LOST WAGES, INDEED: Study Finds Vegas Prices Rising Faster than Any Other US Travel Destination

According to a new study by Forbes Advisor, Las Vegas has experienced the steepest cost increases of any other US travel destination in the last five years.

Vegas topped the list based on the cost of its daily hotel accommodations (which increased 47.45%), its daily car rentals (up 61.44%), and its daily meals (up 13.96%).

Forbes’ study used data from the Business Travel News Corporate Travel Index, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and AAA to rank the 75 largest US cities.

According to its findings, the average Vegas hotel stay now costs $252 per night, which is believed to be a new Vegas record — along with a new $98 average daily cost for three meals out, and a new average daily car rental rate of $77.

And that car rental increase doesn’t include the escalating costs of gas, daily resort parking fees, which didn’t exist for some Strip resorts five years ago, or special event parking, which can now exceed $100 a pop for big concerts and sporting events.

Rounding out the destinations with the biggest hikes in travel costs were Tucson, Ariz., Sacramento, Calif., New Orleans, La., and San Antonio, Texas.

Indianapolis, Ind. ranked as the city with the smallest average increase in overall travel costs (2.25% for hotels, 6.27% for car rental, and 22.28% for daily meals).

But its Strip isn’t as entertaining.