STATE OF NEVADA - Division of Child and Family Services

SECTION I: INTRODUCTION
Nevada Demographics
Population and Geography
Nevada is the seventh largest state in the nation with a total of 110,567 square miles. The state has seventeen counties
and 27 Native American Tribal areas. In the 2000 Census, Nevada ranked 35 th in the nation for population, with a total of
1,998,257 inhabitants. Nevada was the fastest-growing state for 19 years in a row with an overall population increase of
30.1% between July 1, 2000 and July 1, 2008. In 2009, the population reached 2,643,085 inhabitants, with 82% of the
state’s population growth occurring in Clark County. Nevada has now dropped to 17 th of all states in population growth.
For the first time in decades, Nevada’s population actually declined from one year to the next, dropping 1 percent from
2008 to 2009, according to preliminary estimates prepared by the Nevada State Demographer’s Office. Figure 1 shows
Nevada Population growth from 1980 through 2009.
Figure 01: Nevada Population Growth at Five-Year Intervals
3000000
2500000
Nevada Population Growth at Five-Year Intervals
US Census Population Division, last updated March 2010
Population
2000000
1500000
1000000
500000
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Series1 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009
Series2 800,508 951,032 1,220,695 1,581,578 2,018,244 2,401,621 2,643,085
Overall, Clark County (Las Vegas/Henderson area) has a population of 1,874,837, making it 71.6% of the overall state
population. Washoe County (Reno/Sparks area) has the second most populous area, with 409,085 residents (15.6% of
the overall state population). The remainder of the state is made up of 15 rural and frontier counties. This area is vast,
covering approximately 95,000 square miles, with the distance between most towns at an hour or more apart; the 15
remaining counties comprise 333,688 individuals or 12.7% of Nevada’ population.
Nevada’s population has a varied ethnic background. Data from the US Census Bureau (2010) reports that the majority
of the population in 2008 was Caucasian (80.9%), followed by African Americans (8.1%); Asian Americans (6.2%);
multiracial persons (2.8%); American Indian and Alaska Native persons (1.5%) and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific
Islander (.5%). The population statistics indicate that 25.7% are persons of Hispanic or Latino origin.
The Nevada Kids Count Data Report for 2009 reports that Nevada’s household population is estimated to be at 954,067
(2007 data). Families made up 66.2%, (631,720), of the households in Nevada. This percentage is made up of 72.7%
married-couple families; 9.4% male-headed families (no wife present); and 17.8% female-headed families (no husband
present). Family households with their own children under the age of 18 with their own children in the home made up
47.4% of all family households. The average household size was 2.65 individuals and the average family size was 3.21.
Nevada APSR – SFY 2010
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