Nevada's business scene is like a poker game where everyone's showing their cards… and surprisingly, not everyone's holding casino chips. While the Silver State built its reputation on gaming tables and slot machines, today's biggest employers range from gold miners digging literal fortunes to Tesla cranking out enough batteries to power half of California's electric dreams.
The usual suspects: Gaming giants that still run the show
Let's start with the obvious players, because ignoring Nevada's casinos would be like visiting Paris and skipping that big metal tower thing.
MGM Resorts International sits at the top of the heap with $17.2 billion in global revenue, though only about half of that comes from their Las Vegas Strip properties. They control nine casino resorts on the Strip, which sounds monopolistic until you realize that's "only" 25% of all Strip hotel rooms. With 37,000 rooms in their portfolio and 78,000 employees worldwide, MGM is basically running a small city. A very sparkly, slightly intoxicated small city.
Caesars Entertainment, which started in Reno but now calls Las Vegas home, pulled in $11.2 billion in 2024. Their eight Strip properties generated $4.3 billion of that, while their regional operations… the ones your aunt visits every Tuesday for the senior discount buffet… now represent 46% of their earnings. The company employs about 50,000 people globally, though they're cagey about exactly how many work in Nevada. Probably because they don't want other states getting jealous.
The locals' choice
While tourists flock to the Strip, Nevada residents know where the real action is. Station Casinos and its publicly traded arm Red Rock Resorts generated $1.93 billion in Las Vegas revenue in 2024, a 12.6% jump from the previous year. They operate 18 properties throughout Southern Nevada, including the new Durango Casino Resort that opened in December 2023. Apparently, building a casino in the suburbs where people actually live is good for business. Who knew?
Boyd Gaming rounds out the major players with $3.93 billion in annual revenue across their 11 Nevada properties. They're celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2025, which in Vegas years is basically ancient history. The company hit a milestone in late 2024 by generating over $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time. That's a lot of quarters… the monetary kind, not the ones people feed into slot machines.
Mining: Where the real gold rush continues
Here's something that might surprise you: Nevada produces more gold than any other state. And no, we're not talking about the fake stuff they sell to tourists on Fremont Street.
Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture between Barrick Gold (61.5%) and Newmont Corporation (38.5%), is essentially the Voltron of gold mining. Since forming in 2019, they've produced over 10 million ounces of gold and employ more than 7,000 people across 10 underground and 12 open-pit mines. That's right… 22 different holes in the ground, all pulling out shiny rocks that generate approximately $3.8 billion in revenue annually.
The mining sector's impact on Nevada goes deeper than those holes, though. The industry employs 14,683 people directly, paying them an average of $108,335 per year. That's nearly double what other Nevada industries pay, which explains why mining towns have surprisingly nice pickup trucks. When you factor in the supply chain, mining supports about 37,000 jobs total and contributes 6% of Nevada's GDP, or about $9.5 billion.
Why mining matters more than you think
Nevada produces 76% of all U.S. gold, which sounds impressive until you realize most Americans have no idea where their gold comes from. They probably think it materializes in jewelry stores or grows on trees in federal reserves. But those high-paying mining jobs sustain entire rural communities where the nearest Starbucks might be 200 miles away and "entertainment" means the one bar in town got a new pool table.
Companies like Kinross Gold, Coeur Mining, and Hecla Mining also operate significant Nevada properties. Plus, there's a growing lithium mining sector, because apparently Nevada's desert contains everything needed to power both your grandmother's jewelry box and your nephew's electric skateboard.
Tech and manufacturing: Nevada's plot twist
If someone told you 20 years ago that Nevada would become a manufacturing powerhouse, you'd have checked their drink for suspicious substances. Yet here we are, with Tesla's Gigafactory employing 11,000 workers in a 5.4-million-square-foot facility near Reno.
Tesla has invested $6.2 billion to date in this massive operation that produces 37 gigawatt-hours of batteries annually. That's enough to power… well, I have no idea what a gigawatt-hour powers, but it sounds impressive. They also manufacture 1.5 million battery packs per year, which definitely is impressive. The company plans a $3.6 billion Phase Two expansion to build Tesla Semis and create 3,000 more jobs. Because apparently, regular-sized Teslas weren't enough.
Beyond the batteries
Switch operates massive data centers in Las Vegas and Reno, employing about 800 people and running facilities with up to 495 megawatts of power capacity. That's enough electricity to power… okay, I still don't understand electrical measurements, but it's a lot. These data centers probably store your embarrassing Facebook photos from 2009 and that email you sent to your ex at 2 AM.
Sierra Nevada Corporation, based in Sparks, generates $1.4 billion in annual revenue and employs over 4,000 people globally in aerospace and defense manufacturing. They build things that fly and things that make other things not fly, if you catch my drift. It's all very hush-hush and probably involves rockets.
Healthcare: The unsung heroes of Nevada employment
While everyone's focused on casinos and car batteries, healthcare quietly became one of Nevada's largest employment sectors. Turns out people need doctors and nurses even in Sin City. Especially in Sin City.
