Living in Las VegasA place like no other on earth.
Most people know four miles of it. The rest is 2.4 million neighbors, red rock trails, a ski mountain, a lake, pro sports and no state income tax. This is the Las Vegas you would actually live in.
You keep more of what you earn.
It is the first thing my buyers from California, Illinois and the Northwest bring up, and they are right.
Sales tax in Clark County is 8.375%. Tax rules change and everyone’s situation is different, so run the numbers with your own tax professional.
Bigger than the Strip.
Tourism is still the engine: Las Vegas welcomed about 38.5 million visitors in 2025, and the resorts are the largest employers in the state. When travel slows, we feel it here.
What has changed is everything growing up around it. Regional leaders count about 198,000 jobs added over the past decade outside tourism, in health care, education, trade, transportation and professional services.
- Hospitality, gaming and conventions. The core, and still the reason the world flies in.
- Health care. The fastest-growing field in the valley.
- Logistics and manufacturing. Warehouses and plants along I-15 and in North Las Vegas.
- Technology. Data centers and a growing tech workforce.
- Sports and entertainment. Four major-league teams by 2028, and Formula 1 every November.
A city that is still investing.
High-speed rail to Southern California
Brightline West will run 218 miles from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga in about two hours. It is under construction and currently expected in late 2029.
A Major League ballpark
The A’s $2 billion domed stadium on the Strip is on schedule to open for the 2028 season.
A bigger airport
Harry Reid International plans 26 more gates at Terminal 1 as demand grows.
Faster freeways
The I-15 and Tropicana interchange beside the stadium has been rebuilt, with more of the I-15 corridor to follow.
The Vegas Loop
The underground Loop is expanding station by station, and is planned to reach the airport.
A children’s hospital
Intermountain Health is planning the region’s first stand-alone children’s hospital, in the southwest valley.
Twenty-five minutes to almost anything.
The valley is ringed by one beltway and crossed by two freeways, so most trips are short. The Census puts the average commute at about 23 to 25 minutes, under the national average.
The airport is the easy part. Harry Reid International sits right beside the Strip, has two terminals and valet parking, and handled nearly 55 million passengers in 2025 with nonstop flights to more than 170 places. Los Angeles is about an hour away.
| From | To the Strip | To the airport |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown Summerlin | 20–25 min | 20–25 min |
| Summerlin West | 25–30 min | 25–30 min |
| Southern Highlands | 15–20 min | 15–20 min |
| Green Valley, Henderson | 15–20 min | 12–15 min |
| Inspirada, Henderson | 25–30 min | 20–25 min |
| Cadence, Henderson | 25–30 min | 20–25 min |
| Lake Las Vegas | 30–35 min | 25–30 min |
| Providence | 25–30 min | 30–35 min |
| Skye Canyon | 30–35 min | 35–40 min |
| Aliante, North Las Vegas | 25–30 min | 30–35 min |
These are my own estimates for a normal day. Drive your own route at the hour you would actually travel before you choose a neighborhood.
Red rock, snow and water, all within an hour.
This is the part that surprises people. You can hike in the morning, ski in the afternoon in winter, and be on a boat the next day.
A big-league town, finally.
Ten years ago Las Vegas had no major-league team. Now there is a game most weeks.
- Vegas Golden Knights. NHL, at T-Mobile Arena. Stanley Cup champions in 2023.
- Las Vegas Raiders. NFL, at Allegiant Stadium.
- Las Vegas Aces. WNBA champions more than once.
- The A’s. Major League Baseball arrives in 2028.
- Las Vegas Aviators. Triple-A baseball at the ballpark in Downtown Summerlin.
- Formula 1. The Las Vegas Grand Prix runs on the Strip each November.
And the NBA voted in March 2026 to explore an expansion team here.
World-class, and it is your Tuesday.
Specialists close to home.
The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, in the Frank Gehry building downtown, treats and researches Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease.
Around it, the Las Vegas Medical District is home to University Medical Center and the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, which is training the next generation of doctors here. Health care is now the fastest-growing field in the valley.
Tee times, twelve months a year.
There are courses on every side of the valley, public and private: TPC Summerlin, Red Rock Country Club, Reflection Bay at Lake Las Vegas, Southern Highlands, Anthem, DragonRidge, Rio Secco, Cascata, Bear’s Best and the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, among others.
If you want to live on a course, tell me which one and I’ll show you what is for sale around it.
Master-planned neighborhoods.
Much of the valley was planned village by village, with parks, trails, schools and shopping built in. Several rank among the best-selling communities in the country.
Summerlin
The west side, against Red Rock. Ranked No. 7 in the nation for new-home sales in the first half of 2025.
Summerlin new homes →Henderson
Cadence, No. 3 in the country in 2024, plus Inspirada, Lake Las Vegas, Green Valley and Anthem.
Henderson new homes →The Northwest
Skye Canyon, Providence and Centennial Hills: the newest building, closest to Mt. Charleston.
Northwest new homes →Or search homes for sale in Summerlin · Henderson · Southern Highlands · Lake Las Vegas · Skye Canyon · North Las Vegas
What people ask before they move.
Is there really no state income tax in Nevada?
Yes. Nevada does not tax personal income, so there is no state tax on your wages or your retirement income. Sales tax in Clark County is 8.375%. Ask your tax professional how a move would work out for you.
How far is Las Vegas from Los Angeles?
About four hours by car on I-15, or roughly an hour in the air. A high-speed rail line to Southern California, Brightline West, is under construction and is currently expected in late 2029.
How hot does it get?
Summers are hot and dry, and that is the honest trade for mild winters and sunshine most of the year. People live around it: pools, early mornings, and Mt. Charleston, which is under an hour away and far cooler.
Is Las Vegas only the Strip?
No. The Strip is about four miles long. The valley around it is home to roughly 2.4 million people in neighborhoods with their own parks, trails, schools and town centers.
Figures checked October 2026. Sources:
- U.S. Census Bureau: Clark County population and commute times
- Harry Reid International Airport: 2025 passenger totals
- Bureau of Land Management: Red Rock Canyon
- Recreation.gov: Red Rock scenic drive timed entry
- National Park Service: Lake Mead National Recreation Area
- UNLV: planned stand-alone children’s hospital
- Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance: health care
- Howard Hughes: Summerlin’s national ranking
