Nevada Immigration

< Back to Nevada Immigration Resources

Immigration-Driven Population Growth Is Taking Its Toll On Nevada

The fastest growing state in the U.S. In the last ten years, nearly 800,000 new residents settled in Nevada—an increase that is larger than the entire population of the state in 1980. More than one-quarter of these new residents were immigrants.

As the booming service and construction economies draw a massive immigration influx,many residents are asking how long it will take before the region’s quality of life is destroyed.The prices of houses here are rising quickly — up 11 percent in 2000 far exceeding the median rise in household income. Water is running out, and bad air and clogged traffic have become such serious concerns that the Environmental Protection Agency has said Las Vegas could lose federal money if it does not take steps to clean its air.2

Profile in Numbers
Population Growth
Nevada had the largest percent population increase in the country between 1990 and 2000.It increased 66 percent, five times the national average, bringing in close to 800,000 new residents to the state, increasing the state's population to two million people in 2000.

Nevada had three of the U.S.’s top ten fastest growing cities with a population over 100,000 between 1900 and 2000: Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Las Vegas.

 Nevada is one of three states that had a foreign-born population increase of more than 200 percent during the 1990s.Nevada’s foreign-born population increased 202 percent; the third largest percent increase in the country. Between 1990 and 2000,Nevada gained almost 212,000 immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to almost 317,000.

This increase in the foreign-born population accounted for 27 percent of the state’s overall population growth during the decade. Foreign-born residents now account for 16 percent of the total state population, which is higher than the national average of 11 percent.

About 576,000 people in Nevada are immigrants or the children of immigrants; this is about 30 percent of the state’s population, well above the national average of 20 percent.3

Contact Nevada Immigration Attorneys

Top of Page