LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – California is playing a huge role in Nevada’s growth. According to the U.S. Census, more than 50,000 Californians moved to Nevada from July 2017 to July 2018, pushing the Silver State’s population to 3 million.

8 News Now spoke with former Californians about why they chose to live in Nevada.

Their reasons? No state income tax, affordable cost of living and better traffic.

Kamyar Zargari with Triumph Property Management said there is a list of magnets attracting people to move here.

“We don’t have as much traffic as we have in Los Angeles,” said Zargari. “The job market here is really easy to find.”

Of all the reasons given, the most attractive was the cost of living.

Matthew Schmitz moved from California to Spring Valley five years ago.

“I searched around a little bit. I thought living in an apartment was more affordable, and it’s about $1,000 a month,” Schmitz revealed.

Zargari said that while we have seen a rent increase of 20 percent in Las Vegas, there’s really no comparison between California rent prices and those here.

When you compare California to Nevada, there’s a 30 to 40 percent price difference.

“For a 2,000-square-foot home here in Las Vegas, you can probably rent it for $2,000 a month, whereas if it was in California, it would be at least $6,000 a month,” said Zargari.

But how long will the attraction to the Silver State from the Golden State last?

“I do see the continuance of growth in Californians moving to Las Vegas, but at some point, it will probably plateau, and it will be 50/50,” Zargari predicted.

Aside from Californians, people from Arizona, Texas and even Miami are moving here.

So, you can expect possibly up to a 10 percent population increase next year.

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