Carson City, Nevada

Carson City is a consolidated city-county in Nevada, United States, about 30 miles south of
Reno. It had a population of 58,639 at the 2020 census, an estimated 58,571 by 2025, and covers
144.53 square miles (374.34 km2) of land centred near 39°10′N 119°46′W.

Carson City is the county seat of the consolidated municipality — there is no separate
city and county government, and its main postal code is 89701. The city holds no incorporated
towns of its own; a handful of named neighborhoods and historic communities sit inside its
single set of boundaries, and it runs on Pacific Time. Its FIPS code is 32510.

Towns & Villages in Carson City

Carson City is Nevada’s capital and one of only two U.S. state capitals that share a
border with another state, the other being Trenton, New Jersey — its city limits reach
across the middle of Lake Tahoe to the California line. Because the city and county merged in
1969, there are no separate incorporated towns here; the places below are neighborhoods and
historic communities inside the one consolidated boundary, not independent municipalities.

Two of these names cause real confusion. The old settlement of Empire City was a 19th-century
Carson River mill town later absorbed into Carson City and remembered today in the New Empire
neighborhood and the Empire Ranch golf community on the city’s east side — neither
should be confused with the separate ghost town of Empire, Nevada, roughly 110 miles northeast
in Washoe County near the Black Rock Desert, made known by the film Nomadland. Stewart, in the
south of the city, takes its name from Senator William Morris Stewart and is home to the former
Stewart Indian School.

ZIP Codes

• 89701 — downtown and central Carson City, including Stewart
• 89703 — west side, including Lakeview and Kings Canyon
• 89705 — south Carson City, including Silver Oak
• 89706 — north Carson City, including New Empire and Empire Ranch
• 89702 and 89704 — additional residential ZIPs within the city
• 89711–89714 and 89721 — P.O. box-only ZIPs for state government and business
  addresses

Because Carson City is a single consolidated government, every address inside the city limits
falls under one of these codes; there is no separate rural or unincorporated ZIP as there would
be in a county with outlying towns.

Geography

Carson City sits at the eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada in Eagle Valley, at an elevation of
4,682 feet. City limits are unusually large for a municipality of its population — they
extend west across several Sierra Nevada peaks and a slice of the Lake Tahoe basin, and east
across part of the Virginia Range and Pine Nut Mountains. Snow Valley Peak, at 9,214 feet (2,808
metres), is the highest point inside the city. The Carson River runs through the eastern part of
the city, and Washoe Lake lies just north of the city line. Population density works out to
about 406 people per square mile of land, low for a state capital, reflecting how much of the
city’s area is mountain and desert rather than developed land.

Douglas County lies to the south, Lyon County to the east, Storey County to the northeast and
Washoe County to the north. Douglas
County, Lyon County, Storey County and Washoe County all border Carson City
directly.

Demographics

Carson City had a population of 58,639 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts it
near 58,571 residents, essentially flat over the past several years. The population is 68.0
percent white, 25.4 percent Hispanic or Latino, 2.5 percent American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.4
percent Asian and 1.9 percent Black. Median household income runs about $72,355, below
Nevada’s statewide figure of $76,364 (2023 ACS). About 10.3 percent of residents live below
the poverty line.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the city’s largest employment sector, with about
3,476 workers, followed by public administration at 2,982 and retail trade at 2,832 — state
government is the single largest source of that public-sector employment, since Carson City
houses the Nevada Legislature and most executive-branch agencies. Major named employers include
the Carson City School District, the Nevada Department of Transportation, Western Nevada College
and several casino-resorts along US 395. The city’s biggest annual event is the Nevada Day
parade and carnival through downtown, held the Saturday after the last Friday in October to mark
Nevada’s admission to the Union on October 31, 1864.

History

Abraham Curry bought the Eagle Station trading post in 1858 and laid out the townsite,
renaming it Carson City after the nearby Carson River, itself named for the mountain man and
scout Kit Carson. The settlement became capital of Nevada Territory in 1861 and kept that role
when Nevada reached statehood in 1864. On April 1, 1969, Carson City and surrounding Ormsby
County formally merged into a single consolidated municipal government, eliminating Ormsby
County as a separate entity.

The U.S. Branch Mint at Carson City opened in 1870 to coin silver and gold from the nearby
Comstock Lode, striking 50 issues of silver coins and 57 of gold coins bearing the distinctive
“CC” mint mark before it closed for good in 1893. Coins struck there, especially
Morgan silver dollars, are prized by collectors today for their rarity. The mint building now
houses the Nevada State Museum, where the original coin press still runs, striking commemorative
medallions with the same CC mark.

Getting There

Interstate 580 is the city’s only freeway, connecting north to Reno; US 395, US 50 and
State Route 28 also cross the city.

• Reno — about 30 miles north
• South Lake Tahoe, California — about 25 miles southwest
• Gardnerville — about 15 miles south
• Virginia City — about 15 miles northeast

Reno–Tahoe International Airport, about 28 miles north, is the nearest major commercial
airport. Carson Airport, a general-aviation field, sits within the city itself. Amtrak’s
California Zephyr stops in Reno; Carson City itself last had scheduled passenger rail service on
the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, which ended regular runs in 1950.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Carson City located?
It sits at the eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada in western Nevada, about 30 miles south of Reno,
bordered by Douglas, Lyon, Storey and Washoe counties.

What is the population of Carson City?
58,639 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 58,571.

How big is Carson City?
144.53 square miles (374.34 km2) of land, plus additional water area reaching into Lake Tahoe.

Is Carson City a county or a city?
Both. It has been a single consolidated city-county government since Carson City and Ormsby
County merged on April 1, 1969.

What towns are in Carson City County?
None are separately incorporated. Recognized neighborhoods and historic communities inside the
one city boundary include Stewart, Lakeview, New Empire, Kings Canyon, Silver Oak and Empire
Ranch.

What ZIP codes does Carson City use?
89701 through 89706 for street addresses, plus 89711–89714 and 89721 for P.O. boxes tied to
state government offices.

What is Carson City known for?
Being Nevada’s state capital, the historic U.S. Branch Mint that struck “CC”-marked
coins from 1870 to 1893, and the Nevada Day parade held there every October.

More counties in this state: Towns and
villages in Nevada.