Cashing Out: 4 in 10 Las Vegas Residents Want to Move

According to a study conducted by a UNLV sociologist, 40 percent of Las Vegas residents want to leave Nevada entirely. An article about this survey by The Las Vegas Sun points to the fact that only 8 percent of residents are natives as one reason why people there are more inclined to move. They also point out that Las Vegas’s job market has dried up. I believe both of these are probably the correct reasons for the urge to leave. I’m just shocked at how poorly Las Vegas has converted newcomers into life-long residents.

The study also revealed a trove of crazy facts and statistics:

• More than 80 percent of mortgages in the Las Vegas area are underwater, meaning residents owe the bank more than their house is worth. This, combined with residents’ desire to leave, could mean that people will start abandoning their homes.
• People living in the urban core were more attached to their neighborhoods than those living in suburban locations. This is a nice affirmation for urbanists.
• Residents felt that neighborhoods with parks were more stable and tight-knit. People who lived near parks raved about them. The Las Vegas Sun article mentions that the city did not do a good enough job of requiring developers to pay for parks as they built new developments.

This survey has the shock value and solid information to stir people into action. The statistic about moving should shame civic leaders into thinking about how to make Las Vegas more attractive to people in the long run. Luckily, the survey has great suggestions for doing just that — expanding the urban core and creating more parks and open spaces for residents.

Photo by Geoff Livingston on Flickr.