What is the cost of living in Carson City?

Carson City has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 98.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 101.2, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,546/month.

What is the median salary in Carson City?

The median salary in Carson City is $66,022 annually (mean: $69,612). Top occupations include Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Carson City?

The violent crime rate in the Carson City area is 407 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2226 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Carson City?

The state of NV has 742 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 20.5:1. Charter schools make up 13.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Carson City?

Infant center-based childcare in the Carson City area averages $10,033 per year. Preschool averages $8,309/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Carson City a good place to relocate?

Carson City has a Life Score of 45.6/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Carson City sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Carson City ranks #356 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Carson City, NV

LiveAbility 34.8/100 places Carson City #356 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

98.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,546
2BR rent / mo: $66,022
Median salary: 34.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Carson City ranks #356 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (34.8/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and job market.

#356
of 387 US metros · Below median: 3,267,467
metro-area population: 407
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 742
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (2/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Carson City ranks #356 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 98.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,546/mo, median salary $66,022; LiveAbility Score 34.8/100, strongest in low hazard and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 34.8/100 places Carson City #356 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 98.1 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,546/mo.

LiveAbility 34.8/100 puts Carson City in the bottom third (#356 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Carson City area is 25,810.

Carson City vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

35 Top 92% higher than 8% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Carson City housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Carson City MSA; housing RPP 101.2 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,546/mo.

Studio

$1,105

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,212

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,546

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,150

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,593

/month

Carson City wages and employment

Carson City posts 25,810 total employment with median salary $66,022 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$66,022

Mean Salary

$69,612

Total Employment

25,810

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive	$49,270
General and Operations Managers	$103,160
Registered Nurses	$101,370
Retail Salespersons	$37,490
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$30,010

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Carson City area from NCES.

Schools

742

Enrollment

480,464

Student:Teacher

20.5:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Carson City area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$10,033

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,666

per year

Preschool (Center)

$8,309

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Carson City's composite Life Score is 45.6/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

29/100

Weak

Wages

51/100

Average

Rent

29/100

Weak

Crime

29/100

Weak

Schools

98/100

Elite

Childcare

56/100

Above average

Environment

57/100

Above average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Carson City ranks #356 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 34.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (95/100)

Low hazard

95
Job market

51
Air quality

43
Cost of living

29
Housing

29
Safety

29
Schools

2
Climate

2

What this shows Carson City's strongest dimensions are low hazard and job market; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 2/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Carson City to

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek Decatur Decatur Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach Denver-Aurora-Centennial

Metros near Carson City on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Carson City on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Carson City cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Carson City wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Carson City?

Carson City runs a $66,022 median salary at a 98.1 cost index, ranking #356 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Carson City's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Carson City head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Carson City
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.