Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA

Micro Area Profile

51,239 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA micropolitan area.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 43% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 9% of 835 metro and micro areas measured78
SchoolsTop 17% of 695 metro and micro areas measured75
GrowthTop 44% of 834 metro and micro areas measured54
Housing affordability810th of 835 metro and micro areas measured40
Climate751st of 835 metro and micro areas measured54
Physical resilience795th of 835 metro and micro areas measured13
AccessTop 21% of 835 metro and micro areas measured93
Economic stabilityTop 31% of 835 metro and micro areas measured67
The quick read

Gardnerville Ranchos ranks in the top 9% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.1% and median household income of $91,077.

Public schools test above most of the state: 45% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 17% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 223 units authorized over the past twelve months, 29% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
51,239
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$91,077
Top 7% nationally
Density
35/sq mi
1,448.9 sq mi of land
Median age
54.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Nevada and California
Nearest major airport
TVL
19 mi · Lake Tahoe
Median home value
$614,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.1%, lower than in 53% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 1.5% over the past year, to 24,438 employed residents.

32% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 73% of measured US metro and micro areas.

Median household income of $91,077 is higher than in 93% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$5,8602024 ACS 5-Year$91,077Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,5972024 ACS 5-Year$59,047Top 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.0%Top 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.8 minBottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year31.9%Top 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.4%25th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202624,438Bottom 35%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+9.1%Top 1%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.5%Top 12%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202625,48334th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year74.1%Bottom 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%45th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 41%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.1%Top 47%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.9%80th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.53.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.1% 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.

45% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 56% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.3 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
14
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.3
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
44.8%
Top 8% in Nevada
Reading proficiency
56.0%
Top 14% in Nevada
The 12 largest of 14 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Douglas High SchoolDouglas1,51020.140%58%
Carson Valley Middle SchoolDouglas59121.941%55%
Pau Wa Lu Middle SchoolDouglas46019.231%50%
Minden Elementary SchoolDouglas37119.562%60%
Jacks Valley Elementary SchoolDouglas36415.843%51%
C. C. Meneley Elementary SchoolDouglas36316.555%49%
G. L. Scarselli Elementary SchoolDouglas30516.952%58%
Gardnerville Elementary SchoolDouglas30016.747%57%
Pinon Hills Elementary SchoolDouglas25616.072%77%
Zephyr Cove Elementary SchoolDouglas153—52%57%
George Whittell High SchoolDouglas1395.832%47%
ASPIRE Academy High SchoolDouglas8213.710%30%

34.5% 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 each state’s own standard, so it is ranked within state — here, within Nevada, the first state in this area’s name. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,769 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.45% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,605, close to the $1,592 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,605 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $64,200 a year, about 70% of the median household income here of $91,077.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,592 a month.

A median home at $614,900 costs 6.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $102,025, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
32.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,605
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,592
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$614,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Gardnerville Ranchos’s median household income of $91,077, 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
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year6.0Bottom 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.8%94th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1112024 ACS 5-Year26,38340th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,291Bottom 13%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,232Bottom 11%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,605Bottom 14%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$862024 ACS 5-Year$1,592Bottom 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,0712024 ACS 5-Year$614,90097th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$992024 ACS 5-Year$2,76973rd percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,7612024 ACS 5-Year$102,025Top 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.45%9th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year32.5%Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2882024 ACS 5-Year3,32075th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year12.6%91st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%16th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3662024 ACS 5-Year4,62349th 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.

Development Momentum

54/ 100
Top 44% 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 50,663 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 223 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 4.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
223
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.4
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
−29%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202451k51k
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, 18.9 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

13 / 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 38% of it.

WildfireHigh
EarthquakeHigh
AvalancheModerate
DroughtModerate
Inland floodingModerate
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate

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

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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. 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 19 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year93.9%Top 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle19 miTop 23%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%Top 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lake TahoeTVL19 mi8,541 ft
Reno/Tahoe IntlRNO53 mi11,001 ft
Reno/SteadRTS65 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
56
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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
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.