What $400,000 buys in Las Vegas versus the West Coast
The same budget buys a very different house depending on where you point it. We took $400,000 and ran it against real listings in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland and Boise. The gap is not subtle — and it is widest where you would least expect it.
Six cities, one budget
| Market | What $400K reached | Size | Built | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas — Summerlin | Single-family, 2 bed 2 bath | 1,100 sq ft | 1991 | $389,000 |
| North Las Vegas | Single-family, 3 bed 3 bath | 2,318 sq ft | 2017 | $391,000 |
| Compton, CA | Single-family, 2 bed 1 bath | 585 sq ft | 1951 | $350,000 |
| Riverside, CA | Condo, 2 bed 2 bath | 800 sq ft | — | Under $400,000 |
| Scottsdale, AZ | Condo / townhome, 2 bed 2 bath | ~1,000 sq ft | 1999 | ~$400,000 |
| Phoenix — west side | Single-family, 4 bed 2 bath | 1,500 sq ft | 1957 | $395,000 |
| West Seattle | Condo, 1 bed 1 bath · HOA $47/mo | 589 sq ft | 2001 | $388,000 |
| North Portland | Townhome, 2 bed 3 bath · HOA $29/mo | 1,000 sq ft | 2016 | $395,000 |
| Boise — the Bench | Single-family, 2 bed 1 bath · no HOA | 1,200 sq ft | 1948 | $399,000 |
These were active listings at the time of recording and have long since sold. Treat them as a snapshot of relative buying power rather than current inventory — the ratios hold up better than the prices do.
Nearly four times the space, for $3,000 more.
It isn't square footage. It's which areas you can reach.
You can find something at $400,000 in every one of these markets. That part is not the story.
The difference is where. In Las Vegas, $400,000 reaches into Summerlin — one of the most established master-planned communities in the valley. It is a smaller, older property at that price, but you are in.
In the other cities, that budget does not touch the equivalent areas at all:
- Seattle — Broadmoor and Medina are entirely out of range
- Portland — nothing in Southwest Hills or Lake Oswego
- Boise — the North End and Eagle are beyond it
- Scottsdale — reachable only as an attached condo, not a house
Elsewhere, a $400,000 budget generally means older housing stock further out. In Las Vegas it means choosing between a smaller home in a premier community or a much larger newer one in a growing area.
That choice is the thing people relocating from California and the Pacific Northwest are most surprised by.
North Las Vegas is the value story
The North Las Vegas example is the one worth sitting with: 3 bed, 3 bath, 2,318 square feet, built 2017, at $391,000.
North Las Vegas carries an outdated reputation with some buyers. The current reality is that it has absorbed an enormous amount of new construction — it accounted for three of the five busiest ZIP codes in the valley by sales volume in 2025 — and buying power per square foot there is among the strongest in the metro.
If square footage and building age are what you are optimising for, that is where the budget stretches furthest.
Why the gap exists
Purchase price is only part of it. Three factors compound:
- No state income tax in Nevada. For a household relocating from California or Oregon, this is often the largest single line item change, and it does not appear in any listing price comparison.
- Comparatively low property taxes, because of how Nevada assesses property and caps annual increases. See how the numbers work for the mechanics.
- Lower overall cost of living than California or Washington.
Then there is supply. Sustained new construction in Henderson, the southwest and North Las Vegas gives buyers options that land-constrained coastal cities structurally cannot offer. Seattle and Portland are not going to build their way to a $400,000 detached house near the core.
Boise used to be the cheaper option
Jim moved to Las Vegas from Boise. At the time, Las Vegas was the more expensive city of the two.
That has flipped. Boise values climbed sharply through the pandemic, and at $400,000 today you are looking at older housing outside the established areas. The same budget now goes further in Las Vegas.
It is a useful reminder that affordability rankings are not fixed. Markets that were cheap five years ago are not automatically cheap now, and the reverse is also true.
How to actually compare two markets
Purchase price is the least useful number in a relocation decision. What matters is total monthly cost, which includes things that never show up on a listing:
- State income tax, or the absence of it
- Property tax, and how it is assessed and capped in that state
- HOA fees — and in Las Vegas, whether the parcel carries an improvement district assessment on top
- Homeowner's insurance
- Cooling costs in summer, which are real here
- The age of the building, and what that implies for repairs
Two homes at the same price in two states can differ by hundreds of dollars a month once all of that is counted. What a home actually costs per month works through the Las Vegas side of that calculation.
Buying power FAQ
What can you buy in Las Vegas for $400,000?
A single-family home, and in some cases one inside Summerlin, which is among the most established master-planned communities in the valley. In North Las Vegas the same budget has reached newer construction well over 2,000 square feet. That combination of a detached house in a premier area at that price point is unusual among major western cities.
Is Las Vegas cheaper than Los Angeles?
Substantially, on both purchase price and ongoing cost. At a $400,000 budget in the Los Angeles area you are generally looking at a small older single-family home or a condo in an outlying city rather than anything in a premium submarket. Nevada also has no state income tax, which changes the monthly picture beyond the mortgage itself.
How much house can you get for $400,000 in Seattle?
Not much, and not a house. A one-bedroom condo of under 600 square feet in West Seattle was available around that price, with a monthly HOA fee on top. Seattle's established high-end areas such as Broadmoor and Medina are entirely out of reach at that budget.
Is Las Vegas cheaper than Boise now?
Yes, which is a reversal. Boise property values climbed sharply during the pandemic. At $400,000 there, you are looking at older housing outside the established areas such as the North End or Eagle. A $400,000 budget now goes further in Las Vegas than in Boise.
Why is housing more affordable in Las Vegas?
Three things compound. Nevada has no state income tax, property taxes are comparatively low because of how the state assesses and caps them, and the overall cost of living is lower than California or Washington. Sustained new construction in Henderson, the Southwest and North Las Vegas also keeps supply moving in a way that land-constrained coastal cities cannot match.
Where is new construction being built in Las Vegas?
The main corridors are Henderson, particularly Inspirada and Cadence, the southwest and Enterprise, and North Las Vegas. North Las Vegas in particular has delivered a large volume of newer homes, which is why buying power per square foot there tends to be strong.
Should I buy a bigger home in an affordable market or a smaller one in an expensive city?
It depends on what you need the money to do. A larger home in a lower-cost market gives you space, lower carrying costs and usually a newer building. A smaller home in a high-cost city may sit closer to specific employment or family. The comparison worth running is total monthly cost including state income tax, property tax and HOA, not purchase price alone.
See what your budget actually reaches
Whatever your number is, the useful exercise is a real list of what it buys here right now — across Summerlin, Henderson, the southwest and North Las Vegas — rather than a national average.
Related: moving from California to Las Vegas, the Las Vegas relocation guide, the Summerlin guide, and current market data.
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Jim Fong · NV license BS.0068736 · The Jim Fong Group at Real Broker · 702-997-2050
Listing examples are from November 2025 and are no longer available. Prices and inventory change continually. Nothing here is an offer or a representation of current availability.