Smith ValleyNV
A town of 1,807.
Is Smith Valley a good place to live?
Smith Valley’s weakest subject grade is a D− for walkability. Smith Valley’s density of trails is 1.6 miles per square mile, where Nevada’s towns sit at 2.0 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Artesia Lake State Wildlife Management Area, at 1,280 acres with 2.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Smith Valley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
94% of working residents leave Smith Valley for work
Where Smith Valley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Smith Valley grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nevada), ordered by how far Smith Valley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Smith Valley: who provides what
Smith Valley 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Smith Valley.
Smith Valley stands out in Nevada and nationally, with the median age higher than most
In Smith Valley, 36% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. People 65 and older are nearly half of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 7% of residents (22% statewide).
| Smith Valley | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 63.3 years | 40.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 23% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 40% and 60% women
The Census survey reached too few of Smith Valley’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±10.1 points. Across Nevada, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Smith Valley | NV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 1.9% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.9% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 0% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.5% | 14.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.4% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.8% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.8% | 12.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 37.7% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.9% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.1% | 12.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.4% | 27.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.5% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.8% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.3% | 18.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.9% | 9.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,800, single groups can be off by several points
On state tests, Smith Valley’s schools trail 58% of Nevada districts
Its public schools are run by the Lyon school district. 178 students attend Smith Valley’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith Valley SchoolsLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 178 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NV on state tests and graduation
Natural hazards: very high risk in Smith Valley, mostly earthquakes
FEMA puts 37% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to earthquakes, and 28% to wildfires. In Smith Valley, the FEMA risk score is 87 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average trip to work in Smith Valley is longer than in most of Nevada or the rest of the country
6.2% of working residents work locally in Smith Valley, below both the Nevada town median (17%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). The top destinations are Yerington (23%), Reno (13%) and Carson City (4%). For half of commuters, work is under 25 miles away.
| Smith Valley | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 44 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.2% | 17% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.5% | 11% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Smith Valley is less healthy than 73% of U.S. towns
Among adults in Smith Valley, 12% binge drink. Against the Nevada average, Smith Valley comes out ahead on 14 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 10. Also worth knowing: only 2 of the 43 Nevada towns we compare have a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Smith Valley.
| Smith Valley | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Smith Valley | NV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.8% | 15.6% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 10% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.5% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Smith Valley keeps 11.9% of its land conserved
In 2 parks and preserves, walkers have 166 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Smith Valley: 2, covering 2,297 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Artesia Lake State Wildlife Management Area | 2.3 mi | 1,280 |
| 2. Burbank Canyons Wilderness Study Area | 1.9 mi | 1,017 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
A home in Smith Valley sells for about $700K at the median
For households in Smith Valley, the share who are owner-occupiers is 85%. On the market locally: a median 184 days to sell. In Smith Valley, the typical sale closed at 96.3% of the list price.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Smith Valley
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Smith Valley; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Smith Valley residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Nevada.
About Smith Valley
Census-designated place in Nevada, United States
Smith Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, Smith Valley had a population of 1,710.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 123 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,878 ft
- Area code
- 775
Questions about Smith Valley
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Smith Valley, NV expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $756,000, 72% 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−.