Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fernley is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 32nd among Nevada's 42 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 42% of Nevada towns on state tests and graduation. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $406K for a typical one and 4.6 times the Reno metro’s $87K median household income. Fernley’s trail density is 2.0 miles per square mile, close to Nevada’s towns (2.0) and above U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest place to walk is Fernley Wildlife Management Area, 12,601 acres with 17.9 miles of trail. Fernley has 4 places on the National Register.
Where Fernley beats most towns.
19,368 counted in 2010 and 22,895 in 2020; an estimated 26,214 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 14.5% since 2020, after 18.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nevada), ordered by how far Fernley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,164 in 1990, 22,895 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1973 and 2 maps from 1890 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fernley, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Fernley.
Fernley has home values rising while Nevada’s fall, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fernley Wildlife Management Area | 17.9 mi | 12,601 |
| 2. Fernley Out-of-Town Park | — | 52 |
| 3. Green Valley Park and Dog Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Lyon school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silverland Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 677 | C+ |
| Fernley High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,327 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NV on state tests and graduation
About one in 5 of Fernley’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Fernley has added 1,051 jobs, to 4,644 in 2023. Fernley’s average trip to work is 28 minutes, above both the Nevada town median (24 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes).
| Fernley | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 16% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 6.5% | 9% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fernley has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Fernley is 93°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The nearest emergency room, Banner Churchill Community Hospital, is 23.4 miles away in a straight line. Against the 9,998 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fernley’s, it is less healthy than 74%, so it trails even them.
Fernley beats the Nevada average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 72% of Fernley adults had a checkup this year.
| Fernley | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 74% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 35% | 33% |
| What stands out | Fernley | NV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 11.7% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 12.8% | 15.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.9% | 11.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 2017, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fernley.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Values rose 4.2% in the past year while the Nevada typical home fell 1.6%.
Fernley’s median rent is $1,570 a month. The typical Fernley home is worth about $406,000, 8% below the Nevada typical home.
| Fernley | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,570 a month | $1,404 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Fernley; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Fernley residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Nevada.
2 places in Fernley on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Nevada, United States
Fernley is a city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States, and part of the Reno–Tahoe–Sparks metropolitan area CSA. The city was incorporated in 2001. The population of the city was 22,895 at the 2020 census, making it the 7th most populous city in Nevada. Fernley was home to the historic and one of the first Amazon.com centers in the world, which has since relocated within the metro area. Naval Air Station (TOPGUN), the U.S. Navy's Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center & TOPGUN training program since 1996, was moved nearby, to Fallon, from Naval Air Station Miramar. The city is home to the Reno-Fernley Raceway. The world's first Tesla Gigafactory, that produces battery packs, energy storage an…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Fernley.
Fernley reports no FBI crime data of its own. Wadsworth isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fernley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fernley grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #32 of 42 in Nevada. It grades C+ for health and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
