Las Vegas Demographics
Las Vegas is the largest city of Nevada and the 28th largest city in the United States with a population of 558,383 as of July 1, 2008. With a land area of 339.8 km², this corresponds to a population density of 1643 inhabitants per km². The annual population growth is 2.0% (average 2000–2008). The urban area of Las Vegas has 1.31 million inhabitants, the metropolitan area 1.87 million.
Population development
Las Vegas was founded as a railroad city in 1905 and has seen very strong population growth since then. In the 1940s the number of inhabitants exceeded the 10,000 mark, and 20 years later the city already had 100,000 inhabitants. Even if growth has slowed slightly in the last few decades, Las Vegas is still one of the fastest growing cities in the United States . In the period 1990–2008, the number of inhabitants more than doubled. Due to the densely populated urban area, growth is increasingly shifting to the suburbs of the metropolitan region, which have now reached the mountains.
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Sources: 1900–1990, 2008; |
Population groups and origins
As a young city even by American standards, Las Vegas is strongly influenced by immigration . Even today, 78% of residents were born outside of Nevada . Immigration from abroad (mainly from Mexico ) has even increased significantly in recent decades - while only one in ten residents was born abroad in 1990, it is currently almost one in four. The proportion of foreigners increased from 6% to 15% in the same period.
Half of the population are non-Hispanic whites, with their proportion falling significantly. It is estimated that in 2009 Las Vegas will become a so-called majority-minority city . This means that non-Hispanic whites, who make up a nearly two-thirds majority nationwide, make up less than half of the city's population. The most common European groups of origin are Germans (12%), Irish (9%), English (8%) and Italians (7%). Hispanics are the second largest and fastest growing population, at 30%, and their number has increased thirteen-fold since 1980. Most of them are Mexicans , who represent the largest group of origin with a share of 24%. Blacks and Afro-Americans make up 10% and Asians a good 5% of the population (mostly Filipinos ).
2,755 or 0.5% of the population of Las Vegas are Native Americans (excluding Hispanics and mixed race). The most common Indian tribal affiliations are Cherokee with 1075 people (including mixed race; pure Cherokee: 298), Diné (Navajo) 366 (282), Apaches 278 (133), Sioux 258 (116), Choctaw 195 (64), Blackfeet 170 ( 48), Paiute 153 (118), Anishinabe (Chippewa) 138 (75) and Iroquois 118 (45). According to ACS 2006-2008, Navajo is the only indigenous American language spoken by 130 people in Las Vegas .
The tables below provide detailed information on the population of Las Vegas. All figures are based on surveys conducted by the United States Census Bureau .
The following table shows the races of Las Vegas, with the non- Hispanic race further broken down by skin color:
| Population groups by ethnicity |
ACS 2006-2008 |
Census 2000 | Census 1990 | 1980 census |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| white | 50.8% | 58.0% | 72.1% | 76.5% |
| Hispanics or Latinos | 30.0% | 23.6% | 12.5% | 7.8% |
| Black or African American | 10.1% | 10.1% | 11.1% | N / A |
| Asians | 5.4% | 4.7% | 3.4% 1) | N / A |
| two or more races | 2.6% | 2.5% | N / A | N / A |
| American Indians and Native Americans | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.8% | N / A |
| Pacific islanders | 0.4% | 0.4% | N / A | N / A |
| other races | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 15.7% |
| Population groups by race |
ACS 2006-2008 |
Census 2000 | Census 1990 | 1980 census | 1970 Census | 1960 census | 1950 census | 1940 census | 1930 census |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| white | 70.8% | 69.9% | 78.4% | 81.6% | 87.4% | 84.2% | 88.3% | 97.3% | N / A |
| Black or African American | 10.3% | 10.4% | 11.4% | 12.8% | 11.2% | 15.0% | 11.1% | 2.0% | 2.8% |
| Asians | 5.5% | 4.8% | 3.4% | 2.0% 1) | 0.7% 1) | 0.5% 1) | 0.3% 1) | N / A | N / A |
| two or more races | 3.6% | 4.1% | N / A | N / A | N / A | N / A | N / A | N / A | N / A |
| American Indians and Native Americans | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | N / A | N / A |
| Pacific islanders | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.2% | N / A | N / A | N / A | N / A | N / A | N / A |
| other races | 8.8% | 9.7% | 5.7% | 3.0% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 97.2% |
1) including Pacific Islanders; Source: 1930–1980
| origin | ACS 2006-2008 |
Census 2000 | Census 1990 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexican | 23.8% | 17.9% | 8.3% |
| German 1) | 11.9% | 12.2% | 21.2% |
| British | 11.4% | 12.2% | 20.3% |
| - English | 7.8% | 8.4% | 15.0% |
| - Scots | 1.7% | 1.7% | 2.3% |
| - Scotch-Irish | 1.0% | 1.2% | 2.0% |
| Irish 2) | 9.0% | 9.7% | 15.7% |
| Italian | 6.9% | 6.7% | 7.5% |
| Filipinos | 2.7% | 2.3% | 1.3% |
| Americans 3) | 2.6% | 4.5% | 3.2% |
| Poland | 2.5% | 2.5% | 3.2% |
| French 4) | 2.5% | 2.8% | 4.9% |
