Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Nevada
keeps on
growing
Latest count shows population rose by 73,524
By ED VOGEL
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
CARSON CITY -- Although population growth has slowed, Nevada gained 73,524 residents in the year ending July 1, 2002, and remained the fastest growing state, demographer Jeff Hardcastle said Monday.
Nevada had 2,206,022 residents July 1, an increase of 182,644 over two years. Of the total, 70.2 percent, or 1,549,657 people, lived in Clark County.
"Even though our growth rate has slowed, we were still estimated to be the fastest growing state in the nation from 2001 to 2002 according to the U.S. Census Bureau," Hardcastle said.
He said the state population grew 3.4 percent in the year ending July 1, 2002, compared with 5.4 percent in the year ending July 1, 2001.
The population in Clark County increased by 63,802 in the last year, or 4.3 percent. The previous year the growth rate was 6.6 percent.
Hardcastle annually prepares population estimates for the state Department of Taxation. Gov. Kenny Guinn then certifies the estimates.
Churchill, Clark and Humboldt counties and the cities of Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Wells and Winnemucca challenged his estimates, which were resolved with compromises.
The figures are used in the distribution of state taxes.
The new estimates show Washoe County has 187,834 residents, up 6,200 in the past two years. Washoe's population is 16.3 percent of the state total. That means Clark and Washoe counties have 86.5 percent of the total state population, leaving just 13.5 percent for the remaining 15 counties.
While Henderson lagged behind Reno in population in 2000, the city now has far more people than the so-called Biggest Little City in the World. Henderson's 2002 population was 209,486, compared with 187,834 in Reno.
Esmeralda County is the state's smallest with just 1,125 residents. Lincoln County has 3,879 residents, down nearly 300 people in the past two years.
White Pine, Lander and Mineral counties also have shown major population declines in the past two years.
But Nye County, particularly in the Pahrump area, continues to show big increases. The Nye County population is 35,039, up more than 2,000 in two years. Pahrump's population is 27,527, an increase from 24,235 in 2000.
