A Step Up: Economic and Financial Security for Nevada’s Families

The Great Recession of 2008 hit communities across the United States, but nowhere were the effects more acute than in Nevada. While Nevada’s economy still has not recovered to 2006 pre-recession levels, it is trending upward. Nevada is among the highest-ranked states in job and personal income growth, coupled with steadily increasing output. However, while economic expansion has yielded significant returns in the aggregate, those economic gains have not been distributed evenly across different segments of the population. As the population has grown, political leaders and agency officials have grappled with questions surrounding unmet needs and constrained resources. This policy brief examines recent data and identifies several economic trends facing Nevada’s families.