Millionaires have been flocking to Las Vegas at unprecedented rates and buying up lavish properties, a new study has revealed. 

According to Rent Cafe, from 2019 to 2023, the Sin City metropolitan area has experienced a significant increase in the number of millionaires moving there, with a growth rate of 166 percent based on analysis of Census Bureau data.

The year before the pandemic, Las Vegas Valley had 331 millionaire households. By 2023, there were 879. 

‘It comes as no surprise to witness the tripling of millionaire households in Las Vegas since 2019. We have directly experienced this positive trend,’ luxury real estate agent Ivan Sher remarked in an interview with the Las Vegas Review.

‘The city has become a magnet for individuals with high net worth seeking more living space, a superior quality of life, and the dynamic atmosphere of a city that is in a constant state of evolution.’

Sin City has become somewhat of a wealthy person’s safe haven thanks to Nevada’s forgiving tax policies. 

Nevada has no state income tax – a major perk for the rich. There are not any corporate income, franchise, inheritance or gift taxes either. The cost of living is also relatively low. 

Meanwhile in neighboring California, the state taxes anyone making over a million dollars 13.3 percent – likely why Sher has seen a spike in wealthy former Golden State residents coming to Vegas. 

Millionaires have been flocking to Las Vegas at unprecedented rates and buying up lavish properties, a new study has revealed 

Some of the valley’s most expensive and exclusive neighborhoods include The Ridges and MacDonald Highlands. Pictured: Housing along a man made lake in Las Vegas

Panda Express co-founder Andrew Cherng (pictured with his wife) moved from California to Las Vegas

Nevada has no state income tax – a major perk for the rich. There are not any corporate income, franchise, inheritance or gift taxes either. The cost of living is also relatively low. A residential area in Vegas is seen above 

Roughly a third of Nevada transplants have long been Californians. Nearly 39,000 Californians moved there last year, beating the previous year by roughly 2,000. 

Actors Mark Wahlberg and Dean Cain, as well as singer Celine Dion and boxer Floyd Mayweather, are among the celebrities who have bought homes in prestigious Vegas neighborhoods over the years.

Panda Express co-founder Andrew Cherng, DCM co-founder David Chao, along with other prominent figures in the business world have also opted for Las Vegas. 

Some of the valley’s most expensive and exclusive neighborhoods include The Ridges and MacDonald Highlands, where the median prices of sold homes are $2.3million and $2.4million respectively, according to Realtor.com.

At one point it looked like Southern Nevada would offer an even bigger draw to the area for stars with a plan to bring Hollywood Studios there. But the bill died in legislation. 

‘The movie studio bill not passing was a missed opportunity, but it doesn’t slow us down,’ Sher told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

However the real estate broker remains hopeful for the future. 

‘Vegas is still on the cusp of something major. From F1 to the Super Bowl, NHL, NFL, and even talks of MLB, the city’s infrastructure is growing to support high-income industries. This is just the beginning,’ he said. 

Actors Dean Cain and Mark Wahlberg are among the celebrities who have bought homes in prestigious Vegas neighborhoods

Sin City has become somewhat of a wealthy person’s safe haven thanks to Nevada’s forgiving tax policies 

Roughly a third of Nevada transplants have long been Californians. Nearly 39,000 Californians moved there last year, beating the previous year by roughly 2,000. A Las Vegas neighborhood built on the edges of a lake is seen above

The same reason the wealthy may have their hearts set Vegas is why the City of Lost Wages has become an unsuspecting retirement location over the past few years – a cheaper cost of living.

Stephen Miller, a professor of economics at the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said that phenomenon had been occurring for more than a decade.

‘They retire, they sell their house, they come to Las Vegas and buy a house, maybe they downsize a but even if they don’t downsize, the price is going to be lower,’ he told Daily Mail in 2023.

‘And the equity they take out of the house in in Southern California, or Northern California, more than allows them to live comfortably here in Nevada, and maybe still have some money left over,’ he added.