Like all states, Nevada has certain places that are going on hard times. These Nevada places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Nevada.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 15 cities in Nevada with more than 2,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Nevada For 2026:
What’s the poorest city in Nevada? According to the facts, Las Vegas is the poorest place in Nevada for 2026.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Nevada reading, check out:
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The 10 Poorest Cities In Nevada For 2026
1. Las Vegas
/10
Population: 660,400
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 3)
Median Income: $73,877 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.9% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 92,125
More on Las Vegas: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
Las Vegas, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Nevada thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 660,400 people averages the 5th lowest median household income in Nevada and the 2nd highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Fallon
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Population: 9,463
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $73,389 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 12.5% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,181
More on Fallon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The second poorest city in Nevada is Fallon.
The city ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty and 4th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 12th highest in the Silver State.
3. Yerington
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Placing as the third poorest city, Yerington’s median income ranks as the 2nd lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 11.86% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Silver State.
4. Elko
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Population: 20,696
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $79,036 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.8% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 2,851
More on Elko: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Elko ranks as the fourth poorest place in Nevada.
The town ranks as having the 9th lowest median household income and the 3rd highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Winnemucca
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Population: 8,361
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 6)
Median Income: $81,824 (12th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.0% (highest)
People In Poverty: 1,173
More on Winnemucca: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The fifth poorest city in Nevada is Winnemucca.
The city ranks as having the 12th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the highest in Nevada.
Still not the best news for Winnemucca.
6. West Wendover
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West Wendover ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Silver State.
It ranks as having the 14th highest incidence of poverty and the 15th highest unemployment rate.
7. Boulder City
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Population: 14,919
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $74,757 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 11.4% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,705
More on Boulder City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Boulder City places as the seventh poorest city in Nevada.
The city of over 14,919 ranks as having the 9th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Reno
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Population: 273,212
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Median Income: $80,760 (11th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 12.7% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 34,561
More on Reno: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Reno ranks as the eighth poorest city in Nevada.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Mesquite
/10
Population: 22,059
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $75,227 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 10.6% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,333
More on Mesquite: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Mesquite couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Nevada; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 7th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Mesquite ranks as having the 10th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Nevada.
10. North Las Vegas
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Population: 278,595
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Income: $79,542 (10th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 12.1% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 33,765
More on North Las Vegas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Nevada is North Las Vegas.
The city of 278,595 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Silver State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Nevada for 2026
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 15 places with more than 2,000 people in Nevada, we ranked each place from 1 to 15 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Las Vegas, crowned the “Poorest Place In Nevada For 2026”.
This report has been updated for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the poorest places in Nevada.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Nevada For 2026
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Nevada, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Nevada.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Nevada, according to data:
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Richest: Henderson
2nd Richest: Sparks
3rd Richest: Ely
For more Nevada reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Nevada
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- Most Expensive Places To Live In Nevada
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Nevada
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Vegas | 660,400 | 13.9% | $73,877 | 92,125 |
| 2 | Fallon | 9,463 | 12.5% | $73,389 | 1,181 |
| 3 | Yerington | 3,150 | 11.9% | $57,980 | 373 |
| 4 | Elko | 20,696 | 13.8% | $79,036 | 2,851 |
| 5 | Winnemucca | 8,361 | 14.0% | $81,824 | 1,173 |
| 6 | West Wendover | 4,514 | 7.4% | $49,013 | 334 |
| 7 | Boulder City | 14,919 | 11.4% | $74,757 | 1,705 |
| 8 | Reno | 273,212 | 12.7% | $80,760 | 34,561 |
| 9 | Mesquite | 22,059 | 10.6% | $75,227 | 2,333 |
| 10 | North Las Vegas | 278,595 | 12.1% | $79,542 | 33,765 |
| 11 | Fernley | 24,225 | 12.8% | $89,517 | 3,100 |
| 12 | Carlin | 2,088 | 6.5% | $60,898 | 135 |
| 13 | Ely | 3,929 | 7.6% | $77,500 | 299 |
| 14 | Sparks | 110,024 | 8.5% | $89,056 | 9,341 |
| 15 | Henderson | 332,141 | 9.0% | $90,138 | 29,793 |