Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is the most populous county in Nevada (2005 population estimate 1,710,551), and contains the city of Las Vegas. Las Vegas has been the county seat since the county was created by splitting off a portion of Lincoln County on February 5, 1908. Much of the county was originally part of Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory before Nevada became a state.

Most people do not make a distinction between the County and the City of Las Vegas using Las Vegas to describe both, especially in the Las Vegas Valley area.

Clark County is a major tourist destination having 150,000 hotel and motel rooms as of 2005.This excitement is surely a factor in the nation-leading growth of Clark County’s booming population of 1.8 million. Another factor is the high quality of life afforded by its low tax rate, wonderful business climate, great weather, friendly people and smorgasbord of recreational venues.

Those venues stretch beyond the Strip to include the gambling destinations of Mesquite, Primm and Laughlin, located on the fun-filled Colorado River. But they also feature Lake Mead National Recreation Area and engineering marvel Hoover Dam, Mt. Charleston and the Toiyabe National Forest, Red Rock Canyon, the Valley of Fire and parks, museums and recreational and cultural attractions.

Clark County is a wonderfully diverse place, and Clark County government is organized and positioned to meet those myriad needs. First, it provides urban services. In fact, more people live in urban Clark County than in any of Southern Nevada’s cities, including the city of Las Vegas. Geographically, this area of the unincorporated county includes the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and takes in McCarran International Airport, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and, of course, the neighborhoods where our residents live, work and play.

Second, it provides regional services for more than 1.8 million residents and 38.2 million tourists a year (2005) and occupies an area (8,012 square miles) larger than New Jersey. Clark County government takes a leadership role in protecting the quality of our air through its Air Quality and Environmental Management Department and water through the Las Vegas Valley Water District, whose board is comprised of the seven members of the Clark County Commission. The county also operates McCarran and other airports, Southern Nevada’s only public hospital (University Medical Center), social services, community planning and the court system. Further, the county plays a key role in promoting tourism, transportation, public health and flood control.

Third, it provides town services for unincorporated townships such as the gambling destination of Laughlin and for rural treasures such as Overton (home of the Lost City Museum), Goodsprings, Jean and Searchlight.

Highlights about our county:
Clark County is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, with more than 5,000 people moving here each month. Three of five of them move into unincorporated Clark County, often because of economic opportunities. The county has about 38,930 licensed businesses.
Tourism’s economic impact in 2003 was $32.8 billion, including $7.8 billion spent on gambling. In 2003, there were 130,482 hotel and motel rooms in Clark County. The average visitor to Las Vegas is 50.1 years old, stays 3.4 nights at an average nightly room rate of $83, spend $84 per visit shopping, arrives by plane (44 percent come by air, 43 percent visit by car), has in his party 2.6 people and gambles away $480 for an average 3.7 hours per day. Nine percent of our tourists visit from other nations, 32 percent come from Southern California and 59 percent are from the Western United States.
As a “city” government, Clark County responds to the needs of about 781,871 residents in the urban unincorporated area. Sahara Avenue, which crosses the Strip on the north side of the Sahara hotel-casino, is the municipal boundary for the city of Las Vegas. Those residing south of this line receive their traditional urban services from Clark County rather than from any of the county’s five cities: Las Vegas (pop. 575,973), Henderson (pop. 243,730), North Las Vegas (182,159), Boulder City (pop. 15,367) and Mesquite (pop. 16,600). The services provided there include all those functions normally associated with a city, such as public works, building inspections, fire protection, parks and recreation, etc.
Clark County is governed by a seven-member County Commission, elected from geographic districts on a partisan basis for staggered four-year terms. Commissioners biennially elect a chairperson who serves as the commission’s presiding officer. The commission in turn hires a county manager, who is responsible for administrative operations. The chairman is Rory Reid (seated in January 2003). The vice chair is Myrna Williams (January 1995). The other commissioners are Tom Collins (January 2005), Yvonne Atkinson Gates (January 1993), Chip Maxfield (January 2001), Lynette Boggs McDonald (April 2004), and Bruce Woodbury (1981). Thom Reilly has been county manager since August 2001.
Clark County, as of August 26, 2004, employs 10,330 people (7,266 when UMC is excluded) in 38 departments. It has a fiscal year general fund budget of $1.2 billion and a total budget of $5 billion. The county is known for its strong ending-fund balance, overall financial strength and an investment-quality credit rating. It retains the best bond ratings of any local government in the state with an “Aa2″ from Moody’s Investors Service and an “AA” from Standard and Poor’s. The county has committed to policies supporting these high standards in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
Clark County is the most populous of Nevada’s 17 counties with 1.7 million residents and 70 percent of the state’s population. Our demographic makeup:
Some 58.9 percent are white; 24.2 percent are Hispanic; 9.1 percent are African American; 6.9 percent are Asian and 4.9 percent are “other.” Hispanics made up 11.2 percent in 1990.
Our median age: 48.4 years. 19 percent are over 65; 18.2 percent are 55-64; 20.6 percent are 45-54; 17.2 percent are 35-44; 15.3 percent are 25-34; and 9.7 percent are 18-24. Some 53.4 percent of our residents are female.
Our median household income: $44,307. Per-capita income is $28,922. 10.4 percent earn at least $100,000 annually; 11.2 percent earn $75,000 to $99,999; 21.0 percent earn $50,000 to $74,999; 19.5 percent earn $35,000 to $49,999; 13.8 percent earn $25,000 to $34,999; 8.7 percent earn $20,000 to $24,999; 5.0 percent earn $15,000 to $19,999; and 10.4 percent earn less than $15,000.
Tourism drives the state’s economy. Clark County’s civilian labor market in 2004 includes 846,100 employees. Some 19.5 percent of the jobs (165,000) are in hotels and gaming; 11.3 percent (96,000) are in retail trade; 11 percent (93,300) are in government; 10.2 percent are in construction (86,000) and 30.5 percent (298,600) are in “other services.” The March 2004 unemployment rate was 4.4 percent.
More than one-third of our residents have a college degree. The breakdown: 17.2 percent have at least a college degree; an additional 4.9 percent have taken graduate-level courses; and 10.5 percent also have a graduate degree. Additionally, 35.4 percent also have taken some college courses; 22.9 percent have earned no more than a high school diploma and 9.1 percent have taken high school classes without graduating.
Clark County, formed in 1909, is named for William Andrews Clark (1839-1925), who established the railroad that linked Los Angeles with Salt Lake City. Las Vegas was founded in 1905 after Clark’s railroad, which made stops here, purchased land for a town site and sold lots by auction, creating downtown Las Vegas