To many Americans, Las Vegas is a burst of glittering hotels and seedy wedding chapels, a mirage-like city rising improbably from the Mojave Desert.

The Americans who live in Las Vegas know the city as a destination for the middle class: Valets and cocktail waitresses become homeowners. Immigrants who arrive with empty pockets build thriving businesses. Workers without college degrees, empowered by strong unions, accumulate real wealth.

Lately though, Las Vegas — like much of the United States — has become more expensive. The cost of housing is soaring. People from California and other expensive states are moving to Nevada, driving up home prices even further. Though they have dipped slightly over the past year, rents in Las Vegas are still roughly 35 percent higher than in December 2019, before the pandemic, according to data from Zillow.

Outside a community center on the northwest side of town one recent morning, Carl Singleton, 71, and his brother power-walked around a track under the bright Nevada sun, regaling me with stories about the way the city used to be. Born in rural Louisiana, Mr. Singleton arrived in Las Vegas in 1974 and started out as a porter at the Mint Hotel, now known as Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel, earning around $27 per day. About a year later, he said, he bought a house for $22,500.

Now voters across Las Vegas say they are struggling to hold on to their middle-class way of life. Most hold a grim view of the Republican Party and do not want to see Donald Trump return to the White House. But they also say they are beginning to question whether politicians in Washington are too out of touch to fight for them.