Best PlacesDowntown, Las Vegas, NV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown, Las Vegas, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown, Las Vegas ranks 5,154th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown, 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.
Downtown, Las Vegas' strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown, Las Vegas ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown, Las Vegas ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown, Las Vegas
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown, Las Vegas home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $44,771, 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 Downtown, Las Vegas' effective rate of 0.38%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown, Las Vegas
Downtown, Las Vegas runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 Downtown, Las Vegas.
Who works in Downtown, Las Vegas, and how
Work in Downtown, Las Vegas centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 22%
Life in Downtown, Las Vegas
Downtown, Las Vegas has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown, Las Vegas and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown, Las Vegas, month by month
Downtown, Las Vegas sees roughly 185 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 Downtown, Las Vegas
Harry Reid International sits about 6 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 Downtown, Las Vegas
Schools across Downtown, Las Vegas average a C−, better than 28% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- West Prep EsF · 10% proficient
- Hollingsworth Howard EsF · 7% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hyde Park MsB+ · 48% proficient
- Martin Roy W MsC · 31% proficient
- Fremont John C Professional Dev MsF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Northwest Career-technical Academy HsA− · 65% proficient
- Las Vegas Academy Of The Arts HsA− · 65% proficient
- Nevada State High School DowntownB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown, Las Vegas school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown, 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 Downtown, Las Vegas against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown, Las Vegas
Is Downtown, Las Vegas a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown, Las Vegas ranks 5,154th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, state finances, and state infrastructure, and lowest on empty homes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown, Las Vegas expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $371,782. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $44,771 median income, cost of living beats 14% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown, Las Vegas safe?
Downtown, Las Vegas is safer than 9% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,247 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown, Las Vegas with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown, Las Vegas. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown, 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.
Downtown, Las Vegas detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown, Las Vegas: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown, Las Vegas: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown, Las Vegas: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown, Las Vegas: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown, 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.