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Nevada’S Predictable Housing Train Wreck And What To Do About It, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Nevada is on the cusp of a housing catastrophe, especially in Southern Nevada.

Consider that the state has fewer households than it should. A household is defined as one or more people who have a home of their own. But for price, location, configuration, and other factors, about 60,000 households in Nevada do not exist because there is no home for them. And it’s going to get worse. Including these “missing households,” nearly 470,000 new occupied homes will need to be built between 2020 and 2040 to meet the housing needs of all Nevadans, or about 23,000 per year. The …

Nevada’S Housing Policy Landscape: Data, Analysis, And Policy Solutions, Brookings Mountain West, Lied Center For Real Estate

Brookings Mountain West Special Events

From rising rents to high interest rates to limited supply, housing policy is a central issue in the 2024 elections. Brookings Mountain West, in partnership with UNLV’s Lied Center for Real Estate, hosted a community forum examining the local, state, and federal impacts of Nevada’s housing challenges. New research presented at the forum offer insights into the demographic and economic dynamics of individuals and families navigating Nevada's turbulent housing market, assess trends in home ownership, and evaluate barriers preventing Nevadans from accessing the housing market.

Renter Households In Mountain West Metros, 2022, Sean Curry, Mohit Pande, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet presents data from a Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) Harvard University report “America’s Rental Housing 2024,” which details the status of the rental market in the U.S. This fact sheet focuses on data for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah including data on the demographics of renter households in Mountain West metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).

State Transportation Policy & Funding In The Mountain West, 2023, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet analyzes transportation policy, planning, and investment data as detailed in the report “Getting Transportation Right: Ranking the States in Light of New Federal Funding” by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Five Mountain West States: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are included in this fact sheet, with data reported as of February 2023.

Developing A Stand-Alone Children’S Hospital In Southern Nevada: Improving Pediatric Care And Diversifying The Regional Economy, The Lincy Institute

Lincy Institute Events

Southern Nevada is the largest metropolitan region in the country without a stand-alone children's hospital. The absence of such a facility results in poor health outcomes for children, fragmented and inadequate specialized care, and a shortage of pediatric medical professionals. Currently ranked last in clinical care nationwide, Nevada urgently needs a centralized, academic-based children's hospital to improve health services.

The Lincy Institute hosted a community forum to release the findings of a new report conducted by Tripp Umbach detailing why Southern Nevada needs a stand-alone children’s hospital. Tripp Umbach is a recognized industry leader, with 30 years of successful partnerships …

Developing A Stand-Alone Children’S Hospital In Southern Nevada: Needs, Opportunities, And Economic Development Considerations, Tripp Umbach

Policy Briefs and Reports

This independent study developed by Tripp Umbach demonstrates how an independent, research-intensive, stand-alone children’s teaching hospital can significantly enhance the health status of Southern Nevada’s children, reduce outmigration, attract children from neighboring states, and stimulate the healthcare economy. Tripp Umbach evaluated the need for a children’s hospital, the barriers to overcoming its absence, and the advantages of establishing a stand-alone children’s hospital in Southern Nevada for diverse audiences throughout Nevada and nationally.

‘Brain Drain’: Net Gains And Losses Of College- Educated Residents In The Mountain West, 2023, Dre Boyd-Weatherly, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines the number of college-educated individuals who moved to Mountain West states (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) and to selected metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the Mountain West in 2023. The “2024 Study: ‘Brain Drain’? The States With the Largest Net Gains and Losses of College-Educated Americans” report contains data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) of the Current Population Survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau. The study includes data on where college-educated residents move and which areas experienced ‘brain drain,’ where college-educated residents move to other places.

Us-Mexico Relations: Addressing Challenges At The Border, The Brookings Institution

Brookings Mountain West Special Events

Mexico’s president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum will begin her six-year term in October as the U.S. presidential campaign enters its final stretch. How the next U.S. administration and Congress manage relations with new leadership in Mexico will affect border security, immigration policies, trade and energy relations, and counter-narcotics and anti-crime cooperation. What tools can policymakers in both countries use to advance positive outcomes? What are the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the United States and Mexico?

The Brookings Foreign Policy program in partnership with Brookings Mountain West at UNLV hosted a discussion on the state of U.S.-Mexico relations. Panelists analyzed …

Gender Gaps In Unlv And Unr Graduate College Enrollment And Graduation, 2013-2022, Miguel Soriano Ralston, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet explores gender gaps in enrollment numbers and graduation rates of students pursuing graduate degrees at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). The original data was provided to The Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West by the UNLV Graduate College and gathered from the UNR Reporting Portal.

