Nevada Unemployment Remains Unchanged, Study Says State Among Worst Places to Live
Posted on: August 15, 2025, 11:58h.
Last updated on: August 15, 2025, 11:58h.
- Nevada’s unemployment rate has remained unchanged since June
- 5.4% of the workforce is out of work in Nevada, the highest in the nation
- A new study finds Nevada an unfavorable place to live
Nevada’s unemployment rate remained unchanged, or “remained stable,” as the state Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR) put it.
The unemployment rate in Nevada was 5.4% in July, the same mark experienced in June. The Silver State’s 5.4% unemployment rate is 1.2% higher than the national average of 4.2%, as reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nevada is experiencing the highest unemployment rate of any state in the country. Only Washington, D.C., has a higher unemployment rate, largely due to federal job cuts under President Donald Trump.
Nevada’s job market is suffering from a tourism and convention business decline. While Las Vegas has historically proven its resiliency, there are growing worries that Las Vegas has turned some former visitors away for good, with excessive pricing, tight odds, and the never-ending implementation of new fees cited for souring opinions of Southern Nevada.
Bright Spots
The Nevada jobs report did come with some minor wins.
The DETR disclosure reported that Las Vegas employment increased by 4,200 jobs (0.4%) since June and 2,100 jobs (0.2%) since July 2024. Reno also reported marginal gains.
July’s report continues to show a relatively steady labor market compared to June, with the unemployment rate unchanged. While the state added 1,100 jobs over the month, this was concentrated in government employment and is likely related to the larger-than-normal decline in school district employment last month,” said David Schmidt, DETR chief economist.
Schmidt, however, conceded that the private sector has lost jobs in five of the seven months so far in 2025.
Several of Nevada’s largest employers are in the gaming and hospitality industries, including MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Wynn Resorts, Station Casinos/Red Rock Resorts, and Boyd Gaming.
Nevada Living
A new study from WalletHub, a personal finance website, doesn’t recommend uprooting in favor of Nevada.
In its “Best States to Live In” for 2025, WalletHub researchers ranked Nevada 45th among the 50 states. It outranked only Alaska, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico.
Nevada scored low on most major metrics, including affordability (No. 39), economy (No. 44), education and health (No. 39), and safety (No. 41). The only metric where Nevada scored in the top half of the 50 states was in quality of life (No. 22).
WalletHub’s research team says it used 51 metric points and weighted the average of those scores to compile its Best States to Live rankings. The metrics included each state’s homeownership rate, housing costs, income growth, poverty rate, education rate, percent of the population insured, restaurants per capita, crime rate, and average hours per week worked.
Nevada’s overall score of 44.61 was 15.62 points lower than top-ranked Massachusetts at 60.23 points. The average score was around 52 points.
Though WalletHub might not recommend moving to Nevada, last year, online real estate giant Zillow named Pahrump as the most popular retirement city for 2024. Our readers provided mixed reviews on that designation.
Last Comment ( 1 )
Worst place to live would be in Clark County NV. Crime is out of control, drug abuse has to be at all time highs and our glorious county leaders do nothing about it but take more developer money to build more and continue to drain swampy lake mead. Life here was wonderful for a long time, but that time has come and gone. I would move but my job is here and it’s a good one. Nevada needs to be Doged with a hefty side helping of iCE.