Up north, Renown Health employs more than 7,500 people and serves over a million patients annually across a 100,000-square-mile service area. That's roughly the size of… actually, that's just really big. Their flagship Renown Regional Medical Center generates $867.3 million in net patient revenue, the highest in the state, and earned recognition as Nevada's #1 hospital by U.S. News & World Report.
In Southern Nevada, University Medical Center stands as the state's only Level I trauma center, employing 3,000 people and generating $848 million in net patient revenue. They handle everything from tourist mishaps to local emergencies, probably seeing more "what happens in Vegas" aftermath than any other facility.
The Valley Health System operates six acute care hospitals, while HCA Healthcare's Sunrise Hospital boasts over 700 beds. Together, these healthcare systems employ tens of thousands of Nevadans in jobs that can't be outsourced to robots… yet.
Retail and logistics: The backbone nobody notices
Amazon has quietly become one of Nevada's largest employers with 18,000 full- and part-time workers spread across fulfillment centers in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Sparks. They chose Nevada for the same reason everyone else does: strategic location. From here, they can deliver same-day to over 60 million West Coast consumers who absolutely need that phone case by dinnertime.
Walmart isn't far behind with 16,000-plus Nevada associates across 50 stores and three supply chain facilities. They pay an average of $19.31 per hour for full-time workers and promoted 1,100 Nevada employees to higher positions last year. The company also contributed $21.2 million to Nevada communities, which is nice considering how much we all spend there at 2 AM buying things we don't need.
The numbers that matter
The trade, transportation, and utilities sector employs 291,700 Nevadans total, making it one of the state's largest employment categories. These are the people making sure your packages arrive, your lights turn on, and your water flows. Basically, they keep civilization running while the rest of us play blackjack.
A tale of two Nevadas
Nevada might be one state, but economically speaking, it's really two different worlds trying to coexist in the same desert.
Las Vegas and its 2.3 million residents represent 74% of Nevada's population. The city welcomed 41.7 million visitors in 2024 who generated $79.3 billion in economic impact. That's more money than some small countries' entire GDP, all from people coming to lose money on purpose. The economy still centers on Strip mega-resorts, conventions, and entertainment, though the city keeps trying to diversify. They've attracted some professional services, data centers, and logistics operations, but let's be honest… it's still mostly about the casinos.
Up north, Reno-Sparks tells a completely different story. With just 470,000 residents, the region has transformed from "the biggest little city" with a modest gaming market into a legitimate technology and manufacturing hub. Manufacturing GDP alone reached $4.5 billion in 2024. Companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have significant operations there, drawn by proximity to California, lower costs, and actual land to build on.
Why businesses love Nevada (hint: it's the taxes)
Let's talk about everyone's least favorite subject in a way that makes it slightly more bearable. Nevada's tax structure reads like a business owner's wish list:
- No corporate income tax
- No personal income tax
- No franchise tax
- No inventory tax
- Commerce tax of only 0.051% to 0.331%
- Modified business tax of just 1.378%
This tax structure earned Nevada the #7 ranking in the Tax Foundation's 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index. It's one of only four states without corporate income tax and one of nine without personal income tax. Basically, Nevada is the friend who never asks to borrow money.
The state sweetens the deal with incentives through the Governor's Office of Economic Development. Qualifying businesses can get sales tax abatements as low as 2% for capital equipment, property tax reductions up to 50% for 10 years, and modified business tax abatements. These incentives helped land Tesla and continue attracting California companies tired of paying California taxes.
The challenges nobody wants to talk about
Now for the less fun part. Nevada faces some real challenges that all the tax breaks in the world can't immediately fix.
The state currently has the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 5.4%. That seems weird given all these companies we just talked about, but it turns out rapid growth creates its own problems. The population has swelled to 3.3 million, straining infrastructure and housing availability. Try finding an affordable apartment in Las Vegas or Reno… I'll wait.
Even the gaming industry showed some cracks in 2024. While overall gaming revenue hit a record $15.6 billion, Las Vegas Strip revenue actually declined slightly. Turns out baccarat players… the high-rollers who bet amounts that would make your mortgage look reasonable… played less last year. When whales stop swimming in your casino ocean, revenue takes a hit.
What's next for Nevada business?
Despite the challenges, Nevada's economy keeps growing. GDP jumped 6% to reach $260.7 billion in 2024, with the state ranking 11th nationally in five-year average GDP growth at 2.4% annually. Not bad for a state that started as a mining camp and gambling haven.
The future looks like a continued balancing act between old and new. Gaming will remain important… people aren't going to stop enjoying vice anytime soon… but it's no longer the only game in town. Mining continues generating billions while positioning Nevada for the clean energy transition through lithium extraction. Manufacturing and technology sectors keep expanding, creating jobs that don't require dealing with drunk tourists.
The biggest question is whether Nevada can solve its workforce and infrastructure challenges fast enough to support this growth. The state needs skilled workers for emerging industries, affordable housing for those workers to live in, and infrastructure that doesn't crumble under the weight of success.
But if history's any guide, Nevada will figure it out. This is a state that turned worthless desert into the entertainment capital of the world, convinced serious companies to build factories next to casinos, and somehow made it all work. The house always wins, as they say… and in Nevada, increasingly, the house builds batteries, mines gold, and saves lives too.
