Gardnerville RanchosNV
A town of 12,114.
Is Gardnerville Ranchos a good place to live?
Gardnerville Ranchos is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 8th among Nevada's 42 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 68% of Nevada towns on state tests and graduation. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 60% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $486K, 5.3 years of the Gardnerville Ranchos area’s $91K median household income. Gardnerville Ranchos’ density of trails is 1.8 miles per square mile, near the Nevada town median (2.0) and above the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Gardnerville Ranchos has 1 place on the National Register. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 82% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top.
95% of working residents leave Gardnerville Ranchos for work
Where Gardnerville Ranchos’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Gardnerville Ranchos grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nevada), ordered by how far Gardnerville Ranchos is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Gardnerville Ranchos: who provides what
Gardnerville Ranchos is unincorporated, so Douglas County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Gardnerville Ranchos.
Gardnerville Ranchos has schools in the top 5% of Nevada, has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Carson City and beyond.
Gardnerville Ranchos has a very high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from earthquakes
69 flood insurance claims have been paid in Gardnerville Ranchos since 1982. FEMA puts 47% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to earthquakes, and 37% to inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For schools, Gardnerville Ranchos earns a B+
That grade ranks #2 of the 42 Nevada towns we grade for schools.
The public schools here belong to the Douglas school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Public school enrollment in Gardnerville Ranchos: 1,128 students across 3 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pau Wa Lu Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 460 | B |
| G. L. Scarselli Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 305 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NV on state tests and graduation
1% of Gardnerville Ranchos is conserved land
Trails total 19 miles in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Ranchos Aspen Park, at 20 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mitch Park | 1 mi | 18 |
| 2. Ranchos Aspen Park | 0.6 mi | 20 |
| 3. Mitch Park Bicycle Pump Track | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most of Gardnerville Ranchos’ workers leave town for work
Gardnerville Ranchos has 624 jobs for its 4,960 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
The share of working residents in Gardnerville Ranchos who work locally: 5%. Gardnerville Ranchos’ typical journey to work is 29 minutes, above both Nevada’s towns (24 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Jobs in Gardnerville Ranchos grew by 72 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 624. The top destinations are Carson City (14%), Minden (13%) and Reno (11%).
| Gardnerville Ranchos | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 5% | 19% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $88,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.5% | 11% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Older than Nevada overall
Gardnerville Ranchos’ midpoint age stands at 46.3 years. People 65 and older are 28% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). Among residents locally, 19% are under 18. Nevada has 28% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 24%.
| Gardnerville Ranchos | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 28% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 46.3 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 22% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.3 points. Across Nevada, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Gardnerville Ranchos | NV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.7% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.6% | 14.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.1% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.2% | 12.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.3% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.2% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.4% | 12.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.7% | 27.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.4% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.8% | 18.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.8% | 9.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expect four seasons and hot summers in Gardnerville Ranchos
The Minden weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 119 days, shorter than in 97% of U.S. towns.
For Gardnerville Ranchos, the peak summer temperature is 90°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For health, Gardnerville Ranchos earns a B
In Gardnerville Ranchos, just over a third of adults sleep under 7 hours. Only 4 of the 42 Nevada towns we compare have a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Gardnerville Ranchos. This Nevada town beats the Nevada average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Gardnerville Ranchos | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 38% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Gardnerville Ranchos | NV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10% | 15.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12% | 18% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.4% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median home in Gardnerville Ranchos sells for about $520K
On the market in Gardnerville Ranchos: a median 39 days to sell. For households in the town, the share who live in a home they own is 81%. The median rent locally is $1,533 a month.
| Gardnerville Ranchos | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 81% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,533 a month | $1,404 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Lake Tahoe and 17 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gardnerville Ranchos. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi LakeLake Tahoe
34 mi Ski areaPalisades Tahoe Olympic Valley122 runs · 2,542 ft vertical9 mi Ski areaHeavenly Mountain Resort141 runs · 3,370 ft vertical
19 mi State parkEmerald Bay State Park
23 mi Park & preserveDesolation Wilderness
23 mi Ski areaKirkwood Mountain Resort58 runs · 1,650 ft verticalPhoto credits
Lake Tahoe: Lara Farhadi, CC BY 2.0 · Palisades Tahoe Olympic Valley: Jonnyboyca at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Emerald Bay State Park: Michael, CC BY 2.0 · Desolation Wilderness: Phreakdigital at English Wikipedia, GFDL · Kirkwood Mountain Resort: Gabeguss, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Gardnerville Ranchos
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Gardnerville Ranchos
About 5 of every 100 Gardnerville Ranchos residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Nevada.
About Gardnerville Ranchos
Census-designated place in Nevada, United States
Gardnerville Ranchos is a census-designated place in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,318. The area is the namesake for the Gardnerville Ranchos Micropolitan Statistical area which includes other areas of Douglas County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 15 sq mi
- Elevation
- 4,859 ft
- Area code
- 775
Gardnerville Ranchos’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Gardnerville Ranchos.
| Town | NV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardnerville Ranchos | #8 | C+ | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| Gardnerville | #6 | B− | C | — | B+ | B |
Gardnerville Ranchos and Gardnerville report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Gardnerville Ranchos with a neighbor →
Questions about Gardnerville Ranchos
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Gardnerville Ranchos, NV a good place to live?
Gardnerville Ranchos grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #8 of 42 in Nevada. It grades B for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Gardnerville Ranchos, NV expensive?
The typical home is worth about $486,000, 10% above the Nevada typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.