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 16 cities in Nevada with more than 2,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Nevada For 2024:
What’s the poorest city in Nevada? According to the facts, Yerington is the poorest place in Nevada for 2024.
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:
- Best Places To Live In Nevada
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- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Nevada For 2024
1. Yerington
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Yerington, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Nevada thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 3,108 people averages the lowest median household income in Nevada and the 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. Las Vegas
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Population: 644,835
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $66,356 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.7% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 94,597
More on Las Vegas: Data | Cost Of Living
The second poorest city in Nevada is Las Vegas.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 3rd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 3rd highest in the Silver State.
3. Fallon
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Population: 9,243
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $63,490 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 11.4% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,050
More on Fallon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Placing as the third poorest city, Fallon’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 11.37% 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. Reno
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Population: 265,196
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 4)
Median Income: $73,073 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 12.7% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 33,732
More on Reno: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Reno ranks as the fourth poorest place in Nevada.
The town ranks as having the 8th 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. Carson City
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Population: 58,249
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 4)
Median Income: $67,465 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 11.2% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 6,512
More on Carson City: Data | Cost Of Living
The fifth poorest city in Nevada is Carson City.
The city ranks as having the 4th 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 8th highest in Nevada.
Still not the best news for Carson City.
6. North Las Vegas
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Population: 264,022
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $71,774 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 11.9% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 31,497
More on North Las Vegas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
North Las Vegas ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Silver State.
It ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and the highest unemployment rate.
7. Winnemucca
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Population: 8,354
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $78,161 (11th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 12.4% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,038
More on Winnemucca: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Winnemucca places as the seventh poorest city in Nevada.
The city of over 8,354 ranks as having the 4th 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. Mesquite
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Population: 20,659
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Median Income: $69,146 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 9.8% (12th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,032
More on Mesquite: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Mesquite 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. Boulder City
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Population: 14,868
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 2)
Median Income: $76,402 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 10.6% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,578
More on Boulder City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Boulder City couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Nevada; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Boulder City ranks as having the 10th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Nevada.
10. West Wendover
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And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Nevada is West Wendover.
The city of 4,513 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 2024
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 2018-2022 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
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 poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Yerington, crowned the “Poorest Place In Nevada For 2024”.
This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Nevada.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Nevada For 2024
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: Fernley
For more Nevada reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Nevada
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- Worst Places To Live In Nevada
- 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 | Yerington | 3,108 | 19.8% | $41,600 | 616 |
| 2 | Las Vegas | 644,835 | 14.7% | $66,356 | 94,597 |
| 3 | Fallon | 9,243 | 11.4% | $63,490 | 1,050 |
| 4 | Reno | 265,196 | 12.7% | $73,073 | 33,732 |
| 5 | Carson City | 58,249 | 11.2% | $67,465 | 6,512 |
| 6 | North Las Vegas | 264,022 | 11.9% | $71,774 | 31,497 |
| 7 | Winnemucca | 8,354 | 12.4% | $78,161 | 1,038 |
| 8 | Mesquite | 20,659 | 9.8% | $69,146 | 2,032 |
| 9 | Boulder City | 14,868 | 10.6% | $76,402 | 1,578 |
| 10 | West Wendover | 4,513 | 10.7% | $80,342 | 481 |
| 11 | Elko | 20,513 | 11.4% | $85,000 | 2,346 |
| 12 | Carlin | 2,366 | 5.8% | $68,207 | 137 |
| 13 | Ely | 3,957 | 9.4% | $77,076 | 373 |
| 14 | Fernley | 23,035 | 10.0% | $84,025 | 2,298 |
| 15 | Sparks | 108,025 | 8.5% | $82,938 | 9,171 |
| 16 | Henderson | 318,063 | 8.1% | $85,311 | 25,890 |
Lived in Henderson for 20+yrs and hated it hoping and planning to move out of the country in fact. Don’t believe all the hype of people moving here its the State, Housing and Casino industries making up all that nonsense most people I know are moving out of state etc.
This place has NOTHING to do unless you gamble or like the desert scenery which 99% is off limits or you need to pay or its dangerous to go out there etc lots of hikers, bikers and tourists have been robbed, raped or worst at Red Rock or anyone of the outdoor sites the one thing the tourist industries NEVER mention just look em up online . Its either very hot or very cold which also causes deaths, lots of homeless lots.
NV is the foreclosure capital of the world there are tens of thousands of vacant foreclosed home from the housing scam crash of 2008 so unless you want some 10,20 or even a 50yr old house which all need a lot of work as vacant homes in this type of weather deteriorate faster than less hostile temp states and the houses are not all that “cheap” as all the adverts tell you yes of course cheaper than LA or HI (where I came from stupidly) but with most decent used ones, you’re are better off buying a new one as the prices in the average or safer areas are in the $4oo-6ook range so the gap is not as big as they say all the “cheap” ones are in shady less nice areas with more crime obviously.
Hardly any public transportation and all the car dealers here are so bad we always bought our cars out of state and luckily got a good service dealer center here. There is a lot of crime so only tourist go out at night and with this new virus it may well end this city as gambling was way done before all the craziness. And the medical aka doctors here are all over the place eg: its very hard to find a good one.
So if you like walking in a Afghanistan like scenery town or like to lose money gambling and or shopping at Walmart or Sams Club as they are all over the place then this is the state for you. For us it just became boring as heck its NOT like any other state there really is nothing to do here but gamble no joke….Like they good place to visit NEVER to live .