,472 would see a two-bedroom score of 34 — Tight — with rent at 24% of income. The Comfortable line is 199% above what the median household makes. Statewide, the Nevada median household ($78,260) grades Tight on the state's own medians. Keep in mind a household median often combines two incomes.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.