Best Places to Live

Las Vegas, Nevada

| Overall Score 6.5 / 10
| Overall Score 6.6 / 10
A motel sign along the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip
A suburban street in Las Vegas
Brooklyn Bowl at the LINQ
CityCenter on the Strip
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What's it like to live in Las Vegas, NV?

Sarah Vernetti

Profile written by local expert:

Sarah Vernetti

Las Vegas has a reputation as an adults-only playground thanks to an iconic stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard. However, just beyond the Strip, residents enjoy pleasant suburban communities, world-class restaurants and beautiful parks undisturbed by the glare of neon lights. Cultural institutions like the Smith Center for the Performing Arts and numerous museums offer quiet alternatives to the Strip, while nearby state and national parks – including Lake Mead, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park and Valley of Fire State Park – offer ample opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

It seems like there is always something happening in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Food and Wine Festival, along with the myriad celebrity chef restaurants on the Strip, keep foodies busy, while bibliophiles gravitate toward the annual Vegas Valley Book Festival.

For better or worse, Las Vegas' popularity as a tourist destination, combined with its recent population growth, can give the metro area a revolving-door feel. Many Las Vegans are not native to the area, and recent economic growth means that new people are continually moving here. 

Rankings

U.S. News analyzed 125 metro areas in the United States to find the best places to live based on quality of life and the job market in each metro area, as well as the value of living there and people's desire to live there.

Las Vegas, Nevada is ranked:

#71 in Best Places to Live

#52 in Best Places to Retire

#13 in Fastest Growing Places

#15 in Most Dangerous Places

6.5

Overall

Scorecard

Best Places to Live

  • Desirability
    9.3
  • Value
    5.7
  • Job Market
    5.7
  • Quality of Life
    5.7
  • Net Migration
    8.1

Read how we rank places

Las Vegas, NV Quick Stats

  • 2,112,436

    Metro Population

  • $44,450

    Average Annual Salary

  • 80.0° / 58.6°

    Avg High/Low Temps

  • 36.9

    Median Age

  • $271,767

    Median Home Price

  • 4.2 inches

    AVG Annual Rainfall

  • 4.8%

    Unemployment Rate

  • $1,048

    Median Monthly Rent

  • 24.5 minutes

    Avg Commute Time

What is there to do in Las Vegas, NV?

Residents of Las Vegas get to experience the best of both worlds: They can enjoy the larger-than-life personality of the Strip, or they can retreat to the more subdued parts of town.

While some people might balk at the idea of raising children in Las Vegas, there are plenty of kid-friendly activities available to keep families busy. For instance, Springs Preserve offers family-friendly events, in addition to its museum exhibits, botanical gardens and unique, desert-themed playground.

For residents who crave cooler temperatures and snow, the Lee Canyon ski and snowboard area in the Spring Mountains near Mount Charleston (where temperatures are roughly 20 degrees cooler) is a just over an hour's drive from downtown Las Vegas. 

Find out more about what there is to see and do in Las Vegas, NV

What's the cost of living in Las Vegas, NV?

Las Vegas offers many affordable options for those looking to rent instead of buy a home, but housing costs have increased in recent years and are higher than the national average. 

Value Index

Index Score: 5.7 /10

How we calculate this.

Las Vegas offer a lower value than similarly sized metro areas when you compare housing costs to median household income.

Housing Costs 2018

Las Vegas
$271,767

USA
$227,025

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Housing Costs Over Time

Data sourced from Zillow median home sale price data series. Additional data provided by the Austin Board of Realtors, Houston Association of Realtors, Intermountain MLS, Omaha Area Board of Realtors, San Antonio Board of Realtors, and the Salt Lake Board of Realtors.

Buying or selling a home? Find top real estate agents in Las Vegas, NV.

What's the weather like in Las Vegas, NV?

Although summers in Las Vegas can be uncomfortably hot, the rest of the year is fairly pleasant. Mild winter weather allows residents to explore the region's state and national parks.

Seasonal Temperature (Avgs)

49.8°F


Winter

68.1°F


Spring

89.9°F


Summer

69.5°F


Fall

Seasonal Rainfall (Avgs)

0.8 in


Winter

0.4 in


Spring

0.4 in


Summer

0.4 in


Fall

Monthly High and Low Temperatures (°F)

Data sourced from the National Climatic Data Center.

What's the best way to get around Las Vegas, NV?

Many Las Vegas residents choose to get around by car. Although traffic can be heavy at the "spaghetti bowl" interchange (where Interstate 15 intersects with U.S. Route 95) in the heart of the metro area, congestion eases at night, except on the Strip. Both downtown and in the suburbs, many streets feature separate bike lanes, and cyclists will find bike-friendly trails to help guide them safely through the valley.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) offers bus service throughout the Las Vegas valley, including Las Vegas proper and the neighboring city of Henderson. On the Strip, residents and tourists alike can take the Las Vegas Monorail from one end of the Strip to the other. Meanwhile, the smaller Aria Express Tram makes several stops near CityCenter. And thanks to Las Vegas' popularity as a tourist destination, cabs are plentiful (though you can't hail them from the street).

McCarran International Airport serves 30 airlines and is one of North America's busiest airports. Amtrak no longer serves the area by rail, but a Greyhound bus station is located in downtown Las Vegas.

Commuting in Las Vegas, NV

Means of Transportation
Driving
89%
Above national average
Bicycling
0%
Equal to national average
Walking
2%
Equal to national average
Public Transit
4%
Equal to national average
Average Commute Time

24.5 minutes

1.9 minutes less than national average

Average Commute Times by Zip Code

Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

Who lives in Las Vegas, NV?

Thanks to its mild winters and ample sunshine, Las Vegas appeals to a variety of age groups, from retirees to millennials. Despite its reputation as Sin City, Las Vegas encompasses many neighborhoods that are surprisingly family-friendly, particularly in the master-planned community of Summerlin and in the nearby town of Henderson. Meanwhile, more than half of Las Vegans are not married.

Las Vegas residents are more religious than some might expect given its nickname of Sin City, with roughly 36% of the metro area claiming affiliation. The majority of religious residents are Catholic or Evangelical Protestant.

Age Distribution

Marital Status Breakdown

More single people in Las Vegas than
national average

Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

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