Nextiva
Loves Las Vegas
John C. Fremont settled the area that is now Las Vegas in 1844, and the city was officially founded in 1905 and incorporated in 1911. The city began to grow in 1931 when gambling was legalized and the first casinos were constructed. The Nellis Air Force Base was also founded in 1941 which helped boost economy throughout World War II. Las Vegas served as an atomic testing site in the 50’s as well.
In the 1960s, the gaming industry began to attract more to the city, and the hotel and hospitality industry began to expand in 2011 when millions of dollars were invested in the downtown Las Vegas strip. Now, Las Vegas continues to be one of the biggest casino destinations in the world and sits as the 28th largest city in the US.
Las Vegas bills itself as the “The Entertainment Capital of the World” and its economy centers on the casino and gambling industry. There are two Fortune 500 companies in the Las Vegas area code. Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts International are both hospitality and gaming companies. There are also six Fortune 1000 companies in the Las Vegas area code. Caesars Entertainment, Wynn Resorts, Scientific Games, Southwest Gas Holdings, Pinnacle Entertainment, and Boyd Gaming.
The biggest employer in area code 702 is MGM Resorts International which provides over 55,000 jobs to residents in the city. The rest of the companies that round out the top five biggest employers are the Clark County School District, Caesars Entertainment, Nellis and Creech Air Force Base, and Wynn Resorts.
The unemployment rate in Las Vegas is 7.2%, which is higher than the US average of 5.2%. However, job growth in area code 702 is expected at almost 40% over the next ten years. The average household income in the Las Vegas area code is $51,000, which is almost the same as the national average of $53,000 per year. 19% of the population is making over $100,000 annually, and the three top occupations for residents in Las Vegas are accommodation, food services, retail trade, and health care and social assistance.
Las Vegas had the honor of being ranked #9 on the Forbes list of “America’s Most Dangerous Cities” in 2011. In lighter news, the University of Nevada Las Vegas was ranked first on the US News and World Report list of “Most Diverse Campuses in the Nation” in 2017. Some of the most popular events held every year in the Las Vegas area code are the Vegas Uncork’d food festival, the Great Vegas Festival of Beer, and the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) music festival.