Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town was settled in 1954 and has 5,060 residents today.
The weak point is incomes (D−): the median household income is $49K, and a fifth of residents live below the poverty line. With a D overall, Silver Springs is better than 6% of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 39th of 42 in Nevada. Its best grade is for cost of living — a typical home costs about $359K, 4.1 years of the Reno metro’s $87K median household income. It lags on health as well (D) — residents are less healthy than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Hazard risk is weaker too — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Silver Springs’ density of trails is 2.9 miles per square mile, above both the Nevada town median (2.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Lahontan State Recreation Area, at 7,657 acres with 28.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap.
Where Silver Springs’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nevada), ordered by how far Silver Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1987 and 2 maps from 1957 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Silver Springs is unincorporated, so Lyon 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 Silver Springs.
Silver Springs trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
The nearest emergency room, Banner Churchill Community Hospital, is 24.8 miles away in a straight line. Against the 5,376 U.S. towns with household incomes like Silver Springs’s, it is less healthy than 74%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
21% of adults in Silver Springs smoke cigarettes; 43% have high blood pressure. Only 3 of the 42 Nevada towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Silver Springs. Silver Springs: nearly a fifth of adults report frequent physical distress.
| Silver Springs | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Silver Springs | NV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 12% | 14.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 76.9% | 72.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.9% | 11.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Lyon school district. Two of the 4 schools are below, and why each made the list. The largest public high school is Silver Stage High School, with 351 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Stage Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 398 | C |
| Silver Stage High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 351 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NV on state tests and graduation
Trails run 219 miles in 3 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Silver Springs: 3, covering 9,966 acres.
| Silver Springs | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.9 miles per square mile | 2.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 5.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lahontan State Recreation Area | 28.7 mi | 7,657 |
| 2. Fort Churchill State Historic Park | 5 mi | 2,306 |
| 3. Penny Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Only 3 of the 42 Nevada towns we compare have a higher FEMA hazard score than Silver Springs. 47% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by earthquakes at 46%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Silver Springs has 223 jobs for its 2,362 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 33.7 minutes, against 24.8 across Nevada.
The top destinations are Reno (23%), Carson City (11%) and Sparks (7%). Only 3 of the 42 Nevada towns we compare have a higher share of residents below the poverty line than Silver Springs. Silver Springs’ average commute is 34 minutes.
| Silver Springs | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.5% | 19% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons average 94.7°, hotter than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 23°.
The July high for Silver Springs comes to 95°F. About 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Silver Springs | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 95°F | 94°F | 85°F |
| January low | 23°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $359K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 29 miles. Values rose 6.3% in the past year while the Nevada typical home fell 1.6%.
Zillow values the typical Silver Springs home at about $359,000, 19% below the Nevada typical home. The share of households in Silver Springs who live in a home they own: 85%. For Silver Springs, the going rate for rent is $1,201 a month.
| Silver Springs | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,201 a month | $1,419 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Silver Springs; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Silver Springs residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Nevada.
Census-designated place in Nevada, United States
Silver Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lyon County, Nevada, US, at the intersection of US 50 (California Trail) and US 95A. As of the 2020 census, Silver Springs had a population of 5,629. Lahontan Reservoir, Lahontan State Recreation Area and historic Fort Churchill State Historic Park are all located nearby. The area is served by the Silver Springs Airport.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Silver Springs grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #39 of 42 in Nevada. It grades D for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income 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.