Spring Creek in pictures
Census counts: 5,866 in 1990, 14,967 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 3 maps from 1962 on.
Explore the history →Each edition grades its towns against each other only.

A town of 14,739.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. Overall it grades C, 17th of 42 graded towns in Nevada. A typical home there costs about $408K, 4.7 years of the Elko area’s $86K median household income. Spring Creek’s average trip to work is 43 minutes, above both Nevada’s towns (24 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). On the outdoors, just 5 of Nevada’s 66 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Spring Creek Marina, at 23 acres.
12,361 counted in 2010 and 14,967 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Nevada), ordered by how far Spring Creek is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,866 in 1990, 14,967 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 3 maps from 1962 on.
Explore the history →Spring Creek is unincorporated, so Elko 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 Spring Creek.
Spring Creek has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, sends most of its workers to Elko and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.
The FEMA risk score in Spring Creek is 100 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Elko school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Spring Creek High School, with 880 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Creek Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 708 | B− |
| Spring Creek High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 880 | B+ |
| Liberty Peak Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 579 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NV on state tests and graduation
Spring Creek has 915 jobs for its 7,169 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 42.6 minutes, against 24.8 across Nevada.
Most working residents leave Spring Creek for work: only 6% work in town. Spring Creek’s median household income is $105,000. The top destinations are Elko (47%), McGill (3%) and Battle Mountain (2%).
| Spring Creek | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $105,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.2% | 19% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.3% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Elko Rgnl Ap weather station, 12 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 111 days, shorter than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Spring Creek has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 15° and about 41 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Children under 18 are 29% of residents (22% statewide). 14% of Spring Creek residents are 65 or older. Only 4 of the 42 Nevada towns we compare have a higher share of children under 18 than Spring Creek.
| Spring Creek | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 29% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 34.8 years | 40.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 23% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Nevada, 49.6% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 61% are men (NV 48%). Median age: women 32.4, men 35.8.
| Spring Creek | NV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.8% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.4% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.9% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 14.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.1% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 12.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.7% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.7% | 12.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.2% | 27.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.6% | 23.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.2% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.7% | 18.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.7% | 9.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
87% of households own their home in Spring Creek. The typical Spring Creek home is worth about $408,000, up 1.9% in a year, 7% below the Nevada typical home.
| Spring Creek | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 87% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,386 a month | $1,419 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
32 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Among 42 Nevada towns, just 3 have a lower trail density than Spring Creek.
| Spring Creek | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 2.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.9% | 5.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Spring Creek Marina | — | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 7,821 U.S. towns with household incomes like Spring Creek’s, it is less healthy than 76%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Only 2 of the 42 Nevada towns we compare have a higher share of adults who binge drink than Spring Creek.
| Spring Creek | Nevada towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 74% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Spring Creek | NV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9.6% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.7% | 18% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Spring Creek
About 5 of every 100 Spring Creek residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Nevada.
Where Spring Creek’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
CDP in Nevada, United States
Spring Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in central Elko County, in northeastern Nevada in the western United States. It mainly serves as a bedroom community for the businesses and industries in and around the nearby city of Elko. It is part of the Elko Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Spring Creek had a population of 14,967.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Spring Creek.
| Town | NV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Creek | #17 | C | B− | — | C+ | B− |
| Lamoille | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Spring Creek reports no FBI crime data of its own. Lamoille isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Spring Creek with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Spring Creek grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #17 of 42 in Nevada. It grades B− for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk 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−.