Best PlacesDesert Shores, Las Vegas, NV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Desert Shores, Las Vegas, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Desert Shores, Las Vegas ranks 3,086th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Desert Shores, Las Vegas
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Desert Shores, Las Vegas' strengths and weaknesses
Where Desert Shores, Las Vegas ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 189 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
Where Desert Shores, Las Vegas ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Short commute29.3 minutes each way, better than only 21% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Desert Shores, Las Vegas
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Desert Shores, Las Vegas home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $72,716, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Desert Shores, Las Vegas' effective rate of 0.50%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Desert Shores, Las Vegas
Desert Shores, Las Vegas runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Desert Shores, Las Vegas.
Who works in Desert Shores, Las Vegas, and how
Work in Desert Shores, Las Vegas centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Desert Shores, Las Vegas
Desert Shores, Las Vegas has more parkland per resident than 86% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Desert Shores, Las Vegas and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Desert Shores, Las Vegas, month by month
Desert Shores, Las Vegas sees roughly 189 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 108 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 49° | 38° |
| April | 83° | 70° | 56° |
| July | 108° | 96° | 81° |
| October | 85° | 71° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Desert Shores, Las Vegas
Harry Reid International sits about 11 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 26.5 million passengers in 2025, with 204 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Desert Shores, Las Vegas
Schools across Desert Shores, Las Vegas average a C+, better than 48% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Doral Academy Fire MesaC+ · 38% proficient
- West Prep EsF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Becker Ernest MsC+ · 36% proficient
- Brinley J Harold MsD− · 14% proficient
- Molasky Irwin & Susan JhsD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Northwest Career-technical Academy HsA− · 65% proficient
- Cimarron-memorial HsD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Desert Shores, Las Vegas school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Desert Shores, Las Vegas measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Desert Shores, Las Vegas against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Desert Shores, Las Vegas
Is Desert Shores, Las Vegas a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Desert Shores, Las Vegas ranks 3,086th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, low property taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on summer heat and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Desert Shores, Las Vegas expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $399,385. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $72,716 median income, cost of living beats 56% of neighborhoods.
Is Desert Shores, Las Vegas safe?
Yes, Desert Shores, Las Vegas is safer than 57% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $491 per resident a year.
Compare Desert Shores, Las Vegas with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Desert Shores, Las Vegas. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Desert Shores, Las Vegas represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Desert Shores, Las Vegas detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Desert Shores, Las Vegas: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Desert Shores, Las Vegas: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Desert Shores, Las Vegas: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Desert Shores, Las Vegas: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Desert Shores, Las Vegas detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.