Average age is creeping up

Friday, May 18, 2001 | 10:56 a.m.

Nevada's population aged at a slightly slower rate since 1990 than the national average, but the differences between Clark County and some rural areas were more dramatic.

The median age in Nevada reached 35 last year, about four months younger than the national average, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics released today. By contrast, in 1990 Nevadans averaged 33.3 years of age, about four months older than the average American.

In Clark County the median age edged upward from 33.1 to 34.4. The story was far different in rural Nevada, where several lightly populated counties aged, on average, by five to 10 years. The most dramatic increase was in Esmerelda County, where the median age skyrocketed from 35.8 to 45.1.

"It should cause some concern and needs to be looked into more," state demographer Jeff Hardcastle said. "It's the job growth in Las Vegas and the job losses in the rurals, led by the loss of mining jobs. It tells the story of job losses that cause young people to leave the rural communities."

The latest demographic numbers also revealed that Nevada remained a male-dominated state last year by a margin of 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent female, the same percentage distribution as in 1990. That was a reversal of the national average for 2000, which was 50.9 percent female and 49.1 percent male.

The fact that Nevada continues to have more men than women came as a surprise to Keith Schwer, director of UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research.

"Nevada was among a small number of states in 1990 where the men outnumbered the women," Schwer said. "I thought that with all the influx we had by 2000 that we would be close to the national percentage."

Schwer said the male-dominated construction industry, one of the state's largest employers, was a likely reason.

Stephen Bottfeld, executive vice president of the Las Vegas consumer-research company Marketing Solutions, agreed. Still, he said "the corporate structure in the state is still heavily dominated by males." He also said companies that have moved to Nevada brought with them more male than female employees.

"Males tend to be more mobile," Bottfeld said.

There was little difference in Nevada's age distribution by percentage from 1990 to 2000.

Nevadans 65 and older represented 11 percent of the state population last year, but that was only four-tenths of a percent higher than in 1990. Adults 21 and older constituted 71.3 percent of the state's population in 1990 and 70.6 percent in 2000.

The more telling differences were in the raw numbers. With Nevada's population climbing by 796,424 over the past 10 years, the largest gains were made by ages 45 to 54 (133,050) and 35 to 44 (129,696). Although residents 65 and older increased by 91,298, the number of those younger than 18 rose by 214,851.

Schwer said the fact that Nevada's population has aged slightly slower than the national average was statistically insignificant. But Bottfeld said the state's nation-leading job growth has attracted an influx of young people.

"Most people coming here are younger because they're coming for work," Bottfeld said. "It's also less expensive to live here, and there's more to do here than elsewhere."