Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 111,902, Sparks does unevenly: it grades C, 19th among Nevada's 42 graded towns. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. The trade-offs: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 78% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top, and it reports more crime per resident than 83% of U.S. towns, including 405 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Sparks’ trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile, close to Nevada’s towns (2.0) and above U.S. towns (0.4). Sparks has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Washoe County Library-Sparks Branch and Immaculate Conception Church. Sparks's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Sparks beats most towns.
90,264 counted in 2010 and 108,445 in 2020; an estimated 111,902 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nevada), ordered by how far Sparks is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,500 in 1910, 108,445 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 2 maps from 1974 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sparks. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi LakeLake Tahoe
33 mi LakePyramid Lake
6 mi Stadium & arenaMackay Stadium
34 mi LakeDonner Lake
39 mi Ski areaPalisades Tahoe Olympic Valley122 runs · 2,542 ft vertical
6 mi LandmarkReno ArchLake Tahoe: Lara Farhadi, CC BY 2.0 · Pyramid Lake: Rhalden, Public domain · Mackay Stadium: Lanski, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Donner Lake: J.smith, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Palisades Tahoe Olympic Valley: Jonnyboyca at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Reno Arch: Mobilus In Mobili, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sparks, 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 Sparks.
Sparks has home values rising while Nevada’s fall and has added a third more jobs in ten years, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
At 22.5 per 1,000 residents, Sparks’ property crime rate is against 14.8 in Nevada’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Sparks reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 83% report less. The violent crime rate in Sparks is 3.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Sparks | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.5 per 1,000 residents | 14.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 3.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Washoe County school district. Three of its 27 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sky Ranch Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,206 | A |
| Edward C. Reed High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,092 | B |
| Van Gorder ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 649 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NV on state tests and graduation
190 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 28 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1979, 190 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sparks.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
65 miles of trail in 53 parks and preserves. Golden Eagle Regional Park, at 446 acres with 7.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wedekind Regional Park | 8.5 mi | 248 |
| 2. Golden Eagle Regional Park | 7.6 mi | 446 |
| 3. Shadow Mountain Sports Complex | 3 mi | 60 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Values rose 2.4% in the past year while the Nevada typical home fell 1.6%.
The typical Sparks home is worth about $534,000, 21% above the Nevada typical home. Sparks’ median rent is $1,716 a month.
| Sparks | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,716 a month | $1,404 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 60% | 70% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 51% | 53% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Sparks has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 25° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Sparks beats the Nevada average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 39% of adults feel lonely in Sparks. Among 42 Nevada towns, just 2 have a lower share of adults who have high blood pressure than Sparks.
| Sparks | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Sparks | NV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9.8% | 12% |
| Fewer adults with high blood pressure | 28.6% | 34% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.7% | 15.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 34,603 in 2013 to 45,646.
About one in 4 of Sparks’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Sparks grew to 45,646 in 2023, 11,043 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Reno (50%), Carson City (2%) and Spanish Springs (2%).
| Sparks | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 16% | 8% |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.5% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
16% of Sparks residents are 65 or older. Sparks has grown 3.2% since 2020, to 111,902 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Nevada.
| Sparks | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.2 years | 40.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 22% | 29% |
49.0% women, 51.0% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Across Nevada, 49.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.9, men 35.7.
| Sparks | NV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.1% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.1% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.8% | 14.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.2% | 12.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.4% | 12.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.3% | 27.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.5% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.2% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.9% | 18.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.7% | 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 Sparks
About 7 of every 100 Sparks residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Nevada.
5 places in Sparks on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Sparks.
City in the United States
Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno. As of the 2020 census, Sparks had a population of 108,445. It is the fifth most populous city in Nevada. It is named after John Sparks, Nevada governor (1903–1908), and a member of the Silver Party. Sparks is located within the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Sparks.
| Town | NV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparks | #19 | C | C− | C− | B | B |
| Spanish Springs | #4 | B− | C− | — | B | A− |
| Reno | #22 | C | C− | D | B | B |
| Sun Valley | #18 | C | B− | — | B | C− |
Spanish Springs and Sun Valley report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sparks with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sparks grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #19 of 42 in Nevada. It grades B for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within Nevada, it does better than 40% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
12 notable people were born here, including Mädchen Amick and Jim Gibbons.
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