Nevada is astate located in theWestern United States. According to the2020 United States Census, it is the32nd most populous state, with3,104,614 inhabitants,[1] but the7th largest by land area, spanning 109,781.18 square miles (284,332.0 km2).[2] Nevada is divided into 17counties and contains 19municipalities.[3] Nevada's municipalities cover only1% of the state's land area but are home to56.7% of its population.[2]
Municipalities in the state are legally described as cities, except for the state capitalCarson City, which lacks legal description but is considered anindependent city as it is not located in any county.[3] To incorporate, a petition for incorporation can be made to the board of county commissioners, who consider numerous geographic, demographic, and economic factors.[4] Cities are categorized by population for the purpose of determining the number ofwards and council election structure as well as the number ofcity clerks: cities with 50,000 or more inhabitants are in population category one, cities with 5,000 or more but fewer than 50,000 inhabitants are in population category two, and cities having fewer than 5,000 inhabitants are in population category three.[4] Cities are responsible for providing local services such as fire and police protection, road maintenance, water distribution, and sewer maintenance.[4]
The largest municipality by population in Nevada isLas Vegas with 641,903 residents, and the smallest isCaliente with 990 residents.[1] The largest municipality by land area isBoulder City, which spans 208.52 mi2 (540.1 km2), whileLovelock is the smallest at 0.85 mi2 (2.2 km2).[2] The first municipality in Nevada to incorporate was Carson City, onMarch 1, 1875, and the most recent place wasFernley, onJuly 1, 2001.[5][6]
.jpg)
_in_Fernley%2c_Nevada.jpg)
‡ State capital andindependent city
| Name | Type[2] | County[2] | Population (2020)[1] | Population (2010)[2] | Change | Land area (2020)[7] | Population density | Incorporation date[6] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sq mi | km2 | ||||||||
| Boulder City | City | Clark | 14,885 | 15,023 | −0.9% | 208.27 | 539.4 | 71.5/sq mi (27.6/km2) | October 1, 1959 |
| Caliente | City | Lincoln | 990 | 1,130 | −12.4% | 53.02 | 137.3 | 18.7/sq mi (7.2/km2) | October 1, 1959 |
| Carlin | City | Elko | 2,050 | 2,368 | −13.4% | 10.44 | 27.0 | 196.4/sq mi (75.8/km2) | October 22, 1925 |
| Carson City‡ | — | None | 58,639 | 55,274 | +6.1% | 144.53 | 374.3 | 405.7/sq mi (156.7/km2) | March 1, 1875[5] |
| Elko† | City | Elko | 20,564 | 18,297 | +12.4% | 17.85 | 46.2 | 1,152.0/sq mi (444.8/km2) | March 14, 1917 |
| Ely† | City | White Pine | 3,924 | 4,255 | −7.8% | 7.63 | 19.8 | 514.3/sq mi (198.6/km2) | July 20, 1907 |
| Fallon† | City | Churchill | 9,327 | 8,606 | +8.4% | 3.72 | 9.6 | 2,507.3/sq mi (968.1/km2) | December 18, 1908 |
| Fernley | City | Lyon | 22,895 | 19,368 | +18.2% | 121.31 | 314.2 | 188.7/sq mi (72.9/km2) | July 1, 2001 |
| Henderson | City | Clark | 317,610 | 257,729 | +23.2% | 106.23 | 275.1 | 2,989.8/sq mi (1,154.4/km2) | June 8, 1953 |
| Las Vegas† | City | Clark | 641,903 | 583,756 | +10.0% | 141.83 | 367.3 | 4,525.9/sq mi (1,747.4/km2) | March 16, 1905 |
| Lovelock† | City | Pershing | 1,805 | 1,894 | −4.7% | 0.86 | 2.2 | 2,098.8/sq mi (810.4/km2) | September 26, 1917 |
| Mesquite | City | Clark | 20,471 | 15,276 | +34.0% | 31.76 | 82.3 | 644.6/sq mi (248.9/km2) | May 24, 1984 |
| North Las Vegas | City | Clark | 262,527 | 216,961 | +21.0% | 101.28 | 262.3 | 2,592.1/sq mi (1,000.8/km2) | May 1, 1946 |
| Reno† | City | Washoe | 264,165 | 225,221 | +17.3% | 108.77 | 281.7 | 2,428.7/sq mi (937.7/km2) | March 16, 1903 |
| Sparks | City | Washoe | 108,445 | 90,264 | +20.1% | 36.44 | 94.4 | 2,976.0/sq mi (1,149.0/km2) | March 15, 1905 |
| Wells | City | Elko | 1,237 | 1,292 | −4.3% | 6.90 | 17.9 | 179.3/sq mi (69.2/km2) | March 28, 1927 |
| West Wendover | City | Elko | 4,512 | 4,410 | +2.3% | 7.48 | 19.4 | 603.2/sq mi (232.9/km2) | July 1, 1991 |
| Winnemucca† | City | Humboldt | 8,431 | 7,396 | +14.0% | 9.78 | 25.3 | 862.1/sq mi (332.8/km2) | October 13, 1917 |
| Yerington† | City | Lyon | 3,121 | 3,048 | +2.4% | 29.46 | 76.3 | 105.9/sq mi (40.9/km2) | March 14, 1907 |
| Total cities | — | — | 1,767,501 | 1,531,568 | +15.4% | 1,147.56 | 2,972.2 | 1,540.2/sq mi (594.7/km2) | — |
| Nevada | — | — | 3,104,614 | 2,700,551 | +15.0%[8] | 109,781.18 | 284,332.0 | 28.3/sq mi (10.9/km2) | — |
