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Business Success:

Las Vegas Consistently Ranked as “Business-Friendly” Community

Entrepreneur Gives Las Vegas Highest Honor 

Las Vegas is at the top of the charts in the latest city rankings announced by Entrepreneur magazine.  Las Vegas ranks first in the west for both economic growth and entrepreneurial activity and ranks 11^th overall in the nation.

2001 was the eighth year in which Entrepreneur and Dun and Bradstreet performed the analysis.  Entrepreneurial activity is measured by the number of businesses that are five years old or younger within the metropolitan statistical area.  Economic growth was measured by the change in job growth over a three-year period through January 2001.

“Las Vegas has long been a great place to do business,” said Chamber president Kara Kelley.  “The large number of young companies in the Valley presents a great opportunity for new companies to grow business-to-business relationships with other companies that aren’t locked into long-term supplier contracts.  Our city also offers incredible resources, including a qualified work force, great restaurants and world-class entertainment.”

The top cities in the West were as follows:

1.    Las Vegas, NV

2.    San Jose, CA

3.    San Diego, CA

4.    San Francisco, CA

5.    Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA

6.    Orange County, CA

7.    Oakland, CA

8.    Riverside-San Bernardino, CA

9.    Sacramento, CA

10. Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA

Inc. Magazine Says Las Vegas is #1

In results released in December 2000, Inc. magazine ranked Las Vegas as the best small metro area in which to start and grow a business.  Las Vegas was cited for having a low-tax environment and a large tourist market.  Locations were ranked according to two measures: significant starts and young growers.  Significant starts were defined as local businesses started in the past ten years that employed at least five people in 2000 as a percentage of all companies.  Young growers were defined as the percentage of local businesses that were ten years old or younger in 1996 and had a growth index of at least 3 by 2000.

Nevada Ranks Second in

2002 Small Business Survival Index

The Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) recently ranked Nevada the second best place in the nation for its policy climate for small business and entrepreneurship. The results of the seventh annual Small Business Survival Index were released in late July. The SBSC report ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 20 major government-imposed or related costs affecting investment, entrepreneurship and business. Nevada held the first place ranking in the 2001 Index, but dropped into second place this year behind South Dakota. The District of Columbia received the worst marks.

Small Business Survival Index 2002:               

1. South Dakota               47. New Mexico

2. Nevada                       48. Minnesota

3. Wyoming                     49. Maine

4. Texas                          50. Hawaii

5. Florida                         51. District of Columbia

Some of the factors considered for the Index include personal and corporate income taxes; property tax; sales tax; healthcare; electricity costs; crime rates and more. Nevada earned high marks for not imposing personal income, capital gains, corporate income or death taxes. In addition, Nevada scored favorably for its property taxes, healthcare costs and for having the fewest government bureaucrats relative to the population.

In looking to the future, local analysts predict Nevada will continued to be nationally recognized for its accomplishments. Expect 2003 increases in visitor volume (nearly 2%); gaming revenue (3%); and population growth (between 3.5 and 5%).

For a copy of the “Small Business Survival Index 2002,” visit SBSC’s website at www.sbdc.org.  SBSC is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit small business advocacy group with more than 70,000 members across the nation.

Latest National Stats Impressive for Las Vegas

The September 2002 edition of the Sales and Marketing Management (SMM) 2002 Survey of Buying Power documents a strong economy and projects continued rapid growth for the Las Vegas metro area.

Among the many findings of the just-released study are:

• Las Vegas is now the 33^rd largest metro area in the country, just bigger than Ft. Lauderdale and Sacramento and gaining on Orlando and San Jose.

• The average age of the population in the Las Vegas metro area was found to be 35.6, which is exactly the same as the median age for cities across the country.

• At 370,000, Las Vegas has the 19^th largest Hispanic population in the U.S.

• Effective Buying Income, the measure of a metro area’s ability to purchase goods and services, ranked #34.

• SMM pegged Las Vegas Average Household Buying Income at $40,960, above the national median of $38,365.

• Las Vegas was #32 in the country when measuring the number of households with Effective Buying Incomes of $150,000 or more.

• The state of Nevada is projected to lead the nation in growth rate in the next five years (2002-2007), growing from 2.17 million to 2.59 million (19%).

• The Las Vegas metro is expected to continue to lead the country in growth over that same period of time by growing from 1.71 million to more than 2.08 million, an increase of 21%.

“Managing growth at this level and maintaining a strong local economy are important to the INLV,” says President and CEO Kara Kelley.  “Challenges and opportunities often appear as a package deal.  The Chamber will continue to lead local businesses and the community as a whole to deal with the challenges and capture the opportunities.  We look forward to a future in a metropolitan area where free enterprise plays such an important role in the life of every citizen.”