Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Nevada with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Nevada that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Nevada at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Carlin.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Nevada For 2026
- Carlin
- Kingsbury
- Washoe Valley
- Hawthorne
- Yerington
- Minden
- Nellis AFB
- Battle Mountain
- Ely
- West Wendover
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Nevada reading:
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Nevada For 2026
1. Carlin
/10
Population: 2,088
Median Home Price: $215,967
Population Change: -3.5%
Home Price Change: 6.3%
More on Carlin: Crime | Movers
2. Kingsbury
/10
Population: 2,209
Median Home Price: $1,105,564
Population Change: 2.0%
Home Price Change: 26.5%
More on Kingsbury: Movers
3. Washoe Valley
/10
Population: 3,315
Median Home Price: $625,754
Population Change: -2.6%
Home Price Change: 0.6%
More on Washoe Valley: Movers
4. Hawthorne
/10
Population: 2,809
Median Home Price: $129,526
Population Change: -2.3%
Home Price Change: 7.4%
More on Hawthorne: Movers
/10
/10
Population: 3,707
Median Home Price: $691,907
Population Change: 12.0%
Home Price Change: 1.5%
More on Minden: Data | Movers
/10
Population: 5,087
Median Home Price: $0
Population Change: 7.0%
Home Price Change: nan%
More on Nellis Afb: Data | Movers
/10
Population: 3,518
Median Home Price: $284,968
Population Change: -11.1%
Home Price Change: 5.3%
More on Battle Mountain: Data | Movers
/10
Population: 3,929
Median Home Price: $204,820
Population Change: -0.3%
Home Price Change: 3.3%
More on Ely: Data | Movers
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Nevada for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 11. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Nevada. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Nevada with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Nevada with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Nevada, only 43 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 43 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Carlin is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Silver State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Nevada for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Nevada. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Nevada are Carlin, Kingsbury, Washoe Valley, Hawthorne, Yerington, Minden, Nellis AFB, Battle Mountain, Ely, and West Wendover.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Nevada reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Nevada
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlin | 2,088 | $215,967 | -3.5% | 6.3% |
| 2 | Kingsbury | 2,209 | $1,105,564 | 2.0% | 26.5% |
| 3 | Washoe Valley | 3,315 | $625,754 | -2.6% | 0.6% |
| 4 | Hawthorne | 2,809 | $129,526 | -2.3% | 7.4% |
| 5 | Yerington | 3,150 | $312,508 | 0.4% | 2.0% |
| 6 | Minden | 3,707 | $691,907 | 12.0% | 1.5% |
| 7 | Nellis Afb | 5,087 | $0 | 7.0% | nan% |
| 8 | Battle Mountain | 3,518 | $284,968 | -11.1% | 5.3% |
| 9 | Ely | 3,929 | $204,820 | -0.3% | 3.3% |
| 10 | West Wendover | 4,514 | $295,976 | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| 11 | Silver Springs | 5,060 | $355,850 | -8.4% | 3.2% |
| 12 | Lemmon Valley | 4,412 | $394,111 | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| 13 | Gardnerville | 5,486 | $606,750 | -5.6% | 1.6% |
| 14 | Johnson Lane | 6,467 | $784,219 | 1.0% | 0.9% |
| 15 | Indian Hills | 5,527 | $496,539 | -4.2% | -3.7% |
| 16 | Moapa Valley | 6,684 | $372,045 | -0.2% | -6.0% |
| 17 | Winnemucca | 8,361 | $349,753 | -0.4% | 1.6% |
| 18 | Laughlin | 8,789 | $259,678 | 1.7% | 0.3% |
| 19 | Fallon | 9,463 | $391,150 | 1.0% | 2.3% |
| 20 | Incline Village | 9,272 | $1,474,426 | 1.3% | 1.0% |
| 21 | Cold Springs | 11,321 | $444,709 | 0.9% | -3.0% |
| 22 | Gardnerville Ranchos | 12,114 | $498,797 | -0.6% | -2.2% |
| 23 | Dayton | 15,781 | $453,484 | -0.6% | 1.3% |
| 24 | Spring Creek | 14,739 | $404,703 | -1.5% | 1.2% |
| 25 | Spanish Springs | 17,980 | $640,328 | 2.7% | -2.8% |
| 26 | Boulder City | 14,919 | $470,943 | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 27 | Mesquite | 22,059 | $380,205 | 3.5% | -0.9% |
| 28 | Elko | 20,696 | $360,730 | 0.3% | 2.2% |
| 29 | Fernley | 24,225 | $395,925 | 2.5% | 1.5% |
| 30 | Sun Valley | 22,228 | $434,990 | -2.1% | 1.9% |
| 31 | Summerlin South | 31,354 | $690,105 | 4.3% | -2.0% |
| 32 | Winchester | 37,081 | $310,773 | -1.8% | -1.4% |
| 33 | Pahrump | 47,347 | $368,640 | 3.4% | 0.2% |
| 34 | Whitney | 47,221 | $337,663 | 2.1% | 2.7% |
| 35 | Sparks | 110,024 | $529,282 | 0.8% | 2.1% |
| 36 | Paradise | 185,913 | $394,316 | -0.1% | 0.3% |
| 37 | Sunrise Manor | 200,218 | $328,426 | 0.6% | 2.9% |
| 38 | Enterprise | 240,464 | $488,020 | 3.6% | -1.0% |
| 39 | Spring Valley | 219,187 | $445,222 | -0.3% | -0.5% |
| 40 | North Las Vegas | 278,595 | $407,047 | 2.9% | -0.2% |
| 41 | Reno | 273,212 | $567,856 | 1.6% | 1.7% |
| 42 | Henderson | 332,141 | $486,156 | 2.3% | -0.2% |
| 43 | Las Vegas | 660,400 | $426,582 | 1.5% | -0.1% |