Clark County, Nevada

Clark County is a county in Nevada, United States, home to Las Vegas at the state’s southern
tip. It had a population of 2,265,461 at the 2020 census, an estimated 2,407,226 by 2025, and
covers 7,891 square miles (20,440 km2) centred near 36°21′N 115°05′W.

Las Vegas is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 89101. The
county holds 5 incorporated cities and dozens of unincorporated towns and census-designated
places, and it runs on Pacific Time. Its FIPS code is 32003.

Towns & Villages in Clark County

Clark County has 5 incorporated cities and more than 40 named unincorporated towns and
census-designated places (CDPs) — communities with no local government of their own,
governed directly by the county. Several of the unincorporated CDPs, including Paradise and
Spring Valley, outrank every incorporated city but Las Vegas and Henderson in population. The
table below lists the 5 incorporated cities in full, then the largest unincorporated
communities.

Clark County’s largest unincorporated CDPs, all part of the Las Vegas Valley urban area:

Beyond those 16, roughly two dozen more named unincorporated communities exist across the
county’s rural north and far south — among them Moapa, Cal-Nev-Ari, Nelson, Goodsprings,
Mount Charleston and Coyote Springs — none large enough to carry a reliably sourced 2020 count
on its own. Paradise’s figure covers most of the Las Vegas Strip, though the Strip itself also
crosses into Winchester and the city of Las Vegas at its northern end.

ZIP Codes

• 89101 — downtown Las Vegas (also serves the wider 891xx block)
• 89011–89052 — Henderson
• 89030–89086 — North Las Vegas
• 89027, 89034 — Mesquite
• 89005 — Boulder City
• 89029 — Laughlin
• 89046 — Searchlight
• 89018 — Indian Springs
• 89007 — Bunkerville
• 89019 — Jean and Sandy Valley, both served from the same rural route
• 89021 — Logandale
• 89040 — Overton

Blue Diamond and the smallest rural crossroads — Cal-Nev-Ari, Nelson, Goodsprings —
receive mail under a neighboring town’s ZIP rather than one of their own.

Geography

Clark County occupies Nevada’s southern tip in the Mojave Desert, where the Las Vegas Valley
basin sits ringed by mountains — the Spring Mountains to the west, rising to 11,916 feet at
Mount Charleston, and the Sheep and McCullough ranges elsewhere around the valley. Of its 8,061
square miles, 7,891 are land and 170 are water — almost all of it Lake Mead, the reservoir
behind Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, which forms the county’s southeastern border. The
Colorado River also runs the length of the county’s eastern edge past Laughlin.

Lincoln County lies to the north, Mohave County, Arizona, to the east across the Colorado
River, San Bernardino and Inyo Counties, California, to the south and west, and Nye County to
the west. Lincoln County,
Mohave County,
San Bernardino County,
Inyo County and
Nye County all border Clark directly.

Demographics

Clark County had a population of 2,265,461 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 2,407,226 residents. Las Vegas and Henderson are the two largest incorporated
cities, but the unincorporated CDPs of Enterprise, Spring Valley and Sunrise Manor each hold
more people than every city except those two. Median household income runs $66,987, below
Nevada’s statewide 2023 ACS figure of $76,364. Population density works out to roughly 287
people per square mile of land, though the county’s population is overwhelmingly concentrated
in the Las Vegas Valley — 98.7 percent of residents live in urban areas, against 1.3 percent
in the rural north and south.

Economy & Local Life

Leisure and hospitality dominate the county’s economy, anchored by the resort corridors of
the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise and Winchester and downtown Las Vegas’s Fremont Street. The
Clark County School District, with more than 30,000 employees, is the county’s single largest
employer. Henderson has built a second economic base in advanced manufacturing, data centers
and logistics, drawing companies including Amazon, Google and TIMET. Nellis Air Force Base,
northeast of Las Vegas, and Creech Air Force Base, near Indian Springs, are major federal
employers. The county’s biggest annual events are New Year’s Eve on the Strip and the Las
Vegas Grand Prix Formula 1 race each November, both drawing crowds far beyond the county’s own
population.

History

Nevada’s legislature formed Clark County on 1 July 1909, carving it from the southern
portion of Lincoln County. It was named for William A. Clark, a Montana copper magnate and US
senator who built the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad through the valley. Las
Vegas, platted in 1905 as a railroad town, was incorporated as the county seat in 1911.

Construction of Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, from 1931 to 1936, built Boulder City as a
federal company town to house the workforce and brought the first large wave of population
growth to the county. Nevada’s 1931 legalization of gambling, combined with the dam workforce
and later the postwar resort boom on the Strip, turned Las Vegas from a rail depot into the
county’s dominant industry.

Getting There

Interstate 15 runs the length of the county from the California line through Las Vegas to
the Utah border beyond. Interstate 11 connects Las Vegas to Boulder City and on to Arizona, and
Interstate 215 forms a beltway around the Las Vegas Valley. US 93 and US 95 also cross the
county.

• Henderson — about 15 miles southeast of downtown Las Vegas
• Boulder City — about 25 miles southeast of downtown Las Vegas
• Mesquite — about 80 miles northeast of downtown Las Vegas
• Laughlin — about 100 miles south of downtown Las Vegas

Harry Reid International Airport, just south of the Strip in Paradise, is the county’s
major commercial airport. Amtrak does not currently serve Clark County; the nearest station is
in Kingman, Arizona.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Clark County located?
It sits at Nevada’s southern tip in the Mojave Desert, bordered by Lincoln and Nye Counties in
Nevada, Mohave County in Arizona, and San Bernardino and Inyo Counties in California.

What is the population of Clark County?
2,265,461 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 2,407,226.

How big is Clark County?
7,891 square miles (20,440 km2) of land, plus 170 square miles of water, mostly Lake Mead.

What is the county seat of Clark County?
Las Vegas is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Clark County?
Five incorporated cities — Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Mesquite and Boulder City
— plus more than 40 unincorporated towns and census-designated places, including Paradise,
Spring Valley and Enterprise, each more populous than most of the incorporated cities.

What ZIP codes does Clark County use?
89101 through roughly 89199 for Las Vegas and the surrounding valley, 89002 and 89011–89052
for Henderson, 89030–89086 for North Las Vegas, and separate codes for Mesquite, Boulder City
and the outlying rural towns.

What is Clark County known for?
The Las Vegas Strip, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead on its southeastern border, and Red Rock Canyon in
the Spring Mountains to the west.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Nevada.