Nevada Counties Map: Click All 17 Counties

How many counties are in Nevada?

Nevada has 17 counties. 40 states have more, and 9 have fewer.

Nevada has 16 counties plus Carson City, the capital, which is an independent city that counts as a county. Clark County, home to Las Vegas, holds about three of every four Nevadans. Nye County, in the middle of the state, is the largest.

How Nevada's counties were formed

The Nevada Territory created its first nine counties in 1861. Clark County was split from Lincoln County in 1909, and Pershing County, formed from Humboldt County in 1919, was the last new county. Ormsby County merged with Carson City in 1969 to form the consolidated municipality of Carson City. In 1987 the legislature created Bullfrog County around the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, but the courts ruled it unconstitutional and it was dissolved in 1989.

Nevada regions and the counties in each

Nevada is mostly Great Basin, long mountain ranges with dry valleys between. Northern Nevada includes Washoe (Reno), Carson City, Douglas and Lyon around Lake Tahoe and the Sierra foothills. The I-80 corridor runs east through Pershing, Humboldt, Lander and Elko counties. Central Nevada is Nye, Esmeralda, Mineral and White Pine, with Great Basin National Park in White Pine County. Southern Nevada is Clark and Lincoln counties, with Las Vegas, Hoover Dam and part of Death Valley's edge.

Notable places on the Nevada county map

Boundary Peak, the state's highest point at more than 13,000 feet, is in Esmeralda County near the California line. Great Basin National Park, with ancient bristlecone pines, is in White Pine County. Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire State Park are in Clark County, and Lake Tahoe's Nevada shore is split among Washoe County, Douglas County and Carson City. More than 300 named mountain ranges cross Nevada, so most counties are a series of ranges and the dry basins between them.

Nevada counties map: the biggest and smallest

Nye County is the largest county in Nevada, with 18,182 square miles of land, about 17% of the state. That's more land than 9 whole states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii and others. Carson City is the smallest, at 145 square miles.

The smallest counties by land area are Carson City (145 sq mi), Storey County (264 sq mi) and Douglas County (711 sq mi).

Which counties in Nevada have the most people?

Clark County has the most people, about 2,398,871 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 73% of everyone in Nevada. The three biggest counties together hold 91% of the state's 3,267,467 people. Esmeralda County has the fewest, about 720.

The most crowded is Carson City, with about 402 people per square mile. The emptiest is Esmeralda County, with less than one person per square mile. Comparing the two is a quick way to show children that a big county on the map isn't always a big county in people.

What county is Carson City in?

Carson City, the capital of Nevada, is in Carson City. Carson City ranks 4th of 17 by population. Nevada is called the Silver State, and it became the 36th state in 1864.

Counties on the Nevada border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Nevada shares a border with Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Utah.

How Nevada's counties compare with other states

Nevada ranks 7th among the 50 states in land area and 31st in population. Its average county covers about 6,462 square miles and holds about 192,204 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so Nevada's counties are bigger than usual in size. Bigger counties mean fewer names to learn for a state this size.

Landmarks for learning the counties of Nevada

• Clark County is the southern tip, home to Las Vegas.
• Washoe County (Reno) runs up the western edge to Oregon.
• Elko County fills the northeast corner.

With 17 counties, you can take on the whole map at once in a Practice round. Then print the Nevada county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 17 Nevada counties

Every county on the map, A to Z, with its land area and July 2024 population estimate.

Nevada geography for homeschoolers

Pair this map with the West states and capitals quiz and the US states quiz. If you teach at home, see homeschooling in nevada, and check nevada opportunity scholarship to see whether a program may help pay for Nevada history and geography curriculum. Each program decides what it covers.