How Much Do You Need To Make To Afford Rent In Las Vegas?

It wasn't so long ago that people flocked to Las Vegas, because it was such an affordable place to live. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

It was all about affordable housing, affordable rent, affordable entertainment, affordable room rates if you wanted a little staycation, and affordable restaurants in Las Vegas. But now, Las Vegas is not the affordable city it once was.

According to a new report, if you want to rent a house in Las Vegas, you'll need to make around $70,000 a year. This is a fair wage, but not always easy to make in Las Vegas. The city is not known for real high wages, and wage increases are slow. Sure, you can make money in the hospitality industry, but even that is very inconsistent.

A Rental Market Report from Zillow was released recently. It looks at what you need to make to afford the typical rent in several cities.

According to the Zillow report, since the beginning of the pandemic, rental prices throughout the US have jumped almost 30%. Going up an average of 7% over the last four years. Almost two-thirds of that jump happened in 2021 alone.

To afford the typical, or average rent in Las Vegas now, you'd need to make make at least $69,810. This lands about right in the middle of the US cities that are shown on the map. The U.S. average is around $78,304.

What is the ratio for rent, or mortgage, to income? Forbes magazine uses the 28% rule when it comes to mortgage. That is 28% of your income. Chase says under 30% of your income for rent. So, just around the same amount.

Zillow reported that the income needed to afford rent in Las Vegas has risen 34% since before the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic. the income needed to rent comfortable in Las Vegas was $52,020. Definitely quite a jump.

It's an interesting look at how rent has changed in a lot of popular metro areas in the US, in Zillow’s Rental Market Report. If you're still thinking about moving to Las Vegas, the bottom line: Rent is much higher than you probably think. So do your homework!

There are some very oddly named cities in The United States. Some are hard to spell, some hard to pronounce, and some are both. 

In our state of Nevada, there are some goofy city names. As a native of Nevada, I'm proud to say I've been to, or through, just about all of them. The strangest city names in Nevada are rich in history and our own state's story.

Winnemucca, Nevada. Where we have all spent a week there one night (old joke). The City of Winnemucca says it is "the cross-road linking the northern route on US Highway 95 from Oregon and Idaho to Interstate 80, which spans from East to West across northern Nevada, bridging the gap between central California and Utah."  It's a small town of about 8,500 with all of those things you'd expect from a small town.

We also have Beowawe, Puckerbrush (just outside of Winnemucca), and Adaven. Does that one look familiar? It's Nevada spelled backwards. Many are ghost towns now, but they're still out there.

Wendover (they've heard all the jokes, so don't even try), Weed, Jiggs, Carp, Pahrump and Bunkerville -- all in the great silver state of Nevada.

I have an old high school friend who lives in Jarbidge, Nevada. It's way up at the top of the state of Nevada, if you're looking at a map. Right near Wendover! It was booming at one time -- maybe nearly 1,500 people once settled there because of the mining boom in Nevada in the early 1900's in Nevada, according to the Western Mining History. Now, as of a recent census, Jarbidge boasts about 100 people. But might I add -- it's beautiful!

There are some hilariously named cities in the United States. And I commend those of you in Albuquerque, New Mexico; in Poughkeepsie, New York; and Meeteetse, Wyoming. I commend you for even learning how to spell the city you live in or came from.

But those are the least of it when it comes to oddly named and weirdly spelled cities in the U.S. Here are a few of the strangest city names.

You'll find Zzyzx between Las Vegas and Los Angeles just off off I-15. Nothing much there but a beautiful serene lake and a bit of a creepy abandoned mineral springs area. Some say it's haunted. You'll find some more interesting Zzxyx history in this video. Interesting, and a little creepy.

According to Grays Harbor, hundreds of thousands of tourists drive through Humptulips each year. Humptulips is a Salish word named by the Chehalis Tribe a few thousands years ago. The word and name Humptulips means “Hard to Pole.” This term refers to the difficulty in traveling the river by boat. 

Unless you are from there, go ahead and try to pronounce it. Quonochontaug, pronounced: KWAHN-ah-kahn-tawg. Yeah . . . still can't pronounce it. It means black fish. Which they probably could have named it originally but noooooo. It is known by the locals as "Quonnie." The Providence Journal says it is mainly a second-home, summer town.

Pronounced Tih-WAH-pih-tee. The name might be local slang for an “unkempt, ill-appearing person” or a Shawnee word meaning “place of no return.” It’s probably the latter. According to Toponymatic, the name might be local slang for an “unkempt, ill-appearing person” or a Shawnee word meaning “place of no return.” It’s probably the latter, but I like the first.

According to Bob Vila the town named for William Harrison Boring, a former Union soldier and farmer who settled the area. The locals say it's an exciting place to live. Humor -- I like it!

The Chicago Tribune reported that the city suggested the name Excelsior but were told the name was already taken in Missouri. They tried again and got the same answer. Frustrated, they asked the city to give them a “peculiar” name -- even writing the word "peculiar" in quotation marks. Well guess what? There's your name!

Last but not least -- Three Way! No, not what you think or wish. According to Babbel, Three Way was named after the three way split of the U.S. Route 45. Guys, that should have been your first and only guess on how this city was named.