California vs Nevada: which really costs more?
Neighbors with opposite income tax structures, and one of the most common short-distance relocations in the West.
California
- State income tax
- 3.90%
- Rank of 51
- 20
- Combined sales tax
- 9.75%
- Rank of 51
- 2
Income tax shown is the effective state rate on a $75,000 salary for a single filer; sales tax is the combined state and local rate in each state's representative county. Both figures come from the same verified datasets the calculator uses.
What things actually cost in each
Gross income required at a $75,000 salary, using each category's default assumptions — sorted by the biggest difference between the two states.
| Category | California | Nevada | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | $1,393,868 | $1,127,956 | $265,912 cheaper in Nevada |
| Car purchase | $153,607 | $133,122 | $20,485 cheaper in Nevada |
| Wedding | $54,097 | $46,158 | $7,939 cheaper in Nevada |
| Coffee habit | $29,490 | $25,302 | $4,188 cheaper in Nevada |
| Car payment or lease | $18,974 | $16,529 | $2,445 cheaper in Nevada |
| Funeral | $13,031 | $11,372 | $1,659 cheaper in Nevada |
| Phone plan | $11,213 | $9,794 | $1,419 cheaper in Nevada |
| Pet annual cost | $2,725 | $2,382 | $343 cheaper in Nevada |
| Rent | $2,887 | $2,559 | $328 cheaper in Nevada |
| Laptop or phone purchase | $2,112 | $1,846 | $266 cheaper in Nevada |
| Childcare | $1,764 | $1,564 | $201 cheaper in Nevada |
| Hotel stay | $1,122 | $994 | $128 cheaper in Nevada |
| Health insurance premium | $722 | $640 | $82 cheaper in Nevada |
| Student loan payment | $642 | $569 | $73 cheaper in Nevada |
| Domestic flight | $526 | $466 | $60 cheaper in Nevada |
| Utilities | $337 | $299 | $38 cheaper in Nevada |
| Weekly groceries | $281 | $249 | $32 cheaper in Nevada |
| Car insurance | $265 | $235 | $30 cheaper in Nevada |
| Concert ticket | $240 | $210 | $30 cheaper in Nevada |
| Restaurant dinner | $169 | $148 | $21 cheaper in Nevada |
| Cannabis (legal states) | $113 | $101 | $13 cheaper in Nevada |
| Internet service | $112 | $100 | $13 cheaper in Nevada |
| Gym membership | $79 | $69 | $10 cheaper in Nevada |
| Streaming bundle | $79 | $69 | $10 cheaper in Nevada |
| Gas fill-up | $72 | $64 | $8 cheaper in Nevada |
| Pizza delivery | $65 | $57 | $8 cheaper in Nevada |
| Haircut | $67 | $60 | $8 cheaper in Nevada |
| Food delivery | $62 | $55 | $8 cheaper in Nevada |
| Soft drinks | $42 | $37 | $5 cheaper in Nevada |
| Rideshare trip | $35 | $31 | $4 cheaper in Nevada |
| Fast food meal | $21 | $18 | $3 cheaper in Nevada |
| Bar drink | $19 | $17 | $2 cheaper in Nevada |
| Cigarettes or vape | $16 | $14 | $2 cheaper in Nevada |
Across the 33 categories we can compute for both states, Nevada comes out cheaper more often. That is not the whole picture — housing costs, wages, and property tax vary far more than sales tax does, and none of those are modeled here. See limitations.