Fernley, Nevada
Area Profile
24,225 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Fernley, in Churchill County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 12 sourcesUnemployment is 4.2% and median household income $89,517, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.
In the public schools here, 34% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 20.8 students for every teacher.
230 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning.
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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 4.2%, lower than in 55% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment grew 0.2% over the past year, to 12,611 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$9,5812024 ACS 5-Year | $89,517 | Top 25%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,1432024 ACS 5-Year | $37,038 | Top 40%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.2% | Bottom 41%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±2.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.6 min | Bottom 36%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 16.4% | Bottom 38%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 78.4% | 54th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 12,611 | Bottom 7%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | +3.7% | Top 10%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | +0.2% | Top 33%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 13,164 | 7th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 77.8% | Bottom 48%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.5% | 88th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.1% | Bottom 47%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 4.2% | Top 45%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.5% | 44th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 48% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 20.8 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernley High School | Lyon | 1,327 | 24.1 | 23% | 44% |
| Churchill County High School | Churchill | 1,025 | 21.4 | 24% | 51% |
| Oasis Academy · charter | State Sponsored Charter Schools | 797 | 23.4 | 61% | 74% |
| Churchill County Middle School | Churchill | 700 | 20.0 | 17% | 38% |
| Silverland Middle School | Lyon | 677 | 23.3 | 35% | 51% |
| Fernley Intermediate School | Lyon | 658 | 24.4 | 38% | 46% |
| Cottonwood Elementary School | Lyon | 572 | 20.4 | 34% | 39% |
| East Valley Elementary School | Lyon | 518 | 21.6 | 52% | 52% |
| E C Best Elementary | Churchill | 465 | 17.9 | 47% | 34% |
| Numa Elementary School | Churchill | 455 | 17.5 | 35% | 50% |
| Fernley Elementary School | Lyon | 442 | 15.8 | 32% | 37% |
| Lahontan Elementary School | Churchill | 436 | 15.0 | — | — |
93.1% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Nevada is up 37% over five years, and up 4.7% 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 $1,964 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.54% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,421, below the $1,570 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,421 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $56,800 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $89,517.
The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,570 a month.
A median home at $366,700 costs 3.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $99,801, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
The figures above are measured against Fernley’s median household income of $89,517, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Nevada’s figure2026 Q2 | +4.7% | 75th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Nevada’s figure2026 Q2 | +36.5% | 34th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Nevada’s figure2026 Q2 | +106.5% | 71st percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 3.7 | Bottom 22%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 72.0% | 42nd percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3672024 ACS 5-Year | 9,141 | 93rd percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,083 | Top 28%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,976 | Top 41%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,421 | Top 36%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1242024 ACS 5-Year | $1,570 | Bottom 18%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$9,6262024 ACS 5-Year | $366,700 | 80th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1132024 ACS 5-Year | $1,964 | 55th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$5,6722024 ACS 5-Year | $99,801 | Top 27%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.54% | 14th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.2% | Top 49%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±502024 ACS 5-Year | 65 | 85th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.7% | 59th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.1% | 27th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±1562024 ACS 5-Year | 352 | 86th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 grown 11% since 2020, reaching 25,508 in 2024.
Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 303 units authorized in 2025, up 67% on the prior year.
70% of the 230 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.
At 9.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 96°F and January a low of 22°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 4.9 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 61 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 4.9" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 22°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 96°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 1 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 44 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 44°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and wildfire, with inland flooding alone responsible for 43% of it.
Low or minimal exposure: volcanic activity, winter weather, lightning, landslide, avalanche, ice storm, hail, strong wind, tornado, cold wave, 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. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Churchill County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.9 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 21.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 24.9 per 100,000 residents in Churchill County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Fernley (Churchill County) rather than Fernley itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
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. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. 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.
- 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
3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Reno/Tahoe Intl at 31 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 93.0% | Top 35%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 31 mi | Bottom 26%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 3 | Bottom 20%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.4% | Top 33%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reno/Tahoe Intl | RNO | 31 mi | 11,001 ft |
| Reno/Stead | RTS | 37 mi | 9,000 ft |
| Lake Tahoe | TVL | 63 mi | 8,541 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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Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.
ZIP codes in Fernley
2 ZIP areasEvery ZIP area in Fernley with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Fernley closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89406 | 25,739 | $79,163 | $329,900 | 51 |
| 89408 | 24,564 | $89,552 | $366,500 | — |