The Las Vegas Reality Check
The honest math of leaving California.
Most relocation advice is a sales pitch wearing a spreadsheet. This isn’t. Set your number, see both sides of the table, and decide like the house would.
The reality check
Run your numbers.
Los Angeles
1,528
square feet for your payment
Las Vegas
3,789
square feet, 2.5× more home
What you stop paying to live in California
$7,500
state income tax, per year. Nevada has none
$7,923
everyday costs, per year: groceries, utilities, gas, services
$15,423
estimated total, per year. About $77,115 over five
Estimates for orientation, not a quote. Housing uses metro median $/sqft (mid-2026) on the same lender math: 6.5%, 30-year, 20% down. Savings use typical effective CA state income tax rates and published non-housing cost-of-living indices; your actual figures depend on filing status, deductions, spending, insurance, and HOA. I’ll run the real ones with you.
Want your personalized Reality Check?
Taxes, insurance, HOA, schools, commute: the variables a slider can't hold. Tell me where you're starting from and I'll build the real breakdown for your situation and send it over.
I answer these myself. Usually same day.