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Cliff-Zone Families
85,370
Total Wage Suppression
$62.1M
State Avg Cliff Zone
17.8%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Nevada, an estimated 85,370 families across 17 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County | 2,329,548 | 18.4% | 65,994 | $48.0M | 703% |
| Washoe County | 497,200 | 15.0% | 10,437 | $7.6M | 733% |
| Elko County | 54,047 | 18.6% | 1,729 | $1.3M | 655% |
| Carson City | 58,384 | 18.7% | 1,558 | $1.1M | 659% |
| Lyon County | 61,680 | 15.9% | 1,457 | $1.1M | 592% |
| Nye County | 54,344 | 20.6% | 1,288 | $938K | 576% |
| Douglas County | 49,623 | 13.0% | 989 | $720K | 673% |
| Churchill County | 25,805 | 18.7% | 695 | $506K | 630% |
| Humboldt County | 17,289 | 16.1% | 475 | $346K | 604% |
| White Pine County | 8,735 | 17.4% | 138 | $100K | 604% |
| Pershing County | 6,487 | 20.1% | 135 | $98K | 553% |
| Mineral County | 4,542 | 19.9% | 114 | $83K | 624% |
| Lander County | 5,770 | 16.5% | 95 | $69K | 581% |
| Lincoln County | 4,405 | 22.4% | 88 | $64K | 561% |
| Eureka County | 1,585 | 29.4% | 75 | $55K | 624% |
| Storey County | 4,140 | 11.2% | 67 | $49K | 733% |
| Esmeralda County | 1,028 | 34.1% | 36 | $26K | 642% |
17 of 17 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.