LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Las Vegas metropolitan area has seen not only a significant rise in its population but an altering of its demographics as well, according to new findings from the U.S. Census Bureau.
A new census report shows changes to the population of Clark County in five-year increments, including a rise in Latinos, the elderly and transplants from California.
The 2013-2017 American Community Survey found the greater Las Vegas area, which is about the same boundaries as Clark County, now ranks as 30th among populous metropolitan areas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. That puts the area above cities such as Cleveland and Kansas City.
According to the findings, the population gained more than 157,000 people between 2008-2012 and the 2013-2017 period.
But the number of people in Clark County who identify as Caucasian has declined by 37,000. In fact, it was the only racial group to go down in number. The report states Latinos made up half of the population increase.
Robert Lang, an urban affairs expert and executive director of Brookings Mountain West at University of Nevada Las Vegas, said there will likely be more interracial marriages.
“Clark County is most like America is predicted to be in 2060,” he said. “We’re just ahead of the country in that regard. The U.S. is getting there.”
The number of people age 50 and up also rose, bringing the median age of the county population to 37. Lang attributed the change to aging baby boomers.
Another trend on the uptick is the number of residents who relocated from the Golden State. The census data determined that a third of the 110,000 people who moved to the Las Vegas area in the past year were from California. Among those, 14,000 came from Los Angeles County.
Lang believes it’s a change that could actually shape Nevada’s politics in the future.
“About 10 percent of people who vote in Southern Nevada have a county of birth in Nevada, and 33 percent have a county of birth in California,” he said.
The population spoke has naturally led to an increase in housing and renting in particular. Housing in Clark County jumped by about 44,000 units between the 2008-2012 period and the 2013-2017 period. Nearly half of all households are renting, according to the latest five-year estimates.
Vivek Sah, of UNLV’s Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies, said soaring home prices, stricter lending regulations and the number of millennials moving to Las Vegas are behind the trend.
The findings, released late last week, are based on interviews about a range of issues with 3.5 million households nationwide.
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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com
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