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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Top 5 separated by only 1 points. The race is tight: North Las Vegas, Henderson, Las Vegas, Sparks, Reno are all within 1 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision.
284,771 residents · Nevada
Dive into North Las Vegas's numbers: cost index 106 (5 points below national average), rent $1,819/month, income $76,772, and a home price of $404,089. And as a general rule, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 101, while Housing runs 106. Fairly typical for a city this size. With 284,771 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
337,305 residents · Nevada
A closer look at Henderson: the cost index of 103 breaks down to a Healthcare index of 101 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 103 (weakest). Median rent is $1,772/month — 6% below the national median — while household income sits at $88,654, meaning locals spend about 24% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
660,929 residents · Nevada
A closer look at Las Vegas: the cost index of 99 breaks down to a Housing index of 99 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 100 (weakest). Median rent is $1,695/month — 11% below the national median — while household income sits at $70,723, meaning locals spend about 29% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
110,323 residents · Nevada
Here's Sparks by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 115. Rent: $1,967/month. Income: $86,979/year. Home price: $523,431. Population: 110,323. The strongest category is Healthcare at 103; the most expensive is Housing at 115. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are costing renters $864 more per year vs. the national median. There's real money on the table here.
274,915 residents · Nevada
Dive into Reno's numbers: cost index 107 (4 points below national average), rent $1,830/month, income $78,448, and a home price of $559,591. And with some exceptions, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 101, while Housing runs 107. With 274,915 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
#1 Ranked: North Las Vegas — cost index 106, rent $1,819/mo, income $76,772
Top 5 separated by only 1 points
4 of 5 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Top 5 separated by only 1 points. The race is tight: North Las Vegas, Henderson, Las Vegas, Sparks, Reno are all within 1 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision.
This is one of the closest races in our database: the top 5 cities are separated by just 1 points on the cost index. And most of the time, north Las Vegas, Henderson, Las Vegas, Sparks, Reno are all within striking distance. At this margin, secondary factors — taxes, rent trends, category-specific costs — become the tiebreakers. Here's the full breakdown.
The numbers for North Las Vegas are straightforward: 106 on the cost index, $1,819/month rent, $76,772 income. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is.
Now apply that to an actual budget: State context matters: Nevada's 5 cities average a 106 cost index with $1,817/month median rent and $80,315 household income. No income tax and Vegas-fueled growth. Stay with us through the data sources — knowing where these numbers come from changes how you trust them.
Bottom line: North Las Vegas leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
We rank cities by their home-price-to-income ratio (median home price ÷ median household income). A lower ratio means homes are more attainable relative to local earnings. The standard benchmark is 3-5×; above 5× is considered stretched. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
North Las Vegas ranks #1 in Nevada for this analysis with a cost index of 106 and median income of $76,772.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
North Las Vegas (ranked #1) has a cost index of 106 and rent of $1,819/mo, while Reno (ranked #5) has a cost index of 107 and rent of $1,830/mo — a 1-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in North Las Vegas is $1,819/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $76 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in North Las Vegas is $404,089, which is 5.3× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Nevada has a 0% state income tax rate — one of the states with no income tax. Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.23%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.48%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.