Nevada's Sunny Census Numbers Belie Gloom

Figures show incredible growth ... but lately, not so much
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 23, 2010 10:40 AM CST
Nevada's Sunny Census Numbers Belie Gloom
The economic crisis has caused Nevada's foreclosure rate to soar to the highest in the nation.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, file)

New Census figures tell the tale of Nevada's explosive growth, but the truer, more recent story is one of bust, reports the New York Times. Nevada's population soared 35% to 2.7 million from 2 million between 2000 and 2010, putting it in the No. 1 slot in terms of states' growth. But the economic crisis hit the state extra-hard in 2007, and today unemployment is 14.3%, the worst in the nation.

Nevada also tops the country in terms of foreclosure rates, with entire housing complexes abandoned mid-construction. And with the downturn, about 90,000 people have left the state since 2008. "People come for the good jobs and the good life, and if that’s no longer here, they are gone," says a political science professor at the University of Nevada. "People are just moving out." However, there is one positive for Nevada amongst all this upheaval—its rising population means the state nabs an additional Congressional seat. (More Nevada stories.)

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