Article Table Of Contents
Henderson, Winnemucca, Elko: These cities aren't just some of the best places to live in Nevada. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Silver State.
Henderson in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $74,147 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 7.934754506780736%.
If you're thinking of moving to one of these towns, you'll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Nevada share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 16 places in Nevada with more than 2,000 people.
Here are the 10 richest places in Nevada for 2021:
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in Nevada.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Nevada:
The 10 Richest Cities In Nevada For 2021
1. Henderson
/10
Population: 300,116
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $74,147
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%
Poverty Rate: 7.9%
More on Henderson: Real Estate | Photos
2. Winnemucca
/10
Population: 7,762
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $66,857
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 11.6%
More on Winnemucca: Real Estate | Photos
3. Elko
/10
Population: 20,304
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Median Income: $79,205
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 14.4%
More on Elko: Real Estate | Photos
4. West Wendover
/10
Population: 4,285
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $64,274
Unemployment Rate: 1.7%
Poverty Rate: 13.6%
More on West Wendover: Real Estate | Photos
5. Carlin
/10
Population: 2,025
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Median Income: $78,929
Unemployment Rate: 7.9%
Poverty Rate: 8.2%
More on Carlin: Real Estate | Photos
6. Sparks
/10
Population: 100,589
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 2)
Median Income: $64,645
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%
Poverty Rate: 9.4%
More on Sparks: Real Estate | Photos
7. Fernley
/10
Population: 20,068
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $62,929
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%
Poverty Rate: 9.9%
More on Fernley: Real Estate | Photos
8. Carson City
/10
Population: 54,773
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 4)
Median Income: $55,718
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 11.3%
More on Carson City: Real Estate | Photos
9. Boulder City
/10
Population: 15,840
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $61,787
Unemployment Rate: 6.7%
Poverty Rate: 9.2%
More on Boulder City: Real Estate | Photos
10. Reno
/10
Population: 246,500
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $58,790
Unemployment Rate: 5.4%
Poverty Rate: 13.5%
More on Reno: Real Estate | Photos
How We Determined The Richest Places In Nevada For 2021
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don't believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "richest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 16 places with more than 2,000 people in Nevada, we ranked each place from 1 to 16 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Rich Score" with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Henderson, crowned the "Richest City In Nevada For 2021". You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 16 places.
There You Have It - The Wealthiest Places In Nevada For 2021
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest 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 top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Nevada, according to data:
Poorest: Yerington
2nd Poorest: Las Vegas
3rd Poorest: Ely
For more Nevada reading, check out:
- 5 Most Dangerous Cities In Nevada
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Nevada
- Best Places To Live In Nevada
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Nevada
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henderson | 3.67 |
| 2 | Winnemucca | 4.67 |
| 3 | Elko | 5.67 |
| 4 | West Wendover | 5.67 |
| 5 | Carlin | 6.33 |
| 6 | Sparks | 6.33 |
| 7 | Fernley | 7.0 |
| 8 | Carson City | 8.0 |
| 9 | Boulder City | 8.33 |
| 10 | Reno | 8.33 |
| 11 | Mesquite | 10.33 |
| 12 | North Las Vegas | 10.67 |
| 13 | Fallon | 11.0 |
| 14 | Ely | 11.33 |
| 15 | Las Vegas | 12.67 |
| 16 | Yerington | 16.0 |
I live in Winnemucca, and I would qualify as one of those “rich” people you erroneously describe. You’re way off the mark. The richest people live in Minden, Tahoe, Gardnerville, and Truckee. Winnemucca is full of divorced miners that shell out jaw dropping amounts of child support and alimony to their ex-wives that remarry, you guessed it, another miner. Do an article on the highest child support awards paid by joint custodian dads in Nevada, possibly the country, and you’ll see where the money is going. Humboldt County (Winnemucca) is especially notorious for child support, it easily beats Elmo, which is insanely high itself. Half the town lives in double-wide trailers. The schools are also poor, I’d look at the public schools in an area before looking at income, it’s far more accurate of a measure than Census income data. Everything I said applies to Carlin and Elko as well. Miners work 12 hour rotating shifts, with a 1 hour drive to work minimum each way, some miners drive 2 hours each way. The costs associated with this type os work add up quickly and negate the perceived benefits you assume when looking at income. When you get home, finally, you’re not eating in, you go and pay someone to cook for you because you’re too bloody tired to do it for yourself. A lot of your income goes to simply feeding yourself. If you have kids the costs add up even more. You have to drive at least 2 hours to get to a town where a sizeable amount of other people live. Traveling sports teams etc… This place is okay, don’t get me wrong, but the richest city in Nevada? Lol, not even close brother.
Where does Summerlin rank?
Its part of LV. Very nice-