city, Clark county, southeastern Nevada, U.S. A part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area, the city was settled in the early 1920s by pioneers attracted by the water supply; it was originally named Vegas Verde. It was renamed North Las Vegas in 1932 and incorporated as an independent city in 1946. In the 1990s the city's government embarked on an ambitious program of expansion, annexing nearly 60 square miles (155 square km) of surrounding desert. The city's major employers are Nellis Air Force Base and the U.S. Department of Energy Nevada Test Site, although the nongovernmental sector has become increasingly important, as have the gaming and service industries that figure so prominently in the economy of neighbouring Las Vegas. Inc. 1946. Pop. (1990) 47,707; (2000) 115,488.