Most Americans have never been to small town Nevada. However, as the Nevadan who live there know, small town Nevada is an awesome place to call home.
But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Nevada has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Silver State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.
After analyzing more than 32 of Nevada’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Nevada where you’d never want to live:
12.8% unemployment · $1,000 median income
13.2% unemployment · $57,639 median income
6.0% unemployment · $57,574 median income
8.5% unemployment · $70,000 median income
9.2% unemployment · $42,074 median income
10.9% unemployment · $76,029 median income
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
5.5% unemployment · $107,454 median income
4.7% unemployment · $80,368 median income
2.7% unemployment · $57,980 median income
Yerington is a city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,048 at the 2010 census. It is named after Henry M. Yerington, Superintendent of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad from 1868 to 1910. The city incorporated in 1907. It is the current county seat of Lyon County, the first county seat being established at Dayton on November 29, 1861. After the Dayton Court House burned down in 1909, the seat was moved to Yerington in 1911.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12.5% unemployment · $93,456 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Nevada’s statewide median.
Nevada statewide median: $446,865
Nevada statewide median: $78,260
Nevada statewide median: 7.0%
On the map
Where Nevada’s worst small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Nevada is lousy or not?
To rank the worst small towns to live in Nevada, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.
We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.
Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (The lower, the worse)
- Highest Unemployment Rates
- Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
- Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
- Education (Number of high school dropouts)
- High Crime
We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 32 to be exact.
We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.
We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the worst small places to live in Nevada.
The full plate
Worst Small Towns In Nevada
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Unemployment Rate | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackpot | 1,415 | 12.8% | $162,058 | $1,000 |
| 2 | Sandy Valley | 1,742 | 13.2% | $239,854 | $57,639 |
| 2 | Topaz Ranch Estates | 1,621 | 6.0% | $296,918 | $57,574 |
| 4 | Stagecoach | 1,892 | 8.5% | $330,889 | $70,000 |
| 5 | Lovelock | 1,481 | 9.2% | $249,971 | $42,074 |
| 6 | Lemmon Valley | 4,412 | 10.9% | $394,111 | $76,029 |
| 7 | Wells | 1,352 | 5.5% | $218,811 | $107,454 |
| 8 | Grass Valley | 1,134 | 4.7% | $0 | $80,368 |
| 9 | Yerington | 3,150 | 2.7% | $312,509 | $57,980 |
| 9 | Golden Valley | 1,139 | 12.5% | $511,934 | $93,456 |
| 11 | Hawthorne | 2,809 | 9.0% | $129,527 | $67,300 |
| 12 | McGill | 1,050 | 6.9% | $145,825 | $56,779 |
| 13 | Pioche | 1,031 | 8.2% | $234,178 | $88,493 |
| 14 | Carlin | 2,088 | 1.6% | $215,968 | $60,898 |
| 15 | Ely | 3,929 | 3.9% | $204,821 | $77,500 |
| 16 | West Wendover | 4,514 | 1.0% | $295,977 | $49,013 |
| 17 | Battle Mountain | 3,518 | 13.2% | $284,969 | $81,857 |
| 18 | Smith Valley | 1,807 | 3.3% | $775,907 | $67,132 |
| 19 | Washoe Valley | 3,315 | 6.8% | $625,754 | $122,614 |
| 20 | Tonopah | 1,910 | 0.0% | $159,808 | $47,031 |
| 21 | Verdi | 1,012 | 6.4% | $816,512 | $80,670 |
| 22 | Osino | 1,341 | 0.0% | $109,099 | $92,756 |
| 23 | Indian Springs | 1,180 | 1.2% | $391,543 | $87,083 |
| 24 | Fallon Station | 1,399 | 0.0% | $0 | $67,301 |
| 25 | Kingsbury | 2,209 | 4.5% | $1,105,564 | $96,250 |
| 26 | Genoa | 1,284 | 4.1% | $1,171,783 | $121,981 |
| 27 | Ruhenstroth | 1,682 | 0.4% | $687,847 | $105,281 |
| 28 | Minden | 3,707 | 2.1% | $691,908 | $99,904 |
| 29 | Panaca | 1,015 | 0.0% | $244,045 | $64,083 |
| 30 | East Valley | 1,283 | 3.7% | $897,322 | $125,417 |
| 31 | Caliente | 1,146 | 0.0% | $209,693 | $1,000 |
| 32 | Mogul | 1,050 | 2.3% | $670,810 | $145,250 |
Source: FBI crime data + U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 32 Nevada towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Nevada
If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Silver State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
The worst small towns in Nevada are Jackpot, Sandy Valley, Topaz Ranch Estates, Stagecoach, Lovelock, Lemmon Valley, Wells, Grass Valley, Yerington, and Golden Valley.
