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Clark County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Nevada with 2,265,461 residents as of the 2020 census. The county is the location of the state’s three largest cities, Las Vegas (the county seat), Henderson, and North Las Vegas, as well as the Las Vegas Strip, Nellis Air Force Base, and Hoover Dam. Clark County has Template:Convert of land area, roughly the size of New Jersey.

Although the county has 70% of Nevada’s population making it the 11th-most populous county in the United States, Clark County covers only 7% of Nevada’s land mass. Despite having the name Las Vegas as part of their address, over 1 million residents live in unincorporated Clark County, with municipal services provided by the county. The county plays a role much larger than is typical in the US as it has direct jurisdiction over the Las Vegas Strip and such a large population.Template:Efn

Clark County is governed by the Clark County Commission as its partisan, seven member elected body which enacts ordinances and appoints the county manager to administer the ordinances and daily operations of the county. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) is a city-county law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over all Clark County, resulting from the merger between the city of Las Vegas’ police department and the county sheriff's office.

Originally occupied by the Southern Paiute people and others, the area became part of the Mexican territory of Alta California—then after the Mexican-American War part of the United States—first as part of the New Mexico Territory, and later the Arizona Territory, before becoming part of Nevada as Lincoln County. Clark County was formed from the southern portion of Lincoln on July 1, 1909.

History

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Las Vegas, the state's most populous city, has been the county seat since its establishment. The county was formed by the Nevada Legislature by splitting off a portion of Lincoln County on February 5, 1909, and was organized on July 1, 1909.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Las Vegas Valley, a Template:Convert basin, includes Las Vegas and other major cities and communities such as North Las Vegas, Henderson, and the unincorporated community of Paradise.

Native Americans lived in the Las Vegas Valley beginning over 10,000 years ago. Paiutes moved into the area as early as AD 700.<ref>Moehring, Eugene P.; & Green, Michael S. (2005). Las Vegas: A Centennial History. University of Nevada Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-87417-615-8 </ref> Previously part of the Mexican Territory of Alta California, the Clark County lands were subsequently traversed by American beaver trappers. Word of their journeys inspired the New Mexican merchant Antonio Armijo in 1829 to establish the first route for mule trains and herds of livestock from Nuevo Mexico to Alta California through the area, along the Virgin and Colorado Rivers. Called the Armijo Route of the Old Spanish Trail, the route was later modified into the Main Route by the passing merchants, trappers, drovers, Ute raiders and settlers over the years by moving to a more direct route. In Clark County it was northward away from the Colorado to a series of creeks, waterholes and springs like those at Las Vegas, to which John C. Frémont added Frémont's Cutoff on his return from California to Utah in 1844.

What is now Clark County was acquired by the United States during the Mexican–American War, becoming part of the northwestern corner of New Mexico Territory. In 1847, Jefferson Hunt and other Mormon Battalion members returning to Salt Lake City from Los Angeles pioneered a wagon route through the County that became the Mormon Road. In 1849, this road became known as the "Southern Route", the winter route of the California Trail from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles during the California Gold Rush. By the mid-1850s, the route now known as the Salt Lake Road in California, and the California Road in Utah Territory, was a wagon trade route between the two. In the mid-1850s, Mormons established a Mormon Fort at Las Vegas. In the 1860s, Mormon colonies were established along the Virgin and Muddy Rivers.

All of the county was part of Mohave County, Arizona Territory, when that Territory was formed in 1863, before Nevada became a state. In 1865, it became part of Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory. The part of Pah-Ute County north and west of the Colorado River was assigned to the new State of Nevada in 1866; however, Arizona territory fought the division until 1871. Pah-Ute County became part of Lincoln County and the westernmost part became the southernmost part of Nye County.

Clark County was named for William A. Clark, a Montana copper magnate and Democratic U.S. Senator.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Clark was largely responsible for construction of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad through the area, contributing to the region's early development. Clark County is a major tourist destination with 150,000 hotel rooms. The Las Vegas Strip, home to many famous hotel-casinos, is not within the City of Las Vegas limits, but in unincorporated Paradise. It is, however, in the Las Vegas Valley.

Clark County is geographically coextensive with the Las Vegas MSA, a metropolitan statistical area designated by the Office of Management and Budget and used by the United States Census Bureau and other agencies for statistical purposes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Over time and influenced by climate change, droughts in Southern Nevada have been increasing in frequency and severity,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> putting a further strain on Clark County's and Las Vegas's water security.

