Nevada tops in residents coming from other states

By Timothy Pratt

Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

A U.S. Census Bureau report out today includes statistics that support what many Nevadans had long suspected: Nevada led the nation in the rate of people moving in from other states between 1995 and 2000 -- and California was far and away the source of most of those people.

By 2000, Nevada had gained 152 people because of migration from other states for every 1,000 people who were living in the Silver State in 1995, the report said.

An estimated 199,000 people moved to Nevada from California during that same period. The second-largest contributor to Nevada's population was Arizona. About 23,000 people who were living in Arizona in 1995 were Nevada residents in 2000, according to the report.

The wave of Californians crossing the border may have been because of economic factors and a large number of senior citizens choosing Nevada as a place to retire, the report says.

Take Ted Rogenski, who with his wife was unpacking boxes fresh off a moving truck in Las Vegas Monday afternoon. Rogenski just moved from San Rafael, Calif., to a tony section of custom homes bordered by the Southern Highlands golf course.

The 62-year-old former financial services executive retired three years ago and chose Las Vegas for the value he said he could get on a custom-built home, with added security features he and his wife were lacking in California.

"Plus, I fell in love with the golf," he said.

Although Rogenski retired earlier than some, he was also in line with another trend shown by the Census Bureau -- Nevada ranked first in the nation in net migration of the older population, gaining 114 people 65 years and older for every 1,000 older people living in the state in 1995.

But whatever has driven the former executive and other Californians to Nevada, the transplants may have far-ranging impacts on the state, affecting everything from the economy to cultural and political trends, experts said.

On the economic end, many retirees and Californians move to Southern Nevada after selling their homes. They then purchase homes, affecting the local housing market, experts said.

The real estate industry is feeling the pinch with the rate of migration from other states, said Gayle Brown Fox, president of the Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

"With the numbers that are coming, we're having a hard time keeping with inventory. The less inventory you have, the more prices go up," she said.

Brown said home prices have gone up about 11 percent in the last year, compared with a rise in 3 percent to 5 percent per year only two or three years ago.

She also said having so many people coming from California means there are a lot more people paying with cash, after selling houses for $300,000 on up, which "buys nothing" in the neighboring state.

The influx of Californians also "might influence the local economy in terms of tastes," said Keith Schwer, director for the Center for Business and Economic Research.

Ex-Californians can be expected to seek out the types of merchandise and food they had grown accustomed to in their former home state, for example. Many California stores and restaurant chains like In-N-Out Burger have capitalized on that by expanding into Nevada in the last decade.

The only other state where In-N-Out has set up shop is Arizona, which received more than 180,000 Californians during the period measured.

"We're spreading California culture to other places," said Mary Orozco, an In-N-Out manager in Las Vegas.

She said she knows that's the case because the word is out in Las Vegas about the so-called "secret menu," items once known only to Southern Californians, special orders like the "animal style" burger, which features a hefty helping of grilled onions on the meat.

In addition to their fast food menus, Californians also may be bringing to Nevada a particular perspective on politics and government services, according to Michael Bowers, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Bowers said that the state Legislature's recent tug-of-war over taxes and the budget may be a harbinger of things to come, in part because of the growing number of constituents who bring attitudes formed in California.

After all, California's property tax revolt was the inspiration for Nevada's tax shift from largely property taxes to reliance on sales and gaming taxes, which prompted this year's tax crisis.

"One thing you can say is that (people arriving from California) would expect California-level services but with Nevada-level taxes," Bowers said.

"Then you get a certain crisis when people get upset because either they don't receive the services or they think their taxes are too high.

"To some extent, this helps explain the intense bickering and the personal attacks at the Legislature ... and this can only get worse if you have California transplants."

But apart from politics or the economy, another thing may be driving so many people east over the California-Nevada state line: The traffic.

"People here make a big deal about driving from one end of the valley to another," said Lance Eisner, a podiatrist who moved here from Sherman Oaks, Calif., a little over a year ago.

"But they don't even know what commuting is. I used to spend 2 1/2 hours a day on the highway," Eisner said.

Since Eisner moved to Nevada, he spends less than half as much time in the car, and that, he said, is "the cherry on top."

He didn't say what the right dessert is to follow an "animal style" burger from In-N-Out, however.