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December 9, 2008
Elko County has the highest median family income in Nevada
By Steve Timko Reno Gazette Journal
stimko@rgj.com
The best wages in Nevada aren’t in Reno, Las Vegas or Lake Tahoe — they’re in Elko County, U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Tuesday show.
Mining helped give Elko County the highest median family income of any of the larger counties in Nevada, according to estimates collected between 2005-2007 and released as part of the bureau’s American Community Survey, which makes demographic estimates in addition to housing and population estimates.
The estimates are not for every county in the country, but for those with populations of more than 20,000.
Elko County’s median family income was $70,759, according to the estimates. That’s slightly higher than Douglas County. The margin of error is great enough that Douglas County could be No. 1 in Nevada.
Of 1,818 counties nationally, Elko’s median family income ranked 196th highest.
In the 2000 census — in which about one out of every eight Nevada households was asked demographic information compared to the smaller sample used in this data— Elko County ranked fourth in Nevada in median family income.
Elaine Barkdull-Spencer is executive director of the Elko County Economic Diversification Authority, but about 16 years ago she ran clothing stores in the Elko area. Because of high mining wages, she had to pay $2 more an hour for employees to compete, she said.
And businesses that offer support services to mining or sell to mining companies have to pay their employees more because of the higher mining wages, Barkdull-Spencer said.
“Everybody ends up competing with mining,” Barkdull-Spencer said.
As mining has grown in Elko County, more support businesses have decided to open shop in Elko County instead of just having employees drive in, she said.
“It’s not just the wages. It’s the benefits. The benefits are superior,” Barkdull-Spencer said.
Two companies, Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp., joined together and opened their own medical clinic in Elko County, she said.
A field service technician in the mining industry can start at $54,000 a year in Elko County.
State Demographer Jeff Hardcastle agreed it’s mining employment that gives Elko County high wages. The mines are in both Elko and Eureka counties, with people commuting from Elko County to work in Eureka County, he said.
Barkdull-Spencer said it’s not just gold mining, but also barite mining. There’s also a large molybdenum mine in Eureka County, she said. Molybdenum is an important material for the chemicals, lubricant and steel industries.
How big is mining in northeastern Nevada?
The census bureau estimates in Elko County about one in four workers has a job in a category it calls agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting and mining.
That’s the third highest percentage in that category in the country, trailing only Colusa County, Calif., and Jerome County, Idaho.
Additional Facts
About the American Community Survey data:
The data, which is being released Tuesday, is the first detailed economic, social and demographic information for small- and medium-sized cities since the 2000 census. It was collected over three years, from 2005 through 2007, providing a mid-decade snapshot of every community with at least 20,000 residents.
The data comes from the American Community Survey. Census takers interview 3 million households a year for the survey, which produces annual data for geographical areas with populations of 65,000 or more. For areas with at least 20,000 people, the survey produces three-year averages.
Source: Associated Press
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