LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — New census bureau statistics are giving us an even clearer picture of just how many Californians are packing up and leaving to make their new home in Nevada.
We already knew the Californians are here. And we knew more are coming.
Robert Lang is a professor of public policy in the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs at UNLV. He's been studying the migration of Californians to Nevada. He is also the executive director of Brookings Mountain West.
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“You're mad at them when you’re stuck in traffic and you see a California plate. They've taken over my parking space,” Lang said jokingly.
“And then all of a sudden you put your house up on the market, and oh, the doors are wide open for Californians!”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Nevada was the fastest growing state in 2018 primarily because of an influx of Californians. More than 50,000 Californians moved to Nevada between July of 2017 and July of 2018.
RELATED: More people left California than moved in last year, data says
Already, Lang says voting records show native Californians outnumbering native Nevadans.
"So there are actually three times the number of people from California that were born in a California county that vote in southern Nevada than southern Nevadans,” said Lang.
And we know why they are here. They are lured by fewer taxes and a lower cost of living in Nevada while maintaining a lifestyle that's relatively similar.
"You know, because this is just like a dryer version of California -- mountains, southwest, plants are familiar."
The benefits to homeowners immediately come to mind. Housing prices are up here because of the demand, mostly from Californians, but the downside is increased rental rates for people already living here.
“Californians also come and bring high skills. They bring businesses. They bring demand for services, So, it's a net positive."
