Growth in nearby Arizona resembles that of Las Vegas

Tuesday, April 3, 2001 | 11:09 a.m.

The fastest-growing county in Arizona has a lot in common with the fastest-growing county in Nevada.

The thing that binds them together: They're neighbors.

Arizona's Mohave County -- just across the Colorado River from Clark County -- is the fastest growing in that state. The population grew from 93,500 in 1990 to just over 155,000 last year, a growth rate of 66 percent, the 2000 Census shows.

Most of the growth was in the west part of the county, closest to the river and Nevada, Carl Easley, Mohave County planning manager, said.

Bullhead City, a bedroom community that provides workers to the casinos in Laughlin, was one of the fastest-growing communities in the state. The population grew by 53 percent, to about 34,000.

"Our economic engine certainly is Laughlin," Robert Riley, Bullhead City's economic development director, said.

Within 10 miles of the city, the population totals more than 59,000, Toby Cotter, Bullhead City spokesman, said.

Laughlin, in contrast, has about 7,000 residents. But Riley said casino building and expansion in Laughlin has a big impact on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, since many of the workers live there.

The numbers in Arizona echo similar census results from Utah. Washington County, Utah, the county closest to Las Vegas, had an 86 percent growth rate, to a total of 90,354.

The towns in Washington County, including St. George, and the towns in Mohave County, Ariz., including Bullhead City and Kingman, are all 90 minutes to two hours from Las Vegas.

Susie Parel-Duranceau, Mohave County's community development director, said her county is in some respects a suburb of the more urbanized neighbor in Nevada.

"I know a lot of people who use Las Vegas for their shopping and recreation, but they live in Mohave County," she said. Kingman residents are about two hours away from Las Vegas.

The areas are connected by more than geography, said Parel-Duranceau, whose department provides social services and housing assistance. The rates for accepting people into housing programs are based on income levels in Clark County, not more rural counties in Arizona.

"The fact that they are adjacent communities -- there is an interrelationship," she said. "We kind of depend on each other. The economies of both areas are co-dependent."

"There is certainly a close relationship between Clark County and Mohave County," agreed Thomas Duranceau, her husband and planning director for Kingman, the county seat.

Some of the same factors are driving growth throughout the region, he said. An exodus of people from California and from the snowbelt is helping fuel the population boom, Duranceau said.

He said there are a few differences between the Arizona counties and Nevada.

"We don't have the casino dynamic here," Duranceau said. "They're close by, but we don't have to live with them."

Kingman grew from 13,200 in the 1990 census to about 20,100 last year, he said.

Duranceau and other planners in the region said their communities have been able to keep up with the pace of growth, although as in Clark County it is sometimes a tough race.

Ultimately, said the county's Easley, environmental pressures -- principally the amount of water that is available for new housing and commercial developments -- will restrict growth.

"Water is a continuing problem," Easley said.

Still, he expects growth will continue, although the dramatic percentage increases are likely to drop as the base gets larger.

"The number of new people coming in may be about the same," he said. "We may get another 25,000 or 30,000, but the percentage will be less dramatic."