By Breven Honda
“I think the secret’s out.”
Those were the words from Mesquite City Councilwoman Karen Fielding when she heard that Mesquite was named the fastest growing city in Nevada.
In July, the U.S. Census Bureau announced the news of Mesquite’s growth. That expansion also translates to the population doubling over the next two decades, according to the forecasts.
Although the U.S. Census Bureau has not officially announced Mesquite’s updated population, Fielding is anxious to hear where the numbers stand.
“I can’t wait to find out exactly what our population is because that’s been speculated,” Fielding said. “Are we 22,000? Are we over 25,000? I think it’s amazing for Mesquite. It just puts us on the map one more time.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Mesquite’s population as of July 1, 2023, was at 22,786, which is an 11.3% increase from April 1, 2020. The percentage increase is almost five times higher than the growth of nearby Las Vegas (2.5%) in the same time period.
The current population growth in town is about 3.9% per year.
Fielding said the big part to the uptick in numbers is due to the work that has been done in the past.
“I think if we get much busier, we’re going to have to look at that infrastructure again,” Fielding said. “Several years ago, when they started the Master Plan and the infrastructure, I think the city did an amazing job doing that. I think they did that with the mindset that we were going to get busy, you know, we were going to grow.”
There are many reasons why the population has risen in Mesquite.
However, one of the main factors is because of the more stress-free lifestyle.
“A lot of people move here because, you know the weather, the no taxes, they’re retired. It’s a smaller town,” said Fielding as 44.8% of Mesquite’s population consists of those older than 65. “There’s sun 365 days a year. They don’t have to shovel snow. I think that people are happy to come here and see our small, little town.”
This also comes after Mesquite was named the safest city in the state of Nevada back in April.
On the flip side to the newcomers, the longtime residents have their perspective, like Fielding, who has been in Mesquite since 1995 when the population was 3,270.
She said the residents who have been in Mesquite have to find the balance of keeping their city low key but also to the point where the city continues to flourish.
“It’s kind of on the side of, ‘Yes, we need growth to get more businesses, more box stores, things that we need in Mesquite,’” she said. “And on the other side, we want to keep it as small as we can. So, it kind of works both ways.”
There are also people that come to Mesquite for specific events, whether it is local events or public sporting events, like the World Long Drive Championships, which brings together the longest hitters in the game of golf.
“We have people who come to town for tournaments all the time, that travel from Utah and California and Oregon,” Fielding said. “Last year, people were traveling from all the way around the country to come to the tournament here. We had the long drive here. People come from around the country for that as well.
“So, our secrets out.”
Even for the Mesquite Senior Games, they have also recognized the city’s growth.
They have noticed an increase through the numbers in their events, either in the spring or the fall.
“Our participation has increased,” said Mesquite Senior Games President Sandy Tudor, who has been in town for about a decade. “I think that’s because there are more people here. Some of our events, we get a lot of people from Las Vegas and St. George. Bocce and pickleball, those people come from St. George a lot because they have active pickleball clubs and stuff there, in addition to our local pickleball clubs.”
