List of counties in Nevada

Churchill
Doug
Elko
Esmeralda
Eureka
Humboldt
Lander
Lincoln
Lyon
Mineral
Nye
Pershing
Sto
Wash
White Pine

This is a List of counties in Nevada. There are sixteen counties and one independent city in the U.S. state of Nevada. On November 25, 1861, the first Nevada Territorial Legislature established nine counties.[1] Nevada was admitted to the Union on October 31, 1864 with eleven counties.[1] In 1969, Ormsby County and Carson City were consolidated into a single municipal government known as Carson City.[1]

The FIPS county code is the five-digit Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code which uniquely identifies counties and county equivalents in the United States.[2] The three-digit number is unique to each individual county within a state, but to be unique within the entire United States, it must be prefixed by the state code. This means that, for example, while Nye County, Nevada is number 023, Humboldt County, California and Grant County, Oregon also have the number 023. While Humboldt County, Nevada has number 013, Humboldt County, Iowa has number 091. To uniquely identify Nye County, Nevada, you would need to use the state code of 32 plus the county code of 023. Thus, the unique identifier in the entire United States for Humboldt County, Nevada would be 32013, while Nye County, Nevada would be 32023, etc.

Alphabetical list

County
FIPS code
[2]
County seat
[3]
Created
[3]
Origin
[4]
Etymology
[1][4]
Population
[3][5]
Area
[3][5]
Map
Carson City 510 (Independent city) 1969 Part of Ormsby county. Christopher Houston (Kit) Carson (1809-1868), the famous frontier scout and soldier. &000000000005245700000052,457 &0000000000000144000000144 mi²
(373 km²)
State map highlighting Carson City
Churchill County 001 Fallon 1861 One of the original nine counties. Fort Churchill, named in turn for Sylvester Churchill (1783-1862), a general in the Mexican-American War. &000000000002398200000023,982 &00000000000049290000004,929 sq mi
(&000000000001276600000012,766 km2)
State map highlighting Churchill County
Clark County 003 Las Vegas 1908 Part of Lincoln county. William A. Clark (1839-1925), former United States Senator from Montana, and the builder of the railroad line through the area. &00000000013757650000001,375,765 &00000000000079110000007,911 sq mi
(&000000000002048900000020,489 km2)
State map highlighting Clark County
Douglas County 005 Minden 1861 One of the original nine counties. Stephen Arnold Douglas (1813-1861), former United States Senator from Illinois. &000000000004125900000041,259 &0000000000000710000000710 sq mi
(&00000000000018390000001,839 km2)
State map highlighting Douglas County
Elko County 007 Elko 1869 Part of Lander county. A Shoshoni word meaning white woman. It is said, among the very old Shoshoni, that this is where they first saw a white woman. &000000000004529100000045,291 &000000000001718200000017,182 sq mi
(&000000000004450100000044,501 km2)
State map highlighting Elko County
Esmeralda County 009 Goldfield 1861 One of the original nine counties. Esmeralda Mining District, named in turn for possibly the character Esmeralda of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Esmeralda is the Spanish and Portuguese word for emerald. &0000000000000971000000971 &00000000000035890000003,589 sq mi
(&00000000000092950000009,295 km2)
State map highlighting Esmeralda County
Eureka County 011 Eureka 1873 Part of Lander county. Greek expression Eureka, meaning I have found it!, in reference to deposits of silver found in the vicinity. &00000000000016510000001,651 &00000000000041760000004,176 sq mi
(&000000000001081600000010,816 km2)
State map highlighting Eureka County
Humboldt County 013 Winnemucca 1861 One of the original nine counties. Humboldt River, named in turn for Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), a German naturalist and explorer. &000000000001610600000016,106 &00000000000096480000009,648 sq mi
(&000000000002498800000024,988 km2)
State map highlighting Humboldt County
Lander County 015 Battle Mountain 1861 One of the original nine counties. Frederick W. Lander (1821-1862), an American Civil War general and developer of the area. &00000000000057940000005,794 &00000000000054940000005,494 sq mi
(&000000000001422900000014,229 km2)
State map highlighting Lander County
Lincoln County 017 Pioche 1866 Parts of Nye county and territory ceded by Arizona. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), the sixteenth President of the United States. &00000000000041650000004,165 &000000000001063500000010,635 sq mi
(&000000000002754500000027,545 km2)
State map highlighting Lincoln County
Lyon County 019 Yerington 1861 One of the original nine counties. General Nathaniel Lyon (1818-1861), who was killed in action at the Battle of Wilson's Creek. &000000000003450100000034,501 &00000000000019940000001,994 sq mi
(&00000000000051640000005,164 km2)
State map highlighting Lyon County
Mineral County 021 Hawthorne 1911 Part of Esmeralda county. Mineral deposits in the area. &00000000000050710000005,071 &00000000000037570000003,757 sq mi
(&00000000000097310000009,731 km2)
State map highlighting Mineral County
Nye County 023 Tonopah 1864 Part of Esmeralda county. James W. Nye (1815-1876), a governor of the Nevada Territory and U.S. senator from Nevada. &000000000003248500000032,485 &000000000001814700000018,147 sq mi
(&000000000004700100000047,001 km2)
State map highlighting Nye County
Pershing County 027 Lovelock 1919 Part of Humboldt county. John Joseph (Black Jack) Pershing (1860-1948), the World War I general. &00000000000066930000006,693 &00000000000060090000006,009 sq mi
(&000000000001556300000015,563 km2)
State map highlighting Pershing County
Storey County 029 Virginia City 1861 One of the original nine counties. Edward Farris Storey (1829-1860), a captain killed at Pyramid Lake in the 1860 Paiute War. &00000000000033990000003,399 &0000000000000264000000264 sq mi
(&0000000000000684000000684 km2)
State map highlighting Storey County
Washoe County 031 Reno 1861 One of the original nine counties. The Washo, a small Indian tribe that inhabits the area. &0000000000339486000000339,486 &00000000000063420000006,342 sq mi
(&000000000001642600000016,426 km2)
State map highlighting Washoe County
White Pine County 033 Ely 1869 Part of Lander county. Heavy growth of pine trees in the area, thought to be white pine. &00000000000091810000009,181 &00000000000088770000008,877 sq mi
(&000000000002299100000022,991 km2)
State map highlighting White Pine County

Defunct counties

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Political History of Nevada". Nevada State Library and Archives.. http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/archives/political/historical/hist19.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-17. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/codes/nv.html. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "NACo - Find a county". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/state.cfm&state.cfm&statecode=NV. Retrieved 2007-08-16. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Counties of Nevada". Nevada-History.org. http://nevada-history.org/county.html. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Nevada QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/nevada_map.html. Retrieved 2007-08-16.  (2000 Census)