Nevada population continues to grow, but at a slower pace

By Cy Ryan

Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 | 12:09 p.m.

CARSON CITY — Nevada’s population is expected to continue growing over the next 20 years but not as fast as previously predicted.

Jeff Hardcastle, the state demographer, released projections today that the population would increase by 425,000 new residents from 2015 to 2035. The population now is 2,897,584.

Hardcastle projects growth in the urban areas but the loss of population in some rural counties by 2035.

His projection in 2014 was for an increase of 528,107 people between 2013 and 2033.

Clark County, with an estimated population of 2,118,353, is forecast to have an additional 319,501 people by 2035. Washoe County, the second largest county in the state, has 441,946 residents and it is predicted to grow by 83,926.

The projections are used in preparing the state’s budget and for other planning purposes. If the forecast holds true, it will mean more representatives from Clark County in the Nevada Legislature and less influence for rural counties.

Hardcastle predicts Carson City, Churchill, Douglas and Lyon counties will see a collective increase of 25,670 people by 2035.

But the forecast is for a decreased population of 510 residents in the combined counties of Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander and Pershing counties. The forecast sees a total population decline of 2,725 in Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye and White Pine counties.