Population:

35th largest U.S. State by population, with 2,643,085 people (2009 estimate).
7th largest state in the country by area, at 110,567 square miles.

Largest city: Las Vegas

Median income:$56,361 (2008 estimate)

Climate:
Yearly rainfall: 7.9 inches per year
Yearly snowfall: 24 inches per year in Reno; 1 inch or less per year in Las Vegas
Temperatures (High/Low) in capital city of Carson City:
January, 45/21; July, 89/51

Foreclosures:
Foreclosure activity for 2009 increased in Nevada over the prior year. There was a total of 112,097 properties with filings. That works out to a rate of one filing for every 10 households, which compares to the United States average of 45, and is a little more than 10 percent of the state’s housing units.

Those figures represent a 44 percent increase over 2008 and a 225 percent increase over 2007.

In 2008 there were about 65,500 existing homes (including condos, co-ops, and single-family homes but excluding new homes) sold in Nevada, compared to about 45,300 sold in 2007.

Economy:
When Nevada legalized gambling in 1931, it was a sleepy mining and agriculture state with not much of a population and little resembling a tourist industry. Today, tourism accounts for more than a quarter of the state's economy and the Las Vegas Strip is the second most frequented tourist site in the country, behind Times Square. In addition to gambling and hospitality, Las Vegas still has an agriculture and mining presence that employs just over 1 percent of the population.

Noteworthy:
More than 85 percent of Nevada's population resides in its two biggest cities, Las Vegas and Reno.