Las Vegas and Paradise
Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. Metropolitan Area
Story by Janice Chamberlain -- Home Accents Today, 7/1/2006
Renowned for its gambling and big-name entertainers, the city has been nicknamed "Sin City" by pundits and plays on that with its slogan, "What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas." More than gambling has made the area a draw for vacationers and full-time residents alike.
The Las Vegas-Paradise metro area is in the midst of a population boom. According to New York-based Easy Analytic Software Inc. (EASI), this larger-than-life community ranked fifth out of 934 metro areas in the U.S. for population growth from 2000 to 2005. From 2005 to 2010, Las Vegas moves up to fourth place for percentage change in population, with EASI-projected growth of 18%, compared with national growth estimated to be 4.9% over the same period.
Marching in parallel with population growth is a surge in young people in their prime spending years. EASI statisticians rank Las Vegas in the top three percent of metro areas for residents aged 25 to 34, with projected growth of 16.8% from 2005 to 2010. That compares with an estimated rate of 2.6% nationwide.
In 2005, the median age of Las Vegas residents was 34.4; that number is expected to inch up to 34.9 by 2010, as the average household size slips to 2.5 from 2.6.
Household formation is also on the rise, and is expected to jump more than 20% from 2005 to 2010, on top of a 23% increase from 2000 to 2005. The change in households in the first five years of this decade placed Las Vegas 13th among the more than 900 metro areas and EASI-projected growth for the last five years will place it fifth.
Las Vegas places in the top 10% of metro areas for its concentrations of Asian and Hispanic households.
With one exception, dollars spent on home accessories categories are projected to rise by at least 40%. Spending on wall decor comes in at a projected increase of just 36%. Projected spending on area rugs in Las Vegas ranks it in the top 20% of U.S. metro areas, while spending on lamps puts the city in the top 25%.
And Las Vegas residents will have the money to spend, according to EASI statisticians. The area ranks in the top 20% of metro areas with household incomes of at least $100,000.
Despite significant projected income growth over the next five years, EASI expects median rent and median value of owner households to inch up a bare 1% in Las Vegas, measured against countrywide growth of 2% in both categories.
| 2005 | 2010 | Change | |
| total population | 1.7 million | 2.0 million | 18% |
| median age | 34.4 | 34.9 | |
| household size | 2.6 | 2.5 |
| 2005 | 2010 | |
| median | $47,459 | $60,968 |
| under $25,000 | 23% | 17% |
| $25,000 to $34,999 | 12% | 10% |
| $35,000 to $49,999 | 17% | 15% |
| $50,000 to $74,999 | 21% | 21% |
| $75,000 or more | 26% | 38% |
| 2005 | 2010 | |
| Black | 9.2% | 9.9% |
| Asian | 5.5% | 6.3% |
| Other | 11.3% | 13.0% |
| Hispanic | 17.2% | 19.6% |
| White non-Hispanic | 66.0% | 63.3% |
| 2005 | 2010 | CHANGE | |
| area rugs | $32.8 | $49.8 | 52% |
| lamps | $41.3 | $58.4 | 41% |
| wall decor | $6.1 | $8.2 | 36% |
| decorative pillows, throws | $32.4 | $46.5 | 43% |
| bedroom linens | $39.0 | $57.7 | 48% |
| bathroom linens | $15.2 | $22.5 | 48% |
| kitchen & dining room linens | $5.4 | $7.6 | 40% |
| clocks | $2.7 | $4.0 | 45% |
| china & other dinnerware | $5.1 | $7.5 | 48% |
| flatware | $2.9 | $4.4 | 54% |
| glassware | $6.7 | $10.1 | 50% |
| silver serving pieces | $4.7 | $6.7 | 44% |
| other serving pieces | $1.0 | $1.6 | 57% |
