Carson City, NV

Metro Area Profile

58,384 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Carson City, NV metropolitan area.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 32% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
OpportunityTop 32% of 835 metro and micro areas measured60
GrowthTop 31% of 834 metro and micro areas measured61
Housing affordability774th of 835 metro and micro areas measured49
Climate751st of 835 metro and micro areas measured54
Physical resilience738th of 835 metro and micro areas measured22
AccessTop 25% of 835 metro and micro areas measured90
Economic stabilityTop 32% of 835 metro and micro areas measured66
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.9% and median household income $72,355, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

443 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Buying strains owner incomes far more than renting strains renter incomes — the median home is 5.2 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 30% of renter income.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
58,384
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,355
Top 34% nationally
Density
404/sq mi
144.5 sq mi of land
Median age
42.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
Nevada
Nearest major airport
TVL
22 mi · Lake Tahoe
Median home value
$453,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9%, lower than in 59% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 0.8% over the past year, to 28,379 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,0902024 ACS 5-Year$72,355Top 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,3162024 ACS 5-Year$39,432Top 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.1%Top 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.6 minTop 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year23.7%Bottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year70.6%15th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202628,379Bottom 40%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.3%Top 20%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.8%Bottom 49%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202629,52140th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year75.6%Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$68,900Top 18%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$56,680Top 11%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS31,9402nd percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%88th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 42%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.9%Top 41%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.8%61st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.33.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Largest occupations — Carson City, NV

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive960$49,270
General and Operations Managers890$103,160
Registered Nurses820$101,370
Retail Salespersons740$37,490
Fast Food and Counter Workers670$30,010
Cashiers600$34,310

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

36% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 43% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.9 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.9
across 9 of them
Math proficiency
36.3%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
42.6%
2018-19 school year
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Eagle Valley Middle SchoolCarson City85417.824%28%
Carson Middle SchoolCarson City83317.730%43%
Fremont ElementaryCarson City55315.430%40%
Bordewich/Bray ElementaryCarson City53915.947%51%
Al Seeliger ElementaryCarson City52717.052%53%
Edith W. Fritsch ElementaryCarson City50016.752%56%
Mark Twain ElementaryCarson City49716.040%46%
Empire ElementaryCarson City44516.529%29%
Carson Montessori · charterCarson City27919.932%47%
Carson High SchoolCarson City0—30%53%

80.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Nevada’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 94.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for this area is up 28% over five years, and up 2.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,870 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.41% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,546, some 24% above the $1,248 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,546 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $61,800 a year, about 85% of the median household income here of $72,355.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,248 a month.

A median home at $453,000 costs 5.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $87,631, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
94.9

Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Price level for all consumption in this metropolitan area against a national average of 100. Housing dominates the spread between places; goods vary far less.

Rent as a share of income
29.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,546
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,248
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$453,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Carson City’s median household income of $72,355, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index202394.9Bottom 38%of 3862023
Home price change (1 year)2026 Q2+2.2%32nd percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)2026 Q2+27.7%10th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)2026 Q2+106.4%67th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year5.2Bottom 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year62.3%14th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±882024 ACS 5-Year25,15637th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,212Bottom 19%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,150Bottom 13%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,546Bottom 16%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$612024 ACS 5-Year$1,248Bottom 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,9972024 ACS 5-Year$453,00092nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1052024 ACS 5-Year$1,87047th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,7432024 ACS 5-Year$87,631Top 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.41%6th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year29.9%Bottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±842024 ACS 5-Year1269th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%9th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%21st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3582024 ACS 5-Year1,46410th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

61/ 100
Top 31% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 1% since 2020, to 58,148 in 2024.

At 7.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
443
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.6
Top 11% nationally
Year over year
−1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
36.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202459k58k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

3 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 80°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 20.5 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SOUTH LAKE TAHOE AP, 22.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals20.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals31991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

22 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and wildfire, with earthquake alone responsible for 72% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

EarthquakeElevated
WildfireHigh

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, avalanche, heat wave, lightning, volcanic activity, inland flooding, landslide, hail, strong wind, drought, tornado, cold wave, ice storm, tsunami, hurricane, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Lake Tahoe at 22 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year91.5%Top 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle22 miTop 27%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.8%Top 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lake TahoeTVL22 mi8,541 ft
Reno/Tahoe IntlRNO24 mi11,001 ft
Reno/SteadRTS36 mi9,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
52
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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