International migration to Nevada dropped significantly in 2025, with none of the Silver State's 17 counties seeing an immigration increase from the year before, according to a Nevada Independent analysis of census estimates.

About 10,500 people moved to Nevada from outside the U.S. in the yearlong period ending last July, less than half the number from the year before. Almost all of the downturn was in Clark County, the state's most populous region. 

The trend could spell trouble for Nevada's economy, which relies heavily on immigrant workers and has seen a downswing in domestic migration in recent years.  

A report from FWD.us, a group that advocates for a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented people, found immigrants in Nevada pay about $5.2 billion in annual taxes and comprise about a fifth of Nevada's workforce, most notably in the construction and agricultural sectors. 

The downturn isn't just in Nevada. Every American metro area experienced an immigration slowdown in 2025, The New York Times found, which the White House said "reflect the undeniable success of President [Donald] Trump's signature border security policies." The latest population estimates cover the start of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, as well as the ramping up of immigration restrictions at the end of the Biden administration.

Previous surges in immigration to Nevada have offset some of the decreases in people moving here from other states. In six of the past seven years, domestic migration to Nevada has slowed, while international migration increased in four of those years.

But if both international and domestic migration continue to fall, the economic effects could be far reaching, said Jinju Lee, an associate research director at UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research.

"Then our growth rate is going to be low, and that means less expansion in labor force," said Lee, whose research focuses on population trends. "That means people not consuming product."

Nevada's population grew by about 0.9 percent in the yearlong period ending last July. In the last 14 years, the only time growth was slower was in 2021 and 2022, where deaths rose dramatically because of the pandemic.

Officials in Nevada have pushed back against the president's crackdown on immigration, saying it could have a large social and economic impact in a state with one of the largest shares of undocumented people nationwide. 

The FWD.us report, which was based on census data, found immigrants make up 76 percent of the landscaping industry, 61 percent of the building services workforce and 43 percent of hotel service employees.

Lee from UNLV said if American-born workers cannot fill these immigrant jobs, it would lead to economic slowdown because companies could not "produce what they want to produce."

Julia Gelatt, the director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute, said she anticipates a decrease from immigrants who come from countries farther away from the U.S. such Venezuela and Ecuador.

In 2025, the Trump administration eliminated a temporary parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. He has also paused the review of asylum applications from about 40 countries. 

"It's harder for people to make that longer trip and they're maybe not willing to make that longer trip when they think their chances of getting into the U.S. are pretty low," Gelatt said in an interview. 

Undocumented immigrants and those with temporary protections make up about a quarter of the state's construction workforce and contribute about $900 million in taxes, FWD.us found.