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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Nevada does this very well. Families love the Silver State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Nevada that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Nevada for 2021.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Nevada? That would be Reno.
the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 18 places in Nevada with more than 1,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Nevada for 2021:
What's the most expensive place to live in Nevada? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Reno is the most expensive place to live in Nevada.
So hopefully Carlin (the cheapest place to live in Nevada) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Nevada and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Nevada For 2021
/10
Population: 246,500
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.7x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 57.1x (7th most expensive)
More on Reno: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Reno comes in at $58,790 and the median home value is $335,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 100,589
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.7x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 56.8x (6th most expensive)
More on Sparks: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Sparks comes in at $64,645 and the median home value is $301,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 634,773
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.6x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.1x (4th most expensive)
More on Las Vegas: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Las Vegas comes in at $56,354 and the median home value is $258,600 for 2021.
/10
Population: 54,773
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.9x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 59.3x (9th most expensive)
More on Carson City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Carson City comes in at $55,718 and the median home value is $273,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 300,116
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.3x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 57.4x (8th most expensive)
More on Henderson: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Henderson comes in at $74,147 and the median home value is $318,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 241,369
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.9x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 49.6x (2nd most expensive)
More on North Las Vegas: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in North Las Vegas comes in at $59,835 and the median home value is $233,600 for 2021.
/10
Population: 15,840
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.6x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 61.7x (11th most expensive)
More on Boulder City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Boulder City comes in at $61,787 and the median home value is $287,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 8,430
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.7x (10th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 50.6x (3rd most expensive)
More on Fallon: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Fallon comes in at $44,855 and the median home value is $168,200 for 2021.
/10
Population: 18,446
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.3x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 63.2x (12th most expensive)
More on Mesquite: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Mesquite comes in at $55,542 and the median home value is $236,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 20,068
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.5x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 54.9x (5th most expensive)
More on Fernley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Fernley comes in at $62,929 and the median home value is $221,200 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Silver State For 2021
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Nevada to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 18 places in Nevada that have more than 1,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Nevada according to the data is Reno. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Nevada For 2021
Well there you have it, the places in Nevada that have the highest cost of living, with Reno ranking as the most expensive city in the Silver State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Nevada according to the data:
- Carlin
- Ely
- West Wendover
For more Nevada reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Nevada
- Cheapest Places To Live In Nevada
- 5 Most Dangerous Cities In Nevada
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Nevada
- Safest Places In Nevada
- Worst Places To Live In Nevada
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Nevada
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reno | 3.0 |
| 2 | Sparks | 4.0 |
| 3 | Las Vegas | 5.0 |
| 4 | Carson City | 5.33 |
| 5 | Henderson | 5.33 |
| 6 | North Las Vegas | 6.0 |
| 7 | Boulder City | 6.33 |
| 8 | Fallon | 8.33 |
| 9 | Mesquite | 8.67 |
| 10 | Fernley | 8.67 |
| 11 | Yerington | 9.0 |
| 12 | Elko | 12.0 |
| 13 | Winnemucca | 13.33 |
| 14 | Wells | 14.33 |
| 15 | Lovelock | 15.0 |
| 16 | West Wendover | 15.33 |
| 17 | Ely | 15.67 |
| 18 | Carlin | 15.67 |
