Affluent Californians pouring into Las Vegas as wealth tax looms

High net worth homebuyers from California are moving to Las Vegas and its suburbs in droves to preserve their wealth and stretch it further as the Golden State inches toward tax policies that target the rich. 

By the end of 2025, over 23% of Realtor.com® listing views in Las Vegas originated from Los Angeles, making it the largest source of out-of-market demand, according to the latest cross-market data analysis.

Another California metro, San Jose, ranked second for listing views in Las Vegas at more than 8%, while Riverside, CA, placed fourth with nearly 4%.

Tania Jhayem, a real estate agent at Keller Williams The Marketplace‘s luxury division in Las Vegas, says she has seen a clear trend over the past year of Californians — particularly high earners — flocking to Sin City.

“There has been a noticeable increase in affluent buyers relocating from California,” Jhayem tells Realtor.com. “Many of these clients are selling higher-priced homes in coastal markets and bringing significant equity with them, which allows them to purchase luxury properties here either with large down payments or all cash.”

A comparison between home prices in Las Vegas and some of California’s top metros reveals a stark disparity. In January, the typical home in LA cost $1,025,000, while the median listing price in San Jose was $1,119,000 — the highest in the US and nearly three times the national figure, according to the latest Realtor.com monthly housing market trends report.

Californians are drawn by lower prices and taxes

Meanwhile, the median listing price in Las Vegas last month was just $465,000, meaning that buyers relocating from high-priced coastal markets could get significantly more house for their money in Nevada‘s largest metro.

It also bears repeating that, unlike California, Nevada has no income tax, allowing out-of-state transplants to keep more of their earnings.

“With no state income tax and far greater buying power, Vegas allows Californians to upgrade in home size, quality, or location in ways that are increasingly out of reach in coastal California markets,” says Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones.

According to Jhayem, a combination of economic and lifestyle factors is motivating most of her California buyers to relocate to Las Vegas.

“Taxes and overall cost of living are major drivers, and Nevada’s lack of state income tax continues to be one of the most frequently cited reasons for the move,” she says. “For some clients, it’s purely financial. They can sell a $2 million to $3 million home in California and purchase a comparable or larger property in Las Vegas for less while reducing their ongoing tax burden.”

Others, however, cite the regulatory environment, business-friendly policies, and the ability to stretch their wealth further.

This issue is becoming especially acute for California’s roughly 200 billionaires who are facing a proposed wealth tax that, if adopted, would levy a one-time 5% tax on their assets.

The controversial proposal, spearheaded by the Service Employees International Union and aimed to help fund health care services for low-income residents, could end up on the ballot in November. However, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vowed to kill the measure, arguing that it could set off an exodus of high net worth taxpayers from the state. 

Notably, cross-market demand analysis shows that the share of listing views in Las Vegas originating from San Jose nearly tripled year over year, signaling growing appeal among affluent tech-driven buyers from Silicon Valley.

“Buyers feel they can preserve wealth, enjoy newer housing inventory, and maintain proximity to the West Coast while benefiting from Nevada’s tax structure and lower cost of ownership,” says Jhayem.

Vegas offers newer homes with amenities

Looking at the political landscape, California is a solidly blue state led by a Democratic governor, and most of its major metros have Democratic mayors and city councilmembers.

Nevada, on the other hand, is considered a battleground state: Gov. Joe Lombardo is a Republican, while Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley is a Democrat.

Jhayem points out that while out-of-state buyers shopping for homes in Vegas do reference politics, the majority of her clients frame their decision to move in practical, economic terms, rather than purely political ones.

She says what most of her affluent shoppers are really after are luxury homes in high-end communities with sought-after lifestyle amenities.

“The market here still offers modern luxury homes, new-construction options, and gated communities at price points that feel like strong value to buyers coming from Los Angeles, the Bay Area, or Seattle,” says Jhayem.

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A couple she recently worked with had sold their multimillion-dollar home in California and were moving to Las Vegas in search of more space and privacy.

“They wanted a newer luxury home with a pool, home office, and amenities nearby,” explains Jhayem. “They were drawn to master-planned communities with strong amenities and security, and ultimately chose Las Vegas because they felt they could maintain a similar lifestyle with lower carrying costs and more home for their money.”

For newcomers, the good news is that Las Vegas is now firmly a buyer’s market with 7.4 months of supply, according to the latest research from Realtor.com. Simply put, it would take more than seven months for all the listed homes in Vegas to sell at the current sales pace. 

Buyer’s markets like Vegas offer shoppers more inventory to choose from, more time to make a decision, and greater negotiating power compared to seller’s markets.