Commuters from out of county increase

Thursday, March 6, 2003 | 11:19 a.m.

The number of people from two neighboring counties who commuted to jobs in Clark County in 2000 was more than double the total recorded in 1990, according to census data released today.

The increase parallels Clark County's population growth, which also nearly doubled.

While hundreds of thousands more drivers from within have clogged roads and increased the need for expanded highways in the past decade, they were joined by an additional 7,102 people who live in Nye County and in Mohave County, Ariz., where land is generally cheaper than in Clark County.

The number of people who commute from Nye County, mainly from Pahrump, was 2,551 in 2000, a 295 percent increase compared with the 1990 tally, according to the Census. The number of commuters from Mohave County rose from 6,444 in 1990 to 11,641 in 2000. Most of that was residents of Bullhead City who drive across the Colorado River to jobs in Laughlin, officials said.

Traffic officials say they are meeting the needs of the bedroom commuters to Las Vegas widening U.S. 95 to Laughlin and State Route 160 to Pahrump.

As of 2000, 1,501 Clark County residents traveled to Mohave County to work while 1,287 Clark County residents made the daily trek to Nye County, the census says.

The census also shows instances in which commuter traffic to Clark County has decreased. For example, there were 871 Maricopa County, Ariz., commuters to Clark County in 1990 compared with 536 in 2000, the census says.