Best PlacesNevada Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Nevada, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Nevada ranks 37th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on tree cover and education levels. It does better on cell coverage, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Nevada
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 Nevada
The counties of Nevada, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Nye County
Disaster risk is lower and big-city amenities are closer.
Carson City, Douglas County & Lyon County
Heat risk is lower, though fewer households have young kids.
Washoe County
Prices have run up less.
White Pine County
Local pay stretches further, though streets are more car-dependent.
Clark County
Fewer residents vote and incomes run lower.
Elko County
Crime runs higher and biking is worse.
Nevada shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Nevada's strengths and weaknesses
Nevada lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Cell coverage is the standout, in the top 1% of states. State infrastructure and the weather follow.
The one real hole is tree cover, near the bottom of the country. Education levels and air quality also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Nevada ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of states
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of states
- Nice weatherabout 179 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of states
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of states
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of states
Where Nevada ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of states
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of states
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of states
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of states
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 7% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Nevada
A household needs to earn about $112,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Nevada home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $86,192, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Nevada's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Nevada
Nevada's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Nevada.
Who works in Nevada, and how
Work in Nevada centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Nevada
Nevada has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of states and less parkland per resident than most states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Nevada and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Nevada, month by month
Nevada sees roughly 179 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 108 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 49° | 38° |
| April | 83° | 70° | 56° |
| July | 108° | 96° | 81° |
| October | 85° | 71° | 58° |
The best schools in and around Nevada
Schools across Nevada average a C, better than 23% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Pinecrest Academy Of Nevada InspiradaA+ · 76% proficient
- Ted Hunsberger ElementaryA+ · 74% proficient
- Caughlin Ranch ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Coral Academy WindmillA− · 57% proficient
- Marce Herz Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Rogich Sig MsA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- Davidson AcademyA+ · 95% proficient
- College Of So Nv Hs WestA+ · 84% proficient
- College Of So Nv Hs SouthA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Nevada school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Nevada 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 Nevada against the other 49 states.
Who Nevada suits
Common questions about living in Nevada
Is Nevada a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Nevada ranks 37th of 50 states. It scores highest on cell coverage, state infrastructure, and the weather, and lowest on tree cover and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Nevada expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $446,820. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $86,192 median income, cost of living beats 45% of states.
Is Nevada safe?
Nevada is safer than 17% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $519 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Nevada?
July highs average about 108 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 38. That works out to about 179 pleasant days a year, more than 95% of states.
What are the best areas in Nevada?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Nye County, Carson City, Douglas County & Lyon County, and Washoe County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Nevada good for families?
Schools beat 23% of states, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $1,139 a month.
Is Nevada good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 45% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 35% of states. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Nevada with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Nevada. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Nevada 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.
Nevada detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Nevada: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Nevada: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Nevada: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Nevada: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Nevada 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.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- 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.