| Sub-Saharan Africans | 1.6% | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Salvadorans | 1.5% | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| Norwegian | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Russians | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.1% |
| Sweden | 1.2% | 1.4% | 2.4% |
| Dutch | 1.0% | 1.4% | 2.2% |
| Danes | 0.5% | 0.8% | 1.3% |
| other origin | 34.5% | 26.4% | 29.4% |
| Origin not stated | 5.9% | 16.5% | 8.2% |
Total amount well over 100%, as double answers are possible; 1) excluding Austrians , Swiss , Pennsylvania Dutch and Russian Germans ; 2) including people who state " Northern Irish " as their origin ; excluding people specifying "Scotch-Irish"; 3) Individuals who state "American" or "United States" as their origin; 4) excluding Basques and Alsatians
| Inhabitants by place of birth | ACS 2006-2008 |
Census 2000 | Census 1990 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 75.8% | 79.6% | 88.4% |
| Nevada | 22.3% | 19.7% | 21.1% |
| other state | 53.4% | 60.0% | 67.3% |
| - west | 24.1% | 24.2% | 23.7% |
| - Middle West | 12.3% | 14.9% | 18.5% |
| - Northeast | 8.7% | 10.3% | 10.8% |
| - south | 8.4% | 10.6% | 14.3% |
| U.S. outer territories | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| abroad by american. parents | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| Abroad 1) | 22.8% | 18.9% | 10.3% |
| Central and South America | 15.4% | 12.6% | k. A. |
| - Mexico | 12.1% | 10.0% | k. A. |
| - El Salvador | 1.1% | 0.7% | k. A. |
| Asia | 4.7% | 3.6% | k. A. |
| - Philippines | 2.1% | 1.7% | k. A. |
| Europe | 1.9% | 1.9% | k. A. |
1) Excluding people born abroad or on the high seas to American parents
| Residents by citizenship |
ACS 2006-2008 |
Census 2000 | Census 1990 |
|---|---|---|---|
| American | 84.7% | 87.5% | 93.6% |
| Native Americans | 77.2% | 81.1% | 89.7% |
| Naturalized Americans | 7.5% | 6.5% | 3.9% |
| Foreigners | 15.3% | 12.5% | 6.4% |
languages
English is the primary language for two-thirds of Las Vegas residents. Due to the immigration of Latin Americans, the proportion of Spanish has increased significantly in recent years, so that it is now used at home by a quarter of the population. The other languages together make up 8%. Overall, 16% of respondents say they don't speak English very well.
| First languages | ACS 2006-2008 |
Census 2000 | Census 1990 |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 67.0% | 73.2% | 84.8% |
| Spanish 1) | 25.1% | 19.8% | 9.6% |
| Tagalog | 2.0% | 1.7% | 0.9% |
| Chinese | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| German | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Arabic | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| French 2) | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.4% 3) |
| Korean | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Italian | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Persian | 0.3% | 0.1% | k. A. |
| Japanese | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| other language (s | 2.8% | 2.5% | 2.2% |
| English (first and second language) | 83.8% | 86.4% | 92.8% |
1) including Spanish Creole ; 2) including patois and cajun ; 3) including French Creole
Economic situation of the population
The per capita income of Las Vegas is $ 27,988, slightly above the American average ($ 27,466). Prosperity is very unevenly distributed among the various population groups. On average, whites are the richest group. Asians are also relatively wealthy, whereas blacks tend to have below-average incomes. The poorest groups are Hispanics and mixed race. By origin, the English are the wealthiest and the Mexicans are the poorest, with the former having an average income of three times that of the latter. The unemployment rate is 6.6% similar to that in the United States as a whole (6.4%). The lowest unemployment is found among the British (4.6%) and Asians (4.9%), the highest among blacks (10.6%). The unemployment rate is also heavily dependent on age. Younger workers are much more likely to be unemployed (16–19 years: 18.5%) than older people (75 years and older: 3.3%).
| ACS 2006-2008 | Income / inh. in USD |
Income / inh. ∅ = 100 1) |
unemployment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whites (with hispanics) | $ 31,316 | 111.9 | 6.2% |
| Whites (excluding hispanics) | $ 37,329 | 133.4 | 6.1% |
| German | $ 37,458 | 133.8 | 5.7% |
| Irish | $ 34,384 | 122.9 | 5.7% |
| English people | $ 42,021 | 150.1 | 4.6% |
| Italian | $ 32,493 | 116.1 | 7.5% |
| Hispanics | $ 15,739 | 56.2 | 6.3% |
| Mexican | $ 14,364 | 51.3 | 6.4% |
| Black or African American | $ 19,086 | 68.2 | 10.6% |
| Asians | $ 30,336 | 108.4 | 4.9% |
| other race | $ 15,524 | 55.5 | 5.8% |
| different races | $ 15,037 | 53.4 | 8.9% |
| Total population | $ 27,988 | 100.0 | 6.6% |
1) Average of the total population = 100
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b U.S. Census Bureau: Population Finder (accessed November 21, 2009)
- ^ Moffatt, Riley. Population History of Western US Cities & Towns, 1850-1990 . Lanham: Scarecrow, 1996, 159.
- ↑ a b c d e f g The American Community Survey ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. is a representative three-year study by the US Census Bureau with random surveys of the population.
- ↑ Historical Census Statistics On Population Totals (accessed November 19, 2009)
