Southern Nevada’s population of approximately 2.32 million residents is expected to grow by more than 1 million to 3.38 million by 2060, according to a new report released today by UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER).
More people are moving to Southern Nevada through migration primarily from other states in the west, midwest, and northeast - a trend which has the potential to impact businesses throughout the state and the southwest region. Nevada has benefitted from this migration since the end of the Great Recession, and CBER predicts the trend will continue for the foreseeable future despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CBER’s annual Clark County population forecast is created on behalf of local government agencies, including the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition, Southern Nevada Water Authority, and members of the forecasting group.
“CBER’s population count, while just a forecast, is vital when it comes to guiding what investments are made today to ensure the success of our community tomorrow,” said Andrew Woods, director of CBER. “It’s important that our community leaders are making decisions utilizing the most recent data, and this report is the perfect example because it shows a 17% increase in projected population from just four years ago.”
The forecast gives policymakers and government agencies insight into how many people to expect to reside in Southern Nevada over the next 10, 20, 30, and 40 years. The forecast influences decisions on everything from how many more schools need to be built to how many police officers, firefighters, and doctors need to be hired to sustain the growth. The data influences what projects need to be funded to continue to supply water, electricity, and gas to people’s homes and businesses, how to meet the needs for affordable housing, and even what businesses to attract to Southern Nevada.
To create the annual population forecast, CBER’s research team uses the Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) model, a state-of-the-art econometric forecasting model that accounts for dynamic feedbacks between economic and demographic variables. The team then incorporates the most recent available information regarding local employment and its growth and local public and private investment projects such as expected hotel room inventory and SNRTC's transportation-infrastructure investment.
The full report can be found on the Clark County Demographics website.
About UNLV Lee Business School
Established in 1967 as the College of Business, the Lee Business School is one of the largest schools at UNLV with approximately 3,500 undergraduate students, 500 graduate students, and 100 faculty and staff and offers the only accredited business program in Southern Nevada. The school offers ten undergraduate majors, 14 minors and seven graduate degrees, including the MBA and Executive MBA programs. Lee Business School is among the top 5 percent of business colleges and schools worldwide to hold international dual accreditation in business and accounting by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the premier accrediting body for business and management education. In addition to its scholastic endeavors, Lee Business School is home to three centers that bring together faculty and students with business and industry. These include the Troesh Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER), and Lied Center for Real Estate Studies. With more than 20,000 graduates, the Lee Business School Alumni Chapter is one of the largest alumni chapters on campus.
