LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Being able to afford housing in Las Vegas has reached a breaking point.
Samuel Green is one of many Southern Nevadans who says they're overwhelmed by the high cost of living. I met him in a grocery store parking lot as he was heading back to his apartment.
"I am in a 1 bedroom apartment and I pay nearly $1,600 a month," Green said. "It is very difficult. I mean, day by day, it is stressful."
According to a recent Zillow report, the average household now needs to make almost $70,000 annually to afford rent.
"You got to do about two jobs just to live," Green told me.
The report also reveals rental rates have surged by 1.9% year-over-year, now averaging $1,745 per month.
Green said since he moved here four years ago, the sharp increase has left him struggling to make ends meet.
"Since you got here to now, how much has rent gone up for you?"
"Well, at least about $800 but the pay is still the same!"
Green's story is all too common in our city. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the median annual income for a household in Las Vegas is at $66,356, as of 2022.
Property manager and realtor Zane Weber tells me it's a simple matter of supply and demand. With more people moving to Las Vegas for job opportunities and the lifestyle, the demand for housing has skyrocketed.
"With our city growing in regard to sports teams, more traffic, more people moving here and coming here, we see the rents go up," Weber said. "If there is very little rentals available, certainly rents are going to go up, then it will go down, and it will go up again."
Weber said he believes more needs to be done to ensure affordability. If not, he thinks our homeless population will double in no time.
"Maybe pay people a little bit more or up the wages," Green said. "Me living here in Nevada has been very difficult."
