NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nevada (FOX5) – North Las Vegas city leaders are making a bold claim that they are leading the way in diversifying Southern Nevada’s economy.

The city is competing nationally to attract large companies – and it’s working.

The industrial boom in North Las Vegas did not happen overnight. There were strategic efforts to attract large companies here.

City officials say the reduction in red tape is a win for them. Fortune 500 companies and global brands like Amazon, Crocs, Smith’s and Sephora now call North Las Vegas home.

In desert areas like the Apex Industrial Park, industrial buildings larger than football fields are springing up.

But it’s not like city leaders are running away from the sports, casinos and tourism the Strip is known for, says Jared Luke, the city of North Las Vegas’ director of government affairs and economic development.

“We love the gaming sector and we don’t want to diminish it. I mean, it’s kind of the lifeline of the valley,” Luke said. “But because of that lifeline and the attractiveness of the valley, we’ve had a massive influx of people moving to the Las Vegas Valley, and those people need jobs.”

Luke believes the region could create between 45,000 and 70,000 jobs over the next 10 to 12 years, depending on the type of companies that move in.

The Director of Economic Development explains that this is because city leaders run their government like a business.

“Money in the private sector is not patient, so the community must keep up with the speed of the economy,” Luke said. “The sooner you open your doors, the sooner you can start making a profit on your new business.”

This process is driven by an expedited approval and classification process and a self-certification program, allowing Luke to move forward at breakneck speed.

“We’ve had programs in the past where we’ve been able to approve them right at the table the same day,” Luke said.

That’s why North Las Vegas ranks third and fifth in the nation for largest industrial properties to be completed in the first half of 2024, according to a recent report from Commercial Search.

The establishment of large companies helped the city to achieve a financial turnaround.

“Through what we call ‘grownomics,’ especially up in Apex, we have attracted new businesses to the valley and to town, creating jobs, long-term, sustainable career opportunities and a new tax base for the town,” he said.

These new tax revenues allowed the city to reinvest in the community by expanding police and fire services and creating new parks, streets and facilities… becoming one of Nevada’s fastest-growing cities.

As former Mayor John Lee told FOX5, officials began planning to diversify the economy in 2013. City leaders say this has led to a population boom, which has grown by more than 25% since 2013, and a rapid increase of nearly 140% in the annual budget, which is now over $1 billion.

Industrial expansion is not limited to the city of North Las Vegas.

Since the beginning of the year, Commercial Search has ranked Las Vegas seventh nationwide in a comparison of cities where the largest industrial expansions are planned.

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