Geography

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File:Kyle Canyon Big Falls 1.jpg
Kyle Canyon in the Mount Charleston Wilderness

The Colorado River forms the county's southeastern boundary, with Hoover Dam forming Lake Mead along much of its length. The lowest point in the state of Nevada is on the Colorado River just south of Laughlin in Clark County, where it flows out of Nevada into California and Arizona. Greater Las Vegas is a tectonic valley, surrounded by four mountain ranges, with nearby Mount Charleston being the highest elevation at Template:Convert, located to the northwest. Other than the forests on Mount Charleston, the geography in Clark County is a desert. Creosote bushes are the main native vegetation, and the mountains are mostly rocky with little vegetation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The terrain slopes to the south and east.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county has an area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (2.1%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Adjacent counties

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National protected areas

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File:Calico basin red rock cumulus mediocris.jpg
Calico basin in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

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Twenty official wilderness areas in Clark County are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Many of these are in, or partially in, one of the preceding protected areas, as shown below. Many are separate entities that are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM): Template:Div col

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File:White Domes trail movie site.jpg
White Domes trail, Valley of Fire State Park, in NE Clark County

Environmental factors

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Template:More citations needed section Clark County has diverse desert flora and fauna, including higher-elevation mountain areas, the desert floor, and the Colorado River/Lake Mead ecosystems. Variations in diurnal temperature as well as seasonal swings in temperature create demanding adaptation elements on the species of this county. Population expansion, especially since 1970, has placed additional pressure on species in the area.

Correspondingly, air quality levels prior to the 1960s were in a favorable range, but the proliferation of automobiles with the human population expansion created circumstances where some federal air quality standards were violated starting in the 1980s.Template:Citation needed

To plan for the wave of development forecast by 1980, Clark County embarked on a regional environmental impact assessment funded by a federal Section 208 program, with Sedway-Cooke conducting the planning work and Earth Metrics performing environmental analysis. This endeavor projected population growth, land use changes and environmental impacts.Template:Citation needed

To prevent the loss of federal funds due to unacceptable dust levels in the Las Vegas valley, in 2003 the Nevada Air Quality Management division (under direction of Clark County officials) created the "Don't Be a Dusthole" campaign. The campaign successfully raised awareness of dust pollution in the Las Vegas Valley, quantifiably reducing pollutants and preserving ongoing federal funding.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Apex Landfill, at Template:Convert, is the nation's largest landfill.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Republic Services owns and operates the landfill.

Earthquake hazards

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Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the U.S. (after Alaska and California); the United States Geological Survey has estimated that over the next 50 years, Clark County has a 10–20% chance of a (moment magnitude) M6.0 or greater earthquake occurring within Template:Convert of Las Vegas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

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Template:US Census population

Clark County, Nevada – Racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000<ref name="2000CensusP004">Template:Cite web</ref> Pop 2010<ref name="2010CensusP2">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> % 2000 % 2010 Template:Partial
White alone (NH) 828,669 935,955 892,802 60.23% 47.97% 39.41%
Black or African American alone (NH) 121,401 194,821 275,002 8.82% 9.98% 12.14%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 7,761 8,732 8,487 0.56% 0.45% 0.37%
Asian alone (NH) 71,226 165,121 231,972 5.18% 8.46% 10.24%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) 5,864 12,474 18,877 0.43% 0.64% 0.83%
Other race alone (NH) 2,019 3,719 12,890 0.15% 0.19% 0.57%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 36,682 61,803 124,015 2.67% 3.17% 5.48%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 302,143 568,644 701,416 21.96% 29.14% 30.96%
Total 1,375,765 1,951,269 2,265,461 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
File:Las Vegas household income distribution.svg
2015 income distribution by household in Las Vegas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
File:Poverty Las Vegas Valley.png
2018 population living below federal poverty line by census tracts covering Clark County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
File:Race and ethnicity 2010- Las Vegas (5559885507).png
Map of racial distribution in Las Vegas, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, or Other (yellow)

2022 American Community Survey

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File:Ethnic Origins in Clark County, NV.png
Ethnic origins in Clark County

In 2022, there were 857,362 households and 2,322,985 people living in Clark County. By race and ethnicity, the population was 37.6% non-Hispanic white, 32.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 11.7% black, 10.7% Asian, 5.9% multiracial, 0.7% Pacific Islander, 0.3% Native American, and 0.6% some other race.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The largest ancestries in the county were Mexican (23.2%), German (7.4%), Filipino (6.8%), English (6.8%), Irish (6.2%), and Italian (4.5%).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2000 census

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In 2000 there were 512,253 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was above age 64. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17.

The county population contained 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were over age 64. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 103.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $53,536, and the median income for a family was $59,485.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Males had a median income of $35,243 versus $27,077 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,785. About 7.9% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those over age 64.