Unaccompanied Migrant Children In The Mountain West, 2015-2023, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet examines data on the number of unaccompanied migrant children who obtained sponsors and relocated to 22 cities in five Mountain West states from 2015 to 2023. Data from Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are included from a New York Times report which includes U.S. Department of Human Health and Services data on unaccompanied migrant children in all 50 states and Washington D.C.

Unemployment, Weekly Earnings, And Cost Of Living In Mountain West Metros, 2022, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on unemployment, weekly earnings, and cost of living for five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP). Local Analysis report includes data on the 50 largest MSAs in the U.S., which include the following in the Mountain West: Phoenix-Mesa Scottsdale, AZ; Tucson, AZ; Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO; Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV; and Salt Lake City, UT.

Projected Job Growth By 2031 In The Mountain West, Madison Dwyer, Annie Vong, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines job growth projections from 2021 to 2031 for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This fact sheet also presents projected job growth data by educational level, and across selected occupational sectors. Data are sourced from the report, “After Everything: Projections of Jobs, Education, and Training Requirements through 2031,” published by the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) at Georgetown University.

Covid-19: Change In Adjusted Gross Income From Net Migration In Nevada, 2020-2021, Ayda Atici, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on changes in taxable income and net average income as a result of net migration for each county in Nevada during the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2020 to 2021). The data illustrate which Nevada counties experienced increases in taxable income and average income, and which counties experienced losses. The data are retrieved from “Tax Data Reveals Large Flight of High Earners from Major Cities During the Pandemic,” an interactive data report by the Economic Innovation Group.

American Rescue Plan Act (Arpa) Local Government Investments In Nevada, Sean Curry, Madison Dwyer, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data from the Brooking Institution’s Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker, an online database that tracks the spending of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund dollars at the local government level. This fact sheet examines ARPA spending data from six Nevadan cities and counties: Washoe, NV; City of North Las Vegas, NV; City of Las Vegas, NV; City of Reno NV; City of Henderson, NV; and Clark County, NV.

2023 Transportation Electrification Scorecard: Mountain West States, Ayda Atici, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet examines data on policies and actions to support electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The data are retrieved from the “2023 Transportation Electrification Scorecard,” created by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The Scorecard measures which Mountain West states are the most efficient in progress made towards the electrification of vehicles.

First Year Earnings And Debt In The Mountain West, Mohit Pande, Ivan Sun, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines data from the Georgetown University report, “Buyer Beware: First-Year Earnings and Debt for 37,000 College Majors at 4,400 Institutions,” comparing and ranking the earnings, debt, and earnings net of debt based on post-secondary educational level. This fact sheet focuses on state-level data on first year earning and debt for five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Same-Sex Coupled Households In The Mountain West, 2020 Census, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet examines same-sex partnership household data from the 2020 United States Decennial Census. This fact sheet analyzes married and unmarried same-sex households in relation to all partnered households in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Graduates Of Southern Nevada Public High Schools And Unlv, 2010-2022, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet reports data for individuals who earned both a diploma from a high school in Southern Nevada and a bachelor’s degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) between 2010 and 2022, as well as the race/ethnicity and gender of these graduates.

Average Child Care Costs In Nevada And The Mountain West, 2024, Monserrat Cristando-Romo, Maryam Raja, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet reports data on the average costs of child care in the five most populous cities in each Mountain West state and the ten most populous cities in Nevada based on the “2020: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data Profiles” United States Census Bureau (Salt Lake City, UT; Albuquerque, NM; Denver, CO; Phoenix, AZ; and Las Vegas, NV). The original report from care.com provides child care data for all U.S. cities to assess the costs of child care nationally.

Nevada Medical Residencies, 2024, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet highlights medical residency data for the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 graduating classes of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) School of Medicine. This fact sheet presents data on residency program matches at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV and the UNR School of Medicine and reveals where Nevada medical school graduates pursue their residencies, and updates findings from a 2023 fact sheet exploring 2021, 2022, and 2023 graduating class data.

Evaluating Language And Communication Surrounding Responsible Gambling, Marla B. Royne Stafford, Anastasia Hronis, Alan Feldman, William T. Hartwell

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The topic of responsible gambling has been the focus of debate over recent years. Unfortunately the language surrounding responsible gambling has proven ineffective, due to varying definitions and debate over stigma related to responsibility. This paper discusses the importance of language in communicating about consumer protection and harm minimization to the public. Three key areas of discussion are highlighted: 1) decoupling responsible gambling and problem gambling to reduce the barrier of stigma; 2) redefining responsible gambling, and 3) the need for conversations amongst peers and parents, all with the view to proactively prevent gambling-related harms.

