In December, the FAA designated Nevada as one of six test sites for unmanned aircraft systems, paving the way for the state to become the epicenter of the country’s drone industry—at least that’s the hope espoused by Nevada’s governor Brian Sandoval. The Republican governor celebrated the news by pointing to forecasts predicting thousands of job “with an average wage of $62,000,” and Democratic politicians have cheered along. So have non-profit organizations, local universities and drone companies that have recently flocked to the state.

“We want to develop a new reputation for Nevada of being the Silicon Valley for autonomous systems,” said Warren Rapp, business director for the Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center. The goal is to suck up the biggest share of the global drone market that will swell to an estimated $90 billion in the next decade. Steve Hill, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development in Nevada says drones could eventually bring in $2.5 billion to $8 billion annually.

The primary competition for Reno and the rest of northern Nevada is San Diego, a city with a strong defense manufacturing sector whose drone industry had ballooned to as much as an estimated $2 billion in 2013. San Diego’s drone industry benefits mightily from several big military facilities and leading drone makers like Northrup Grumman.

But as the FAA works toward a 2015 deadline to create regulations for commercial drone use (a deadline it will likely miss), Nevada is making its case—starting with the fact there’s not much to crash into in the desert. Nevada’s wide open terrain and the fact that nearly 90% of its land is federally managed all help minimize high cost collisions. It’s one of the largest states, but with a much lower population density than California or Florida (a state also vying to be the country’s drone capital.) The open spaces help reduce some of the public safety and privacy concerns usually raised with drones.

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