Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hawthorne earns a D−, ranked 40th of 42 in Nevada, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $67K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: homes are within reach, about $112K for a typical one, or 2 years of the county’s $55K median household income. Hawthorne’s trail density is 4.2 miles per square mile, above both the Nevada town median (2.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). No town among the 26 in Nevada we compare has a lower typical home value than Hawthorne. Its National Register listings include Aurora and Mineral County Courthouse.
Where Hawthorne beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nevada), ordered by how far Hawthorne is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,861 in 1950, a peak of 4,162 in 1990, 3,118 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1941 and a map from 1955 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hawthorne is unincorporated, so Mineral 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Hawthorne.
Hawthorne trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns and has commutes shorter than most of Nevada.
Homes are within reach (about $112K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 60 miles. At 2 years of the county’s $55K median household income, the typical home (about $112K) costs less against local pay than in any other Nevada town; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
At $974 a month, Hawthorne’s median rent is where Nevada’s towns sit at $1,419 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Typical home values fell 7.6% in the year to September 2026. The typical Hawthorne home is worth about $112,000, down 7.6% in a year, 75% below the Nevada typical home.
| Hawthorne | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $974 a month | $1,419 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Mineral school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorne ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 267 | C+ |
| Mineral County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 128 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NV on state tests and graduation
7.6 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Veterans Memorial Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
19% of Hawthorne adults report frequent physical distress. Hawthorne beats the Nevada average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 29% of Hawthorne adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Hawthorne | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Hawthorne | NV |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 66.6% | 58.6% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.3% | 72.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.7% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 982 working residents takes 13.1 minutes, against 24.8 across Nevada.
About one in 3 of Hawthorne’s working residents works in town. Hawthorne’s average trip to work is 13 minutes. The top destinations are Tonopah (12%), Reno (5%) and Carson City (2%).
| Hawthorne | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 34% | 16% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 73% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 95.9°, hotter than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 24°.
Hawthorne has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Hawthorne is 96°F. About 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Hawthorne | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 94°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of Hawthorne; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Hawthorne residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Nevada.
3 places in Hawthorne on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Hawthorne.
Census-designated place in Nevada, United States
Hawthorne is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mineral County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,118. It is the county seat of Mineral County. The nearby Hawthorne Army Depot is the primary economic base of the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hawthorne grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #40 of 42 in Nevada. It grades D for health and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
3 notable people were born here, including Grant Harvey and Jim Nash.