Large numbers of new residents in the state originate from California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2010 census

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As of the 2010 United States census, there were 1,951,269 people, 715,365 households, and 467,916 families in the county.<ref name="DC">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 840,343 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 60.9% White, 13.5% Black or African American, 8.7% Asian, 0.7% Pacific islander, 0.7% American Indian, 10.5% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 29.1% of the population.<ref name="DC" /> In terms of European/white ancestries, 11.7% were German, 9.1% were Irish, 7.6% were English, 6.3% were Italian, and 2.7% were American.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 715,365 households, 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.6% were non-families, and 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.26. The median age was 35.5 years.<ref name="DC" />

The median income for a household in the county was $56,258 and the median income for a family was $63,888. Males had a median income of $43,693 versus $35,324 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,422. About 8.7% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Economy

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File:The Strip from Eiffel Tower (9176999807).jpg
The Las Vegas Strip looking south

The county is home to many gaming-related companies including Golden Entertainment, American Casino & Entertainment Properties, Bally Technologies, Cannery Casino Resorts, The Majestic Star Casino, LLC, Ameristar Casinos, Archon Corporation, Boyd Gaming, Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts, DBT Online Inc., Two Plus Two Publishing, Gambler's Book Shop / GBC Press, Station Casinos, Millennium Management Group, Navegante Group, Pinnacle Entertainment and Tropicana Entertainment.<ref>"Interactive Map Viewer Template:Webarchive." City of Las Vegas. Retrieved on June 5, 2009.</ref>

Largest employers

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File:Las Vegas Regional Justice Center.jpg
Regional Justice Center

According to data collected by the Research and Analysis Bureau of the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, Clark County's largest employers, both public and private employers, as reported in the fourth quarter of 2012:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

30,000 to 39,999 employees

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Gaming areas

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The State of Nevada divides the state into several gaming districts. Accordingly, the Clark County is divided into the following reporting districts:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Parks and recreation

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Government

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File:ClarkCountyDetention.jpg
The Clark County Detention Center
File:Clarkcountygovernmentcenter.jpg
Clark County Government Center in Las Vegas with the World Market Center temporary buildings in background

The Clark County Commission consists of seven members who are elected to serve staggered four-year terms in biennial partisan elections. The commission members elect a chairman, who chairs their meetings. A hired county manager handles day-to-day operations under direction of the commission. The county's unincorporated towns also have appointed boards that provide advice to the commission.

The county operates out of the Clark County Government Center in the City of Las Vegas. The building is unusual in shape, and includes an outdoor amphitheater for concerts and other events.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department provides most law enforcement services in the county, including operation of the county's central jail, the Clark County Detention Center (CCDC). The present department was created in 1973 when the Clark County Sheriff's Department merged with the Las Vegas Police Department.

Other entities with police forces include University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the College of Southern Nevada, the Clark County School District, and cities of Henderson, Mesquite, Boulder City and North Las Vegas. The Clark County Office of Public Safety (formerly Clark County Park Police) is responsible for policing all buildings and parks operated by the county and some selected special venues, such as the Clark County Amphitheater, Clark County Archery Range, and the Desert Rose Golf Course.

The Regional Justice Center replaced the Clark County Courthouse in 2005, and is about 3 blocks from downtown Fremont Street, at 200 Lewis Avenue.

Courts

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The Clark County Justice Courts are divided into eleven townships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Each elects its own justices of the peace for limited jurisdiction cases and a constable.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They do not correspond with city boundaries. The Las Vegas Justice Court Township the city of Las Vegas<ref name="lvtbcj">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="lvc">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cd">Template:Cite web</ref> and the unincorporated towns of Blue Diamond, Cactus Springs, Enterprise, Indian Springs, Mount Charleston, Paradise, Spring Valley, Summerlin South, Sunrise Manor (partially in North Las Vegas Township), Whitney (partially in Henderson Township) and Winchester.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="lvtbcj" /> The city of Las Vegas has a separate municipal court for traffic and criminal misdemeanor offenses that occur within the city's incorporated boundaries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Clark County Marshal's Office provides security for Clark County courts. The Marshal is head of the office, while Deputy Marshals act as bailiffs for the court.<ref name="lasvegassun1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Voter registration

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According to the Secretary of State's office, Independents comprise a plurality of registered voters in Clark County.

Clark County Voter Registrations as of April 2025
Political Party Total Voters Percentage
Template:Party color cell Nonpartisan 559,711 36.64%
Template:Party color cell Democratic 476,044 31.17%
Template:Party color cell Republican 387,811 25.39%
Template:Party color cell Independent American 65,626 4.30%
Template:Party color cell Libertarian 10,278 0.67%
Template:Party color cell Other 27,947 1.83%
Total 1,527,417 100.00%

Politics

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With nearly three-quarters of Nevada's population, Clark County plays a significant role in determining statewide Nevada elections as well the winner of the state's electoral votes in presidential elections. At the presidential level, the county, like most urban counties nationwide, leans Democratic. The last Republican to carry the county was George H. W. Bush in 1988. However, it is somewhat less Democratic than many other urban counties; the GOP candidate has received at least 39 percent of the vote in every election since 1996. In 2024, Republican Donald Trump came the closest to winning Clark County since 1988, winning 47.81% of the vote.

