Las Vegas’ population growth leads all other cities in Nevada

Nevada’s biggest city grew the most of all the state’s cities last fiscal year.

New population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau found Las Vegas’ population rose by more than 9,900 people, a little more than 1.6 percent, between July 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014, easily topping growth totals tallied in Nevada’s 18 other incorporated cities.

Henderson grew by about 6,700 residents, or 2.5 percent. North Las Vegas added 3,870 residents, almost 2 percent, and Reno welcomed 3,713 newcomers. Sparks grew by about 1,500 people, according to bureau estimates.

The state picked up enough new housing units to accommodate only about one-third of those new city residents over the same time period.

Last year’s growth numbers hint at a return to pre-recession population growth figures for Las Vegas, which grew by a yearly average of 2.65 percent between 2000 and 2007.

Henderson grew by an average of nearly 5 percent over the same time period. North Las Vegas, once regarded as the fastest growing city in the country, grew by a pre-recession average of nearly 8 percent.

The return of some of those bodies may or may not translate into an economic boon for the rest of the Las Vegas Valley. Historical census data show Clark County’s population cratered along with the economy in 2008 but saw its quickest year-over-year population gain since 2009 last fiscal year.

State demographer Jeff Hardcastle said such increases could be “reflective” of an ongoing economic rebound but cautioned against pinning those numbers directly to Southern Nevada’s economic fate.

“Some of this is tied to the economic recovery, but at least half of it is due to births exceeding deaths,” Hardcastle said. “We’re not seeing the historic growth we’ve seen in the past because we have a lot of people here who still need to find work.”

Contact James DeHaven at jdehaven@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3839. Find him on Twitter: @JamesDeHaven.