Summary of Findings  
  
  
Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Nevada's
7,502 retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $11.5
billion. In 1987, 6,442 retail stores had sales of $7.3 billion.
The 1992 data represent an increase of 57.7 percent in total
retail sales for the State.   
  
For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores 
accounted for 19.9 percent of the State's total sales by
retailers compared with 20.2 percent in 1987. Other leading
retail kinds of business in 1992 were new and used car dealers
with 16.1 percent of sales, department stores (including leased
departments) with 10.0 percent, and gasoline service stations
with 6.6 percent.   
  
For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State
averaged $1.5 million per establishment, compared with $1.1
million in 1987. In 1992, department stores (including leased
departments) averaged $20.6 million per establishment; new and
used car dealers, $20.5 million; catalog and mail-order houses,
$7.5 million; grocery stores, $4.0 million; and lumber and other
building materials dealers, $3.8 million.  
  
For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee  
averaged $116 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per
employee of $419 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $34
thousand per employee average for restaurants.   
  
The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $1.4
billion, compared with $924 million for 1987. Payroll as a
percent of sales of establishments with payroll averaged 12.3
percent for all retailers, 29.8 percent for retail bakeries,
compared with 6.6 percent for gasoline service stations.   
  
There were 99,279 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with
81,491 employees in 1987. Large employers included refreshment
places with 14,618 employees, restaurants with 13,882 employees,
and grocery stores with 13,458 employees.