White Pine County is a county in Nevada, United States, on the state’s central eastern border with Utah. It had a population of 9,080 at the 2020 census and covers 8,897 square miles (23,040 km2), centred near 39°26′N 114°54′W.
Ely is the county seat, and its postal code is 89301. The county has one incorporated city, five census-designated places, and a scatter of unincorporated mining communities. White Pine County sits in the Pacific time zone.
Towns & Villages in White Pine County
Ely anchors the county; the rest of White Pine is thinly settled ranch and former mining country strung along U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 93.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ely | City · seat | 3,924 | 89301 |
| McGill | CDP | 1,010 | 89318 |
| Lund | CDP | — | — |
| Ruth | CDP | — | — |
| Preston | CDP | — | — |
| Baker | CDP | 41 | 89311 |
| Cherry Creek | Unincorp. | — | — |
| East Ely | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lages Station | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Majors Place | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Riepetown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Schellbourne | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Strawberry | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 89301 — Ely post office town (also serves East Ely)
- 89315 — Ely post office (second Ely ZIP)
- 89318 — McGill post office town
- 89311 — Baker post office town (also serves visitors to Great Basin National Park)
Lund, Ruth, Preston and the scattered unincorporated places share their nearest post office’s ZIP rather than carrying one of their own; none is confirmed here, so none is listed.
Geography
White Pine County is Great Basin country: north-south mountain ranges separated by broad, dry valleys, with Wheeler Peak reaching 13,065 feet inside Great Basin National Park — Nevada’s tallest freestanding summit. Fourteen federally designated wilderness areas and vast stretches of public land cover most of the county, and dark, unpolluted night skies are a point of local pride. Land makes up 8,876 square miles of the county’s total; the remaining 21 square miles are water.
White Pine County borders Elko County to the north, three Utah counties (Tooele, Juab and Millard) to the east, Lincoln County to the south, Nye County to the southwest, and Eureka County to the west.
Demographics
The 2020 census counted 9,080 residents; a 2025 estimate puts the county at roughly 8,661, a continuing decline tied to the wind-down of local mining. Ely, with 3,924 residents, and McGill, with 1,010, are the county’s two largest communities. Median household income in White Pine County runs below Nevada’s statewide figure of $76,364. Spread across 8,897 square miles, the county’s population density is about one person per square mile, among the lowest in Nevada.
Economy & Local Life
Copper, silver and gold mining built White Pine County, with the Robinson mining district around Ruth and McGill’s now-closed smelter driving decades of growth. Mining still employs residents through modern open-pit copper operations, alongside county and Ely State Prison government jobs, ranching, and a growing tourism sector centred on Great Basin National Park. The Nevada Northern Railway’s Ghost Train of Old Ely, a working steam excursion out of the historic East Ely rail yards, is the county’s best-known annual draw and a National Historic Landmark.
History
White Pine County was organised in 1869, carved from Lander County after a silver rush at Hamilton and Treasure Hill drew thousands of prospectors almost overnight. The county’s name comes from the Rocky Mountain white pine, a local name for the limber pine common in its high mountains. Hamilton served briefly as the first county seat before Ely took over as copper, not silver, became the long-term draw; the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company’s open-pit mines near Ruth and its McGill smelter turned White Pine into one of Nevada’s largest copper producers through most of the 20th century, until falling copper prices closed the smelter in 1983.
Getting There
U.S. Route 50, U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 93 all pass through Ely, meeting at the eastern end of what highway planners nicknamed the Loneliest Road in America.
- Salt Lake City, Utah — about 240 miles east
- Reno — about 250 miles west
- Las Vegas — about 250 miles south
- West Wendover, Nevada — about 120 miles north
Ely Airport last had scheduled commercial service in 2013; the nearest airline service is in Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. No Amtrak line reaches the county; the closest Amtrak station is in Salt Lake City.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of White Pine County?
It had a population of 9,080 at the 2020 census.
What is the county seat of White Pine County?
Ely is the county seat.
What is the Ely postcode?
Ely’s ZIP codes are 89301 and 89315.
How big is White Pine County?
It covers 8,897 square miles (23,040 km2), almost entirely land.
Where does the county’s name come from?
It’s named for the Rocky Mountain white pine, the local name for the limber pine common in the county’s mountain ranges.
What park is in White Pine County?
Great Basin National Park, home to Wheeler Peak and ancient bristlecone pine groves, lies in the southeastern part of the county near Baker.
What highways run through White Pine County?
U.S. Route 6, U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 93 all cross the county and meet at Ely.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Nevada.