Published July 20, 2026
Is There Really 80,000 Acres of Vacant Land Available for Development in Clark County?
Where the 80,000-Acre Figure Came From
Last year, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and Southern Nevada Strong released an Underutilized Lands Inventory, conducted by the Portland-based firm ECOnorthwest. The study became a widely repeated talking point in conversations about Clark County's housing supply and land constraints — cited as roughly 78,285 acres in some places, more than 82,000 acres per the RTC's own site, and 84,000 acres in a Southern Nevada Strong headline. In a valley where most remaining developable land is federally controlled and calls to release more of it have been building, a figure suggesting tens of thousands of "available" acres understandably got attention.
Why a New Analysis Is Pushing Back
Per Las Vegas Review-Journal reporting, the Southern Nevada chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (CREDA) commissioned Las Vegas-based RCG Economics to take a closer look. RCG's analysis found that a meaningful share of the land the original study flagged as vacant or underutilized is anything but: parking lots belonging to a Costco, a church, and an elementary school were included, along with land on slopes as steep as 25 percent — well beyond the roughly 10 percent slope threshold the industry generally considers cost-prohibitive to build on without extensive engineering. One specific example RCG pointed to: a 223-acre parcel in Henderson counted as underutilized, more than 200 acres of which sits above a 12 percent slope.
What the Original Study's Author Says Now
The RTC's response, notably, isn't a flat denial. Deputy CEO Andrew Kjellman acknowledged the concern and said the widely repeated acreage figure "should not be treated as an estimate of land that is currently available or feasible for development." He noted that of the original 78,285 acres identified, the RTC's own study had already given about 87 percent of it — roughly 68,132 acres — a low ranking for development potential. In his telling, the number was always meant as a first-pass screening result, not a development-ready land bank, and "further analysis is needed" before drawing conclusions about what can actually be built.
Why This Matters If You Care About Las Vegas Housing Supply
This isn't just an academic argument between economists. Both the commercial brokers behind the RCG study and Nevada Realtors, per the same reporting, frame the disagreement as being in service of the same underlying goal: an honest count of how much land is realistically left to build on, so the valley can plan for continued growth without either overstating easy answers or ignoring genuine constraints. For anyone watching the Las Vegas Valley housing market, the honest takeaway is that no one has published an agreed-upon, development-ready acreage number yet — and that uncertainty itself helps explain why land, and the homes built on it, keep getting more expensive in a valley hemmed in by mountains and federal land on nearly every side.
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Book your free sessionWhat This Means If You're Buying or Investing Here
Land-supply disputes like this one rarely resolve quickly, and they rarely change the math for buyers in the next six to twelve months. What they do confirm is the trend I see with clients again and again: land scarcity in the Las Vegas Valley isn't a talking point, it's a daily reality for builders trying to find their next parcel, and it's part of why well-located resale inventory in established communities continues to hold value even when overall inventory is loosening. If you're weighing new construction against resale because of what you're hearing about land constraints, that's exactly the kind of question worth walking through with someone who tracks these numbers locally, not just at the headline level.
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Frequently asked questions
How much vacant land does Clark County actually have?
The widely cited figure is roughly 78,000 to 84,000 acres of vacant or underutilized land, from a regional study. A newer industry-commissioned analysis argues that number overstates what's realistically developable, since it includes steep mountainside parcels and land already in use, like parking lots.
Why is the Clark County land estimate being disputed?
A land-economics firm hired by a commercial real estate trade association found that the original study counted parking lots at a Costco, a church, and a school, plus land on slopes as steep as 25 percent, as "underutilized" even though little of it could realistically be built on.
Does this affect the push to release BLM land near Las Vegas?
Indirectly, yes. The dispute is happening alongside ongoing calls for the federal government to release more Bureau of Land Management acreage in the valley, since federally controlled land accounts for most of what's left to develop around Las Vegas.
Who is right about how much land is available?
Even the agency behind the original study now says the widely repeated acreage figure shouldn't be treated as an estimate of land that's currently available or feasible to build on, and that further analysis is needed. Neither side has published a single agreed-upon number yet.
Get a personalized answer for your situation
Wondering how land constraints might affect a specific neighborhood or new-construction community you're considering? Let's talk it through.
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About Alexandra Malenkina
Alexandra Malenkina is the Broker/Owner of Nevada Realty Experts, a bilingual English/Russian brokerage serving the Las Vegas Valley. With 15+ years of experience and 300+ transactions, she ranks among the top 5% of 16,000+ Las Vegas agents and has 50+ five-star Google reviews and 74+ Zillow reviews. Nevada Real Estate License B.1001643.
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Equal Housing Opportunity. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Market conditions change; consult a licensed real estate professional for figures specific to your situation. All real estate information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
