Traditionally the driving force in the Southern Nevada economy has been the tourism and hospitality industry. It supports 32% of jobs in the region and generates more than $9.7 billion in gaming revenue to Clark County’s economy. Over 21,000 conventions (21,864) and meetings brought in more than 6 million convention delegates (6,310,616) to Las Vegas in 2016 and generated more than $12 billion to the economy. With nearly 150,000 hotel rooms, Las Vegas is one of the largest convention and resort destinations in the United States and attracts almost 43 million visitors annually.

Las Vegas is headquarters for the world’s two largest Fortune 500 gaming companies, Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts International. The city is also home to the world’s largest concentration of firms in the gaming machinery and technology sectors.

In addition to the world-class entertainment, dining and shopping opportunities afforded visitors to the Southern Nevada region, the area is also home to Switch Communications data facility, the largest commercially available and independent technology “ecosystem” in the world. Additional initiatives involving research and development, mineral mining, electrical machinery, medical tourism, optical and medical equipment, aviation equipment and clean energy give Southern Nevada a strong base from which to conduct business going forward.

After nearly five decades of steady population and construction growth, the region, like most of the United States, was hard hit by the economic downturn, but the area has shown signs of strengthening in both its housing and employment sectors along with a return of people moving here as well as visitors who provide significant fuel to the economy.