Las Vegas Ranks as the Top City in Need of Addiction Counseling

Littered with casinos and strip clubs, it’s no surprise that Las Vegas consistently appears on rankings associated with high crime and binge drinking. But a new study by Grand Canyon University is worth being brought to the forefront of our attention.

The Phoenix-based private university recently released a ranking of the cities with the greatest need for addiction counseling. Again, it’s likely unsurprising that our Sin City made yet another list for high rights of drug usage or associated crime. But what’s interesting is the lack of proportionate professional care available in the area.

Based on eight weighted factors relating to addiction, Las Vegas earned a total score of 82.6 out of a possible 100. Oklahoma City takes the #2 spot with a score of 71.1 - more than 10 points shy of our own.

Major factors that contributed to our high score were cited as the highest unemployment rate in the nation, the highest drug arrest per capita, the second-fewest number of addiction counselors, and the lowest competition rate for addiction counselor jobs. These contrasting numbers don’t seem to make any sense - it’s only intuitive that the city with the highest drug arrest rate would have a comparably high number of addiction counselors, but that clearly is not the case.

The case could be made for the fact that many of those crime statistics could be attributed to the high influx of tourists our local attractions and party scenes invite, though it’s been proven that the tourists are not responsible for a large percentage of our crime rates. The constantly surging crime rates are not exclusive to the major tourist attractions and affect locals and travelers alike.

Regardless, it would make sense to bring the solution to the root of the problem. The need for care here is high, thus, the demand for professionals to supply such care should be equally high. Yet as this report illustrates, trained addiction counselors are not flocking to our area to set up shop.

Zooming out a bit, Nevada earned an overall score of 61.5 on a similar weighted scale. While this is much lower than Las Vegas’ 82.6, it still means that Nevada ranks as one of the highest states in need of addiction counseling in the nation, just behind Arkansas and Tennessee, for many of the same reasons Las Vegas ranked so high.

If you or someone you know is facing personal struggles with addiction, look into resources provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or seek professional help.