Columnist Scott Dickensheets: Pondering the vagaries of John Q. Vegas

Scott Dickensheets

Friday, Aug. 14, 1998 | 9:56 a.m.

HERE HE IS, the statistically typical Las Vegan. Recognize him? He's white, age 35-44. He's married but childless. He earns between $35,000 and $50,000; he might make more but while he attended college, he didn't get a degree. He lives in a single-family home, which he (most likely) owns. He is a Democrat. He has lived here less than five years, and was probably transferred here from the California office.

He is, of course, a figment of my demographic whimsy, a Frankensteinian stitchwork of numbers drawn from the Las Vegas Perspective, the state demographer and similar sources. I've collaged the dominant stats into vaguely human shape representing the typical local denizen. Why? To see if he looks like me, for one, the poor sap. Also because, given the spin cycle of Las Vegas growth -- a load comes in, a load goes out -- I wondered just who the typical Las Vegan might be.

I can tell you this about him -- he's not the gal he used to be. According to State Demographer Dean Judson, Las Vegas is 50.4 percent male. Just three years ago, the margin was 52.7 percent -- female (says the Perspective). She'd also lived here more than 20 years. A few years before that, the typical Vegan moved here not for a job but because she "liked the area."

The more things change, the more they change. Las Vegas grew by 6.8 percent last year, by 7.7 percent the year before. "Those rates of change are dramatic at least, and phenomenal at most," says Judson. In 1997, the city saw a 70,000 to 90,000-person net change, factoring in births, deaths and total migration. Demographic upheaval is to be expected.

Naturally, my statical Scotch-taping is fraught with inconsistencies; the numbers don't always square with each other. Example: Although the typical Las Vegan has lived here 1-5 years and owns his house, the majority of people who have lived here 1-5 years still rent.

"One has to remember that around every average is a lot of variation," Judson says.

And that variation means everything. What I learned from this little exercise is that I don't know any typical Las Vegans, least of all me (too many kids, too many years here, etc). Trying to find someone to fit the above parameters, I racked my brain for a friend, relative, neighbor, casual acquaintance or complete stranger I knew only by reputation -- no luck. I considered accosting people at the market or taking out an ad ("frazzled columnist seeks MWM ...") but neither seemed advisable. Or even promising. Being a figure of pure demographic conjecture, the typical Las Vegan exists in the flesh only by accident. Individuals are simply too varied, too miscellaneous to be divined by this sort of numerology: I am not an idealized demographic archetype, I'm a human being!

Not even typical Las Vegans measure up as typical Las Vegans. Jan Jones? Pro: Her mayoral salary ($47,830) is solidly within specifications. Con: Lots of family money; kids; college degree. Oh, and check the miniskirts -- she's female. Steve Wynn? Pro: Male. Con: Too old, too rich, and isn't he a Republican sympathizer? Siegfried & Roy? Pro: Er ... Con: The tigers count as children; immediate disqualification. Wayne Newton? Pro: Male. Con: As if!

Well, buck up, people, you may yet achieve typicality. Says Judson, "The typical Las Vegan of now will not be a typical Las Vegan in 2020."