This Democratic trend predates the county's explosive growth in the second half of the 20th century. Republican presidential candidates have only won the county six times from 1912 to the present day, all coming in national landslides where the Republican won over 400 electoral votes.

At the statewide level, however, the county is more of a swing county, with several Republican gubernatorial candidates and U.S. Senators winning the county since the late 1980s. The last Republican senator to win the county was John Ensign in his 2006 victory, even as Jim Gibbons lost it in his gubernatorial win over Dina Titus that year. Both Kenny Guinn and Brian Sandoval carried the county in both gubernatorial terms they won, however. Republican Joe Lombardo, who previously served as Clark County sheriff, won the 2022 Nevada gubernatorial election while losing the county by 5.7%.

In 2018, Dean Heller carried 15 of Nevada's 17 county-level jurisdictions in his bid for a second full term in the U. S. Senate. However, Democratic challenger Jacky Rosen won Clark by over 92,000 votes, almost double her statewide margin of 48,000 votes. In that year's gubernatorial election, Democrat Steve Sisolak lost 15 out of 17 county-level jurisdictions, but won Clark by enough of a margin to get the victory. Between 2008 and 2024, the Democratic presidential candidate won Clark by more than enough votes to carry Nevada, a trend which ended in 2024 where Trump won the state as a whole, largely due to a weak Democratic performance in the county.

The city of Las Vegas itself leans Democratic, as do the communities of Paradise, Spring Valley and Enterprise. The city of North Las Vegas and the communities of Sunrise Manor, Winchester and Whitney are more strongly Democratic, while the city of Henderson and the Summerlin South community have a Republican lean. Boulder City, where gambling is prohibited, leans Republican. Outside Las Vegas Valley, the county leans Republican.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Regional agencies

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The Clark County Regional Flood Control District (CCRFCD) was created in 1985 by the Nevada Legislature allowing Clark County to provide broad solutions to flooding problems.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada operates the RTC Transit system, and does planning for most major roadways.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is a multi-agency group that manages the water distribution for the Las Vegas Valley.

The Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee manages and protects the Las Vegas Wash.

Since 1999 the group has added more the 15,000 plants to stabilize the wash's banks and restore and expand the wetlands surrounding the wash. As part of the effort to restore the wash to a more natural state, they have removed more than Template:Convert of trash.

State government

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The Grant Sawyer State Office Building, which houses many branches of state government, is within the City of Las Vegas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Nevada Department of Corrections operates three prisons within Clark County. High Desert State Prison, a medium-maximum prison, and the Southern Desert Correctional Center, a medium security prison, are both near Indian Springs, Nevada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Florence McClure Women's Correctional Center, originally called Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Facility, opened in North Las Vegas on September 1, 1997. It was built and operated by Corrections Corporation of America. On October 1, 2004, the Department of Corrections took direct control of the facility.<ref>"[1]." Nevada Department of Corrections. Retrieved on January 6, 2010.</ref> It houses the female death row.<ref>"Lone woman on Nevada's death row dies in prison." Associated Press at North County Times. January 31, 2005. Retrieved on September 5, 2010.</ref>

Education

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File:UNLV campus with FDH.jpg
A walkway on the UNLV campus.

The Clark County School District serves all of Clark County,<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref> with 228 elementary schools, 59 middle schools, and 54 high schools being the fifth largest in the country. Student enrollment in 2014 was 324,093.

File:Las Vegas High School 2022-03-29.jpg
The old Las Vegas High School building, now the location of Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts.

Colleges serving the area are University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), College of Southern Nevada, Nevada State University, Roseman University of Health Sciences, and Touro University Nevada.

Transportation

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Public transit

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Public transit service throughout Clark County is provided by RTC Transit, which is a subsidiary of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. RTC Transit operates The Deuce Bus rapid transit service between Downtown Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Strip.

Major highways

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Rail

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Clark County previously had Amtrak service on the Desert Wind, which served Las Vegas station until it stopped service in 1997. Las Vegas and Laughlin are still served by Amtrak Thruway service which connects to the Southwest Chief.

Resort trams

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Communities

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File:Map of Clark County Nevada.svg

Bracketed number refers to location on map, right

Cities

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Census-designated places

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Air Force bases

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Unincorporated communities

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See also

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References

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