How Nevada Stacks Up

by Kay Foley

Each year, Nevada Business Magazine compiles data comparing Nevada to other states and to U.S. averages. A big part of these annual exercises is tracking how the state responds to the ups and downs of economic cycles. However, assessing the damage done by the economic fallout of the COVID pandemic is rather like taking stock after a Category 5 hurricane. Although the sun is finally peeking through the clouds, the numbers show that it’s not yet time for Nevadans to put away their sandbags and umbrellas.

Compared to other states, Nevada’s economy took heavy damage over the past year because of its dependence on travel and tourism. In addition, it is still challenged with low rankings in education and healthcare, along with a higher-than-average crime rate. These long-standing problems affect Nevadans’ quality of life, as well as impeding efforts to diversify the economy by attracting new businesses.

Travel & Tourism

One measure of the economic devastation caused by the pandemic is statewide visitor volume, which declined more than 36 percent year-over-year. Hotel occupancy dropped 43 percent, and convention attendance disappeared entirely from April through December 2020. Nevada was not alone in suffering losses to a tourist economy, with other major tourist states experiencing double-digit losses. The second half of the year is expected to be improved, as long as the surge in COVID cases is contained and numbers don’t continue moving in the wrong direction.

Lifestyle

Demographics show that life in the state’s urban areas is not that different from life in the rest of the country. Nevadans may work in a world-famous hotel or a 5-star restaurant, but away from the glitter of the resorts, they go shopping, attend religious services and enjoy parks, golf courses and cultural events. Considering the vast distances between urban areas, the population density is much lower than in other states, and rural Nevadans enjoy a lifestyle all their own.

Read the entire report at Nevada Business Magazine: https://www.nevadabusiness.com/2021/09/how-nevada-stacks-up-2021/