North Las Vegas, NV
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What North Las Vegas is actually like
North Las Vegas traces back to 1919, when Thomas L. Williams, a transplant from Utah, staked out land north of the young Las Vegas townsite, drawn by the area's artesian water and potential for agriculture. The community incorporated as a city on May 1, 1946. Growth was slow at first -- the 1940 count was under 4,000 people -- but accelerated after 1960 as Nellis Air Force Base (built during World War II as the Las Vegas Aerial Gunnery School) and industrial development pulled workers north. In the 1990s the city annexed roughly 60 square miles of surrounding desert, land that later became newer subdivisions including Aliante.
Today North Las Vegas is the metro's third-largest incorporated city, with population estimated at roughly 296,000 as of 2025 (up from 262,527 at the 2020 Census), spread across just over 100 square miles. It runs its own police and fire departments, separate from both Las Vegas Metro and Clark County. Housing ranges from older, modest single-family tracts and mobile home parks near the historic core along Las Vegas Boulevard and Lake Mead Boulevard to newer, larger-lot subdivisions in the annexed north end. Large employers include an 850,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center and a Sephora distribution center, both opened in 2019, reflecting the city's growth in logistics and warehousing on its open desert land.
The city's north end includes two master-planned communities built out largely in the 2000s: Aliante, anchored by a casino-hotel and golf course, and Eldorado. North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), a Clark County-owned general-aviation field dating to 1941 as Sky Haven Airport, sits inside city limits and is one of the busier general-aviation fields in the country by aircraft operations. Nellis Air Force Base -- headquarters of the Air Force's Fighter Weapons School and home to the Thunderbirds demonstration team -- occupies the northeast valley and is a major economic anchor for the area, though it remains a closed military installation with only limited public access via base tours and its Thunderbirds museum.
Home values in North Las Vegas
Zillow's Home Value Index put the typical North Las Vegas home value at $407,369 as of July 31, 2026, down 1.7% year-over-year.
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Is North Las Vegas part of the City of Las Vegas or the Strip?
No. North Las Vegas is a separately incorporated city with its own mayor, city council, police department, and fire department -- it isn't a neighborhood of Las Vegas and doesn't include the Strip, which sits in unincorporated Clark County. North Las Vegas was incorporated on May 1, 1946, and is the metro's third-largest incorporated city.
Is Aliante actually part of North Las Vegas?
Yes. Aliante, the master-planned community in the far north of the valley built around Aliante Casino + Hotel and its golf course, is within North Las Vegas city limits -- part of roughly 60 square miles the city annexed in the 1990s.
Can you live near Nellis Air Force Base, and is the base open to visit?
Parts of North Las Vegas and the surrounding north valley sit under Nellis's flight paths, so aircraft noise is a real factor in some neighborhoods, especially during Exercise Red Flag training periods. The base itself is a closed military installation -- there's no general public access beyond organized base tours and its Thunderbirds Air & Space Museum.
What hospital serves North Las Vegas?
North Vista Hospital, at 1409 E. Lake Mead Blvd., is located within the city itself; it's operated in North Las Vegas since 1959.
Does North Las Vegas have its own water utility?
Yes. Unlike the City of Las Vegas and unincorporated areas served by the Las Vegas Valley Water District, North Las Vegas runs its own municipal water utility -- though like every provider in the valley, it buys wholesale water from the Southern Nevada Water Authority, sourced almost entirely from Lake Mead.
How far is North Las Vegas from the Strip?
It depends on which part of the city. The older core near Las Vegas Boulevard and Lake Mead Boulevard is roughly 8-10 miles from the Strip, about 20-25 minutes via I-15 outside peak hours, while newer areas like Aliante in the far north run closer to 20 miles.