North vs. South

Reno might be the casino capital of Northern Nevada, but its economy doesn’t depend nearly as much on tourism as Las Vegas does.

And now, several months into the coronavirus pandemic, its economy isn’t suffering nearly as much either.

The Las Vegas-area’s unemployment rate in October, 13.8 percent, was more than double the Reno area’s, at 6.3 percent, state officials recently reported.

Casino-heavy Southern Nevada, which comprises the bulk of the state’s population, has long relied on tourism to fuel the economy. The Reno area has better spread out its employer base, thanks in no small part to the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Storey County east of the city.

Developed by Storey County Commissioner and brothel owner Lance Gilman, the 107,000-acre business park is home to several companies, including Google, Switch and Tesla, and has benefited from state-approved tax breaks for projects there.

From 2010 to 2019, state officials approved more than $1.3 billion worth of tax incentives for 39 companies with plans for ventures in Storey County, for a projected total of just over 12,000 jobs, according to data from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

TRIC fueled the huge incentive total, according to GOED deputy director Bob Potts.

Overall, around 28 percent of the

Las Vegas-area’s labor market worked in leisure in hospitality early this year before the pandemic hit, compared with 15 percent in the Reno area, state data shows.