Nevada’s population is on the rise
See how the Silver State’s population growth ranks nationwide
The Reno metropolitan statistical area grew by 8,124 residents between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The latest estimates now put the area’s population at 575,100 residents. That figure pushed the Reno area past the metro areas of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and Portland, Maine, to be the 101st-largest metro area in the United States.
About one out of every six Nevadans lives in the Reno metro area, which is comprised of Washoe and Storey counties. The region represents about 17.6% of the state’s population.
Reno-Sparks has added an estimated 25,285 residents since the 2020 census — a 4.6% increase. Overall, the U.S. grew by 2.6% during that same span.
Southern Nevada’s Las Vegas metro area held fast as the 29th-largest metro area in the country following an estimated 44,586-resident increase during the year. Its population now stands at 2,398,871. That puts it just ahead of the Cincinnati and Kansas City metro areas and just behind the Pittsburgh and Sacramento metro areas.
Las Vegas’ metro area is comprised of all of Clark County and includes Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, as well as the unincorporated town of Paradise along the Las Vegas Strip.
Since the 2020 census, the Las Vegas metro area has added more than 132,000 residents for a growth rate of 5.8%.
The population of Carson City, the smallest metro area in the U.S. as defined by the Census Bureau, remained essentially flat at No. 387. The city’s population dropped by an estimated 78 to 58,148.
Since the 2020 census, Carson City’s population has fallen an estimated 494 residents.
The city was recently named one of the top retirement spots in the Western U.S. by Travel and Leisure magazine.
While the Las Vegas area grew at a healthy 1.9% in the past year and the Reno area tacked on 1.4%, the most rapid growth in the country was centered on metros in the American South, with four Florida metros, two South Carolina metros and two Texas metros landing in the top 10. The top growth rates from July 2023 to June 2024 were:
The metro areas that added the most residents from July 2023 to June 2024 were:
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
click to expand photos
Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
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