Best PlacesElko County, NV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Elko County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Elko County ranks 2,411th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Elko County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Elko County
The parts of Elko County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Spring Creek
More residents vote, fewer homes sit empty, and it is quieter.
Elko
Streets are more walkable and biking is better.
Carlin
More households have young kids, though incomes run lower.
West Wendover
Disaster risk is lower and commutes are shorter.
Scores across Elko County run from about the 2nd to the 63rd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Elko County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elko County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 89% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of counties
- Household income$88,452 median, better than 85% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 85% of counties
Where Elko County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Elko County
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elko County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,452, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Elko County's effective rate of 0.57%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Elko County
Elko County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Elko County.
Who works in Elko County, and how
Work in Elko County centers on mining & oil & gas and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in Elko County
Elko County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 83% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Elko County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Elko County growing, and who is moving in?
Elko County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Reno, NV.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Elko County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Elko County, month by month
Elko County sees roughly 133 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 64° | 47° | 30° |
| July | 96° | 76° | 53° |
| October | 69° | 48° | 29° |
Flying in and out of Elko County
The nearest airport, Elko Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Salt Lake City International, about 186 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elko County
Schools across Elko County average a C−, better than 22% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mountain View Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Grammar School 2B− · 43% proficient
- Ruby Valley Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Spring Creek Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Adobe Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Wells Jr High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Spring Creek High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Battle Mountain High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Wells High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elko County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elko County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Elko County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Elko County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of counties and 6% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Elko County
Is Elko County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elko County ranks 2,411th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, state finances, and what local pay buys, and lowest on disaster risk and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elko County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $289,804. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $88,452 median income, cost of living beats 87% of counties.
Is Elko County safe?
Elko County is safer than 4% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $902 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Elko County?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 18. That works out to about 133 pleasant days a year, more than 84% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Elko County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Spring Creek, Elko, and Carlin. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Elko County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elko County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elko County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Elko County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elko County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elko County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elko County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elko County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elko County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.