US and Nevada Flags on Our Flagpole

Nevada – The Silver State

Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip

The economy of Nevada has long been tied to vice industries. “[Nevada was] founded on mining and refounded on sin—beginning with prizefighting and easy divorce a century ago and later extending to gaming and prostitution”, said the August 21, 2010 issue of The Economist.

Mining:

In portions of the state outside of the Las Vegas and Reno metropolitan areas mining plays a major economic role. By value, gold is by far the most important mineral mined. In 2004, 6,800,000 ounces of gold worth $2.84 billion were mined in Nevada, and the state accounted for 8.7% of world gold production.

Gold Mine in Nevada
Gold Mine in Nevada

Silver is a distant second, with 10,300,000 ounces worth $69 million mined in 2004.  Other minerals mined in Nevada include construction aggregates, copper, gypsum, diatomite and lithium.  Despite its rich deposits, the cost of mining in Nevada is generally high, and output is very sensitive to world commodity prices.

Cattle Ranching:

Cattle ranching is a major economic activity in rural Nevada.  Nevada’s agricultural outputs are cattle, hay, alfalfa, dairy products, onions, and potatoes.  As of January 1, 2006, there were an estimated 500,000 head of cattle and 70,000 head of sheep in Nevada.

Nevada Cattle
Nevada Cattle

Most of these animals forage on rangeland in the summer, with supplemental feed in the winter.  Calves are generally shipped to out-of-state feedlots in the fall to be fattened for market.  Over 90% of Nevada’s 484,000 acres of cropland is used to grow hay, mostly alfalfa, for livestock feed.

Largest Employers:

The 10 largest employers in the state, as of the first fiscal quarter of 2011, are the following, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation:

Transportation:

Railroad:

Amtrak’s California Zephyr train uses the Union Pacific‘s original transcontinental railroad line in daily service from Chicago to Emeryville, California, serving Elko, Winnemucca, and Reno.  Las Vegas has had no passenger train service since Amtrak’s Desert Wind was discontinued in 1997.

Road:

Interstate 15 passes through the southern tip of the state, serving Las Vegas and other communities.  Interstate 80 crosses through the northern part of Nevada, roughly following the path of the Humboldt River from Utah in the east and the Truckee River westward through Reno into California.

Transportation Map of Nevada
Transportation Map of Nevada

Mass Transit:

RTC Transit is the public transit system in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.  The agency is the largest transit agency in the state and operates a network of bus service across the Las Vegas Valley, including the use of The Deuce, double-decker buses, on the Las Vegas Strip and several outlying routes.  RTC RIDE operates a system of local transit bus service throughout the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area.  Other transit systems in the state include Carson City’s JAC.  Most other counties in the state do not have public transportation at all.

Scroll to Top