Is Indian Hills a good place to live?
Indian Hills’s overall grade is C+, better than nearly two fifths of U.S. towns. Its place in the ranking is 11th of 42 in Nevada. Where it falls short is cost of living (C): the typical home is worth about $484K, 5.3 years of the Gardnerville Ranchos area’s $91K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 77% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Health is its strong suit: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 70% of the country. The biggest place to walk is James Lee Park, 75 acres with 2.7 miles of trail. 33% of residents are 65 or older in the town, above both Nevada’s towns (17%) and U.S. towns (18%). 43% of the land in Indian Hills is conserved, above both the Nevada town median (4.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap · USGS PAD-US.
How Indian Hills grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nevada), ordered by how far Indian Hills is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
What makes Indian Hills stand out
Where Indian Hills beats most towns.
59 miles of trails in Indian Hills
43.4% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Indian Hills.
Indian Hills has schools in the top 5% of Nevada, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Nevada and has added a third more jobs in ten years.
In Indian Hills, nearly a third of the land is conserved
Its 4,032 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 90% of Nevada towns.
There are 59 miles of trail across 5 parks and preserves. Indian Hills’ concentration of trails stands at 4.0 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: 5, covering 90 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. James Lee Park | 2.7 mi | 75 |
| 2. Fuji Park & Fairgrounds | — | 5 |
| 3. Valley Vista Park | 0.1 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools in Indian Hills beat 68% of Nevada districts
Its B+ ranks #2 of the 42 Nevada towns we grade for schools.
The public schools here belong to the Douglas school district. Its two schools are below. Indian Hills’ only public school teaches 364 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacks Valley Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 364 | A− |
| Sierra Lutheran High School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 158 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NV on state tests and graduation
Indian Hills skews older than Nevada
Indian Hills’ midpoint age is 55.4 years. A bachelor’s degree or higher: just over a quarter of adults 25 and older, vs 28% across Nevada. The share of residents in Indian Hills who are under 18: 15%.
| Indian Hills | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 33% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 55.4 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 22% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Nevada, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Indian Hills | NV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.9% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.9% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.9% | 14.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.6% | 12.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.7% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.9% | 12.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.5% | 27.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 31.5% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.1% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18% | 18.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8% | 9.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Indian Hills has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs based here grew from 1,165 in 2013 to 1,524.
For half of commuters, work is under 10 miles away. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Indian Hills rose by 359, to 1,524. Just 4% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Also worth knowing: the mean commuting time for Indian Hills comes to 21 minutes.
| Indian Hills | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 19% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 12% | 9% | 11% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazards: high risk in Indian Hills, mostly earthquakes
Indian Hills has had one paid flood insurance claim since 2014. 44% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 24%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Indian Hills earns a B+ for health
Among adults in Indian Hills, 21% get no exercise outside work. Only 3 of the 42 Nevada towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Indian Hills. 33% of adults in Indian Hills sleep under 7 hours; 16% report frequent mental distress. Of 32 CDC measures, Indian Hills beats the Nevada average on 14 and trails it on 3.
| Indian Hills | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Indian Hills | NV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.9% | 15.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.7% | 18% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.8% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A typical July afternoon in Indian Hills is 86°F, against 94°F in Nevada’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns
The seasons in Indian Hills: chilly winters, warm summers, with very little rain.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Indian Hills sell for about $570K
On the market in Indian Hills: a median 56 days to sell. In Indian Hills, 81% of households are owner-occupiers. For Indian Hills, the going rate for rent is $1,496 a month.
| Indian Hills | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 81% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,496 a month | $1,404 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Indian Hills
Lake Tahoe and 30 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Indian Hills. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi LakeLake Tahoe
30 mi LakeDonner Lake
25 mi Ski areaPalisades Tahoe Olympic Valley122 runs · 2,542 ft vertical12 mi Ski areaHeavenly Mountain Resort141 runs · 3,370 ft vertical
17 mi Ski areaMount Rose Ski Tahoe57 runs · 1,625 ft vertical
32 mi Stadium & arenaMackay StadiumPhoto credits
Lake Tahoe: Lara Farhadi, CC BY 2.0 · Donner Lake: J.smith, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Palisades Tahoe Olympic Valley: Jonnyboyca at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Mount Rose Ski Tahoe: Beesmill, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mackay Stadium: Lanski, CC BY-SA 4.0
Moving to Indian Hills: who provides what
Indian Hills 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.
96% of working residents leave Indian Hills for work
Where Indian Hills’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Indian Hills
About 6 of every 100 Indian Hills residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Nevada.
About Indian Hills
Census-designated place in Nevada, United States
Indian Hills is a census-designated place (CDP) in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. It lies on the south side of the Carson City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Indian Hills had a population of 5,962.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 15 sq mi
- Elevation
- 4,764 ft
- Area code
- 775
Indian Hills’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Indian Hills.
| Town | NV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Hills | #11 | C+ | C | — | B+ | B+ |
| Johnson Lane | #2 | B+ | C+ | — | B+ | B+ |
| Carson City | #20 | C | C− | — | B | C+ |
Indian Hills, Johnson Lane and Carson City report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Indian Hills with a neighbor →
Questions about Indian Hills
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Indian Hills, NV a good place to live?
Indian Hills grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #11 of 42 in Nevada. It grades B+ for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Indian Hills, NV expensive?
The typical home is worth about $484,000, 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.
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