Lincoln County, Nevada

Lincoln County is a county in Nevada, United States, on the Utah and Arizona borders in the southeastern part of the state. It had a population of 4,499 at the 2020 census and covers 10,637 square miles (27,550 km2) centred near 37°38′N 114°53′W, making it Nevada’s fourth-least populous county.

Pioche is the county seat; its postal code is 89043. The county has one incorporated city (Caliente), several unincorporated census-designated communities, and dozens of historic mining camps and ghost towns scattered across its ranges. It sits in the Pacific time zone (UTC−8, UTC−7 during daylight saving).

Towns & Villages in Lincoln County

Lincoln County lists one incorporated city and a mix of census-designated places, ranch communities, and abandoned mining camps left over from a 19th-century silver boom. Most named places on record carry no 2020 population count because the Census Bureau does not track them as separate places; those are marked Unincorp. below.

Panaca, founded in 1864, is the oldest continuously settled town in Nevada. Rachel and Hiko sit along State Route 375, signed by the state as the “Extraterrestrial Highway” for its proximity to the Nevada Test and Training Range and the Area 51 facility on the county’s southern edge.

ZIP Codes

• 89043 — Pioche
• 89008 — Caliente
• 89042 — Panaca
• 89001 — Alamo (also serves Ash Springs and Hiko)

Rachel and most of the outlying ranch and mining sites use a Pioche or Alamo mailing address rather than a ZIP code of their own.

Geography

Lincoln County is a large, dry, mountainous county of parallel north-south fault-block ranges and broad basins typical of the Basin and Range Province. Elevations run from valley floors under 3,000 feet to peaks above 10,000 feet; the county holds no major lake or river, and most drainage is internal to its basins. Roughly 98% of the land is federally managed, chiefly by the Bureau of Land Management, with the U.S. Air Force controlling a large restricted block in the south around the Nevada Test and Training Range.

Lincoln County borders White Pine County to the north, Millard County, Utah to the northeast, Beaver County, Utah, Iron County, Utah, and Washington County, Utah to the east, Mohave County, Arizona to the southeast, Clark County to the south, and Nye County to the west.

Demographics

The 2020 census counted 4,499 residents. Caliente and Pioche are the county’s two largest communities, followed by Panaca and Alamo. Lincoln County’s median household income runs well below the Nevada median of $76,364, reflecting a rural economy built on ranching, mining, and government land management jobs rather than the Las Vegas metro area’s service and hospitality wages. Population density is under 0.5 people per square mile, among the lowest of any county in the continental United States.

Economy & Local Life

Government employment, particularly the Nevada Test and Training Range and the county’s own agencies, is a major source of jobs, alongside ranching, hay and alfalfa farming in the Meadow Valley and Pahranagat Valley, and small-scale mining. Lincoln County High School in Panaca and Lincoln County Hospital in Caliente serve as county-wide institutions. Tourism tied to the Extraterrestrial Highway, Cathedral Gorge State Park near Panaca, and access to the Great Basin and Basin and Range national monuments brings visitors through Alamo and Caliente.

History

Lincoln County was created by the Nevada Territorial Legislature in 1866 and named for Abraham Lincoln. Panaca, settled by Mormon pioneers in 1864, predates the county itself and is Nevada’s oldest continuously inhabited town. Silver strikes at Pioche in the 1870s briefly made it one of the most violent boomtowns in the American West; Delamar’s gold mines drew a second rush around 1900 before the town was abandoned. Caliente grew after 1901 as a division point on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, and its 1923 Mission Revival depot still stands as the town’s civic center.

Getting There

U.S. Route 93 runs the length of the county north-south, linking it to Ely and I-80 in the north and to Las Vegas in the south; State Routes 317 through 322, 375, and 816 branch off it toward the smaller communities.

• Las Vegas — about 100 miles south of Pioche
• Ely — about 100 miles north of Pioche
• Cedar City, Utah — about 90 miles east of Panaca
• St. George, Utah — about 100 miles southeast of Caliente

The nearest commercial airport is Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas; Lincoln County Airport in Caliente serves general aviation only.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Lincoln County, Nevada?
It is in the southeastern part of Nevada, bordering Utah and Arizona, roughly 100 miles north of Las Vegas.

What is the population of Lincoln County?
4,499 people at the 2020 census.

How big is Lincoln County?
10,637 square miles (27,550 km2), making it geographically one of Nevada’s largest counties despite its small population.

What is the Lincoln County seat?
Pioche is the county seat.

How many towns are in Lincoln County?
One incorporated city, Caliente, plus several unincorporated communities and numerous historic mining camps, most now abandoned.

What ZIP codes are in Lincoln County?
89043 (Pioche), 89008 (Caliente), 89042 (Panaca), and 89001 (Alamo, also serving Ash Springs and Hiko).

Why is Lincoln County associated with Area 51?
The Nevada Test and Training Range, which includes the Area 51 facility, lies within the county’s southern boundary, and State Route 375 through Rachel is officially signed the Extraterrestrial Highway.

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