Researchers: Pershing stats no mystery

Pershing County is younger and poorer than its neighbors in northern Nevada.

But demographic researchers say no one should read too much into the number.

Fully one-fifth of the population of Pershing County, after all, lives behind bars.

That footnote appeared in the NVision report released a few days ago on the development potential of northern Nevada's seven rural counties.

AngelouEconomics, the consulting firm that prepared the report, included the information to explain why the demographics of Pershing differed so much from those of its neighboring counties.

Blame it on the population of the Nevada State prison at Lovelock. U.S. Census data includes the inmate population in the overall county population. That 21 percent of total population causes both age and income of county residents to skew lower.