Clark County at No. 6 on list of economically stressed counties

Staff and wire reports

Monday, Dec. 13, 2010 | 10:38 a.m.

A monthly analysis by The Associated Press found that economic stress levels in Nevada fell in October because of lower unemployment and bankruptcy rates, but the state is still the most economically stressed in the country by wide margin.

Three Nevada counties are among the nation's most stressed, with Clark County coming in at No. 6, according to the AP analysis.

The AP's index calculates a score from 1 to 100 based on unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates. A higher score signals more economic stress. Under a rough rule of thumb, a county is considered stressed when its score exceeds 11.

The average county's score in October was 9.9, down from 10 in September.

Among the 3,141 counties with at least 25,000 residents, Imperial County, Calif., was again the most stressed in October; its score was 33.26. Next were Yuma County, Ariz. (28.72), Lyon County, Nev. (26.32), Nye County, Nev. (25.19) and Yuba County, Calif. (23.3) and Clark County (23.23).

The AP Stress Index goes back to October 2007, two months before the recession began. Over that time, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, California and Idaho have suffered the largest increases in stress. North Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont, South Dakota and Alaska have seen the smallest increases in hardship.

The counties with the largest increases in stress over the past three years are Lyon, Nye County and Clark counties in Nevada.

After Nevada, the most-stressed states were Florida, California, Michigan and Arizona. Once again, North Dakota was best. It was followed by South Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont and New Hampshire.