Fun Facts

"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"

• The city of Las Vegas celebrated its 100th birthday on May 15, 2005.

• The first hotel and casino to open in Las Vegas was the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino in 1906.

• The famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign was created in 1959 by Betty Willis.

• The famous Las Vegas strip is for the most part, not within the city limits of Las Vegas. The majority of the strip is located within Clark County.

• A marriage license costs $60 in Nevada. Many couples choose to marry in Nevada because there is no blood test or waiting period.

Sources: Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, Clark County School District, Clark County Clerk

Chapter 4


Economic Characteristics
Estimate
Percent
U.S.
Margin of Error

In labor force (population 16 years and over)
284,146
66.8
65.2%
+/-4,071

Mean travel time to work in minutes (workers 16 years and over)
25.7
(X)
25.3
+/-0.4

Median household income (in 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars)
55,113
(X)
52,175
+/-1,178

Median family income (in 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars)
63,589
(X)
63,211
+/-1,477

Per capita income (in 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars)
27,988
(X)
27,466
+/-661

Families below poverty level
(X)
8.7
9.6%
(X)

Individuals below poverty level
(X)
11.7
13.2%
(X)





The Las Vegas metropolitan area, is a metropolitan area  in the southern part of the U.S. state ofNevada, consisting of Clark County. A central part of the metropolitan area is the Las Vegas Valley, a 600 square miles basin in which is located the metropolitan area's largest city, Las Vegas. The area contains the largest consentration of people in the state. The area was previously settled by Mormon farmers in 1854 and later became the site of a United States Army fort in 1864, beginning a long relationship between southern Nevada and the U.S. military. Since the 1930s, Las Vegas has generally been identified as a gaming center as well as a resort destination, primarily targeting adults. Relatively inexpensive real estate prompted a residential population boom in the Las Vegas Valley in the 1990s and is still expanding in every direction.




Map of Nevada with the Las Vegas metropolitan area highlighted in red.


Sources: 
U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 Population Estimates, Census 2000, 1990 Census
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas_metropolitan_area