Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Reno is a city of 283,621, and it grades C overall, 22nd of 42 graded towns in Nevada. It is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns. The trade-offs: it reports more crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns, including 1,568 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, and homes are expensive, about $572K for a typical one and 6.5 times the Reno metro’s $87K median household income. 63% of working residents work locally in Reno, above both the Nevada town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Senator Francis G. Newland Home and California Building. Only 1 of the 12 Nevada towns we compare have a higher violent crime rate than Reno.
Where Reno beats most towns.
Senator Francis G. Newland Home is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 67 National Register listings are more than in any other Nevada town with a listing.
Census counts: 1,035 in 1870, 264,165 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 4 maps from 1950 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nevada), ordered by how far Reno is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Reno. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi LakeLake Tahoe
in town Stadium & arenaMackay Stadium
37 mi LakePyramid Lake
in town LandmarkReno Arch
27 mi LakeDonner Lake
in town MuseumNational Automobile MuseumLake Tahoe: Lara Farhadi, CC BY 2.0 · Mackay Stadium: Lanski, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pyramid Lake: Rhalden, Public domain · Reno Arch: Mobilus In Mobili, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Donner Lake: J.smith, CC BY-SA 3.0 · National Automobile Museum: User:Jaydec, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Reno, 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 Reno.
Reno has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of Nevada; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Nevada and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Reported crimes fell from 8,986 to 8,176 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Reno’s property crime rate is 23.1 per 1,000 residents. Reno reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 89% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Washoe County school district. Three of its 84 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Obrien Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,067 | C |
| Reno High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,741 | A |
| Davidson AcademyTop results in townGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 169 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NV on state tests and graduation
201 miles of trail in 87 parks and preserves. The trail density in Reno is 1.8 miles per square mile. Sierra Vista Park, at 234 acres with 2.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Reno | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.8 miles per square mile | 2.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.8% | 5.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dorothy McAlinden/Mayor's Park | 5 mi | 91 |
| 2. Rancho San Rafael | 4.1 mi | 134 |
| 3. Keystone Canyon Non-Motorized Recreation Area | 3.9 mi | 111 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 6.5 years of the Reno metro’s $87K median household income, the typical home (about $572K) costs more against local pay than in 80% of Nevada towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.
50% of Reno households own their home. The typical Reno home is worth about $572,000, up 2% in a year, 30% above the Nevada typical home.
| Reno | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,556 a month | $1,404 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 53% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
183 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 183 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Reno.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 88.6°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 75% of Nevada places with climate records; January nights average 24.5°.
Reno has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. About 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Reno | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 89°F | 94°F | 85°F |
| January low | 25°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
28% of adults have high blood pressure in Reno. Reno beats the Nevada average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 9.5% of adults have diabetes in Reno.
| Reno | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Reno | NV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9.5% | 12% |
| Fewer adults with high blood pressure | 28.2% | 34% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.9% | 15.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based in Reno grew to 161,459 in 2023, 31,668 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Sparks (13%), Carson City (3%) and Paradise (1%). Half commute less than 6 miles.
| Reno | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 12% | 9% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). Reno has grown 7.4% since 2020, to 283,621 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Only 4 of the 42 Nevada towns we compare have a higher share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Reno.
| Reno | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 22% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.1 years | 40.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
49.3% women, 50.7% men
About 103 men for every 100 women. Across Nevada, 49.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.5, men 36.7.
| Reno | NV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.8% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.9% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.8% | 14.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.8% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.7% | 12.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.6% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.7% | 12.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.9% | 27.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.7% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.3% | 18.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.5% | 9.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
2 within 15 miles of the center of Reno
About 8 of every 100 Reno residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Nevada.
225,221 counted in 2010 and 264,165 in 2020; an estimated 283,621 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 7.4% since 2020, after 17.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
67 places in Reno on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Nevada, United States
Reno (, REE-noh) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, in the Truckee River valley, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, it is about 23 miles (37 km) northeast of Lake Tahoe. Reno is the 78th most populous city in the United States, the third most populous city in Nevada, and the most populous in Nevada outside the Las Vegas Valley. It is known as "The Biggest Little City in the World" and had a population of 264,165 at the 2020 census. The city is named after Civil War Union major general Jesse L. Reno, who was kille…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Reno.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Sparks (C) is closest.
| Town | NV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reno | #22 | C | C− | D | B | B |
| Verdi | — | — | C− | — | B | B+ |
| Lemmon Valley | #12 | C+ | C+ | — | B | B |
| Mogul | — | — | C+ | — | B | A |
| Sparks | #19 | C | C− | C− | B | B |
| Cold Springs | #10 | C+ | C | — | B | B |
| Golden Valley | — | — | B− | — | B | B+ |
| Sun Valley | #18 | C | B− | — | B | C− |
Verdi, Mogul and Golden Valley have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Verdi, Lemmon Valley, Mogul, Cold Springs, Golden Valley and Sun Valley report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Reno with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Reno grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #22 of 42 in Nevada. It grades B for health, D for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
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