Las Vegas population growth speeds past other metro areas

Southern Nevada’s population swelled in recent years, outpacing other metro areas across the country, new data shows.

The Las Vegas area had almost 2.4 million residents as of last summer, up 5.4 percent, or almost 123,000 people, from the summer of 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Within the region, North Las Vegas’ population jumped 12.6 percent during that four-year period to around 294,000.

Henderson’s population grew by almost 10 percent to about 350,000, while the city of Las Vegas grew by nearly 5 percent to around 679,000.

Nationally, the population grew by almost 2.6 percent in this four-year period, to more than 340 million.

Southern Nevada’s population has grown fast for decades as homebuilders, commercial developers and others push the boundaries of where people live and work farther and farther out into the sprawling desert metropolis.

The steady inflow of newcomers has been fueled by a series of factors, including Las Vegas’ ever-expanding tourism industry, its history of relatively low housing costs, near year-round sunshine and lack of state income taxes.

Nonetheless, amid a soaring population and decadeslong drought, Southern Nevada’s primary water supply — Lake Mead — has dwindled.

The reservoir, created by Hoover Dam, is one-third full, the Las Vegas Review-Journal recently reported.

Contact Eli Segall at [email protected] or 702-383-0342.