Photo: Mike McBey · CC BY 2.0Unemployment in Las Vegas (7.4%) is higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Las Vegas is better than 45% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (A). About one in three work in Las Vegas itself; outside it, Paradise draws the most (24%, 12 miles). Commuters spend 26 minutes getting to work on average, against 25 across Nevada and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Las Vegas
Much of Las Vegas works one town over
48% of working residents work in a town that borders Las Vegas: Paradise (24%), North Las Vegas (9%) and Spring Valley (7%). Next door ↓
Most Las Vegas residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 5% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Las Vegas’ Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Las Vegas’ grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
The Nevada figures include the city itself, home to 21% of the state’s residents, so the city and state figures are partly the same people.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Las Vegas could be anywhere from C+ to B−.
How far it is to work from Las Vegas
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who commutes out of Las Vegas, and who commutes in
On a workday 179,473 residents head out to work, 92,011 work right here, and 173,099 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.98 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Las Vegas to work: where people go
Where Las Vegas clocks in
24% of workers
9% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Las Vegas
265,110 jobs are based in Las Vegas.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Las Vegas, 2013 → 2023: 216,697 → 265,110. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Las Vegas’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Las Vegas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Las Vegas workers work from home, vs 12% across Nevada. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 265,180 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Nevada: 80% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Las Vegas is easy on foot, hard by bus
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above the 4.6% across Nevada.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 301,748 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 73% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 27% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.9% of Las Vegas households have no vehicle (Nevada 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Las Vegas’ commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Among U.S. towns of 476,000 to 918,000, Las Vegas ranks 20th of 29 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hempstead NY | 795,734 | $141K | 5.9% | 5.2% | 28% | A |
| 2 | Seattle WA | 784,777 | $124K | 9.9% | 4.6% | 60% | A− |
| 3 | Brookhaven NY | 496,410 | $120K | 7.0% | 5.2% | 32% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Louisville KY | 795,222 | $70K | 14.3% | 5.2% | 29% | B− |
| 19 | Indianapolis IN | 910,638 | $66K | 15.8% | 5.1% | 61% | B− |
| 20 | Las Vegas NV | 679,817 | $74K | 14.0% | 7.4% | 34% | B− |
| 21 | Albuquerque NM | 556,588 | $68K | 15.5% | 5.4% | 72% | C+ |
| 22 | Miami FL | 489,812 | $62K | 19.4% | 5.2% | 34% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Detroit MI | 649,095 | $40K | 32.7% | 14.0% | 31% | C− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Las Vegas, the top three, the last and three more from Nevada.
48% of Las Vegas works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Las Vegas workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas | – | B− | A | 26 min | $73,877 |
| Winchester | 3% | C− | A+ | 26 min | $50,120 |
| Sunrise Manor | 3% | C | A | 28 min | $58,421 |
| North Las Vegas | 9% | B− | A− | 27 min | $79,542 |
| Spring Valley | 7% | B− | A− | 23 min | $74,511 |
| Summerlin South | 2% | A | B | 23 min | $117,035 |
| Paradise | 24% | C | A+ | 23 min | $59,190 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Paradise. Darker towns draw more of Las Vegas’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Las Vegas: questions
What is the median household income in Las Vegas?
$73,877 (±$1,306) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,260 across Nevada and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Las Vegas?
14.0%, against 12.4% across Nevada and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Las Vegas?
26 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Nevada and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Las Vegas work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Paradise (24%, 12 mi), North Las Vegas (9%, 10 mi), Spring Valley (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Las Vegas walkable?
Las Vegas is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Las Vegas without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 27% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Las Vegas, from the people who make the trip.
More of Las Vegas
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.