Black-Owned Businesses In The Mountain West, 2017-2020, Riley Ruff, Miguel Soriano Ralston, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on Black-owned businesses in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The report “Who is driving Black business growth? Insights from the latest data on Black- owned businesses" from the Brookings Institution includes data on Black-owned businesses in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) across the United States.

U.S. News & World Report 2024 Graduate Program Rankings, Unlv & Unr, Madison Dwyer, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet presents 2024 graduate program rankings for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and for the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) based on the data published in spring 2024 by U.S. News and World Report. The graduate program categories reported include business, education, engineering, fine arts, law, medicine and health care, sciences and mathematics, and social sciences and humanities.

Predicting Homelessness: Housing Risk Insights From Latent Class Analysis, Katherine E. Marcal, Nicholas Barr

Social Work Faculty Publications

Millions of families with children in the U.S. struggle to afford adequate housing. Housing cost burden places families at risk for homelessness, and prevention efforts are hindered by limited understanding of insecure housing experiences at the margins. The present study investigated variation in housing insecurity experiences in a sample of mothers, as well as which risk profiles were most strongly associated with subsequent homelessness. Latent class analysis identified four distinct subgroups of housing insecurity: “Stable,” “Unstable,” “Rent-Focused,” and “Strategic Bill-Paying.” Classes differed on whether they made rent or utility payments on time, experienced utility shutoffs, or were evicted. Mothers who …

Kairotic Entanglement: Kairos, Artificial Intelligence, Persuasion, And The Search For Meaning – A Literature Review, Jonathan Moore

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper advances to understand kairos in the contemporary context and its relation to emerging persuasive technologies. The ubiquitous and omnipresent nature of digital technologies prompts a deeper understanding of the possible implications of these technologies and the meaning which emerges from human- computer interactions. A substantial literature review was conducted on kairos, captology, and related subterms to understand and interpret the proximal relationships of these concepts. Additionally, a discussion is offered, and a direction for future works is presented. This paper moves to suggest that kairos plays a substantive role in persuasive technologies and human computer interactions by presenting …

Music’S Influence On Focus And Concentration: A Puzzle-Solving Task Study, Daniyal Kheradmand, Alison Sloat

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

This research investigates the effect of preferred music on enhancing focus and concentration during puzzle-solving tasks. Conducted with a diverse group of 50 participants at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the study examined the influence of individual musical preferences on cognitive performance. Participants were tasked with solving puzzles under two conditions: listening to their favorite music and in silence. The findings reveal that 68% of the participants demonstrated improved performance in puzzle-solving when listening to music they preferred. This suggests a significant positive correlation between preferred music and enhanced cognitive task performance. The study contributes to the understanding of …

Purchasing Choices That Reduce Climate Change: An Exploratory Factor Analysis, Yuhan Bi, Kimberly Barchard

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Household consumption is a primary source of green-house gas emissions. Individuals can substantially reduce their climate impact by making sustainable purchasing choices, such as choosing products that are made locally and have less packaging, buying used, repairing items rather than replacing them, supporting libraries and bike-share programs, encouraging others to buy less, and donating to charity in someone’s name rather than buying gifts. The Climate Change Action Inventory measures the frequency of 77 daily behaviors, including 14 items regarding Climate-Friendly Purchasing Choices. The purpose of this research was to determine if purchasing choices could be divided into meaningful factors. We …

Risk Of Climate Damage In The Mountain West, 2024, Taylor Volk, Isabelle G. Graham, Ivan Sun, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines 2024 data on the estimated annual cost per person of damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and population from climate related disasters for the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original report, “States at Greatest Risk of Climate Damage - 2024 Study,” by Jaclyn DeJohn and published by SmartAsset, includes data on climate disaster risk for all 50 states.

Salary Needed To Live Comfortably In The Mountain West, 2024, Mohit Pande, Anirudh Polagani, Monserrat Cristando-Romo, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on the annual salary needed to live comfortably in selected cities in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico as of February 2024. A report by Smart Asset titled, “Salary Needed to Live Comfortably – 2024 Study,” provided wage data for the 99 largest cities in the United States.

Property Taxes In Mountain West Cities, 2022, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet examines data on homestead, apartment building, and commercial property tax rates for five cities in the Mountain West: Phoenix, AZ; Denver, CO; Las Vegas, NV; Albuquerque, NM; and Salt Lake City, UT). The fact sheet compares the average tax bill for homestead properties and median home values reported in “50-State Property Tax Comparison Study For Taxes Paid in 2022,” an August 2023 report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence.