Data shows aging, more diverse Nevada population

LAS VEGAS — Nevada is becoming older and more diverse as the state grows, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The state’s population grew by more than 330,000 people from 2010 to 2018, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday. Its 12% growth rate was about double the national rate.

“Nevada has now come back to a situation we experienced before the Great Recession,” said professor Stephen Miller, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “We had a lot of people retiring in the rest of the country, especially California, selling their house, taking the equity out and coming to Nevada.”

The number of retirement-age residents also increased, with nearly 1 in 6 residents now age 65 or older, according to the data. More than 149,000 people were added to this demographic.

The growth rate of retirement-age residents was about 46%. The national rate was about 30%.

“Aging will be a bigger factor in changing consumption patterns for goods and services and needs in government services,” state demographer Jeff Hardcastle said. “There will be an increasing demand on the health care sector, potentially.”

The data indicates the non-Hispanic white population in Nevada has remained mostly flat since 2010.

The number of Hispanic and non-white residents has increased, making Nevada a majority-minority state in 2017.

Most of the state’s growth has occurred in the Las Vegas area, with Clark County recording more than 48,000 new people between 2017 and 2018.

A little more than a quarter of Nevada’s nearly 3 million residents were born in the state, according to the data.