Las Vegas Fast-Growing Area In 1990s

More people are betting on Las Vegas for jobs and affordable housing than any other metropolitan area in the country.

The Census Bureau reports that the area around the neon-washed center of America’s gambling industry grew fastest in the nation between 1990 and 1994 - jumping 26 percent in population, to more than 1 million.

The Census Bureau, as it does every two years, released population totals Monday for the nation’s 271 metropolitan areas and its more than 36,000 cities, towns and places.

Overall metropolitan-area population increased by 9.6 million, or 4.9 percent, and the areas were home to nearly 80 percent of U.S. residents. Population growth outside these areas was 2 million, or 3.9 percent.

The Las Vegas metro area’s population climbed from 852,646 to 1,076,267.