Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

and the capital of the U.S. state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the 6th most populous city in the state. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the eastern edge of the

Carson Range The Carson Range is a spur of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California and western Nevada that starts at Carson Pass and stretches north to the Truckee River near Verdi, Nevada. Geography The mountain range is about 50 miles (80 km) long a ...

, a branch of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

, about south of

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. The city is named after the

mountain man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and United States Army, U.S. Army officer. He became an American frontier legend in his own lifetime ...

(1809-1868). The town began as a stopover for

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-bound immigrants, but developed into a city with the

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the U ...

, a silver strike in the mountains to the northeast. The city has served as Nevada's capital since statehood in 1864; for much of its history it was a hub for the

Virginia and Truckee Railroad The Virginia and Truckee Railroad (stylized as Virginia & Truckee Railroad) is a privately owned heritage railway, heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is long. When first constructe ...

, although the tracks were removed in 1950. Before 1969, Carson City was the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Ormsby County Ormsby County was a county in Nevada Territory from 1861 to 1864 and in the State of Nevada from 1864 until 1969. It contained Carson City, the county seat, and later, the state capital, founded two years earlier. Name It was named after Majo ...

. That year, after a referendum approved merging the city and the county, the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

issued a revised city charter that merged them into the Carson City Consolidated Municipality. With the consolidation, the city limits extend west across the

to the

state line in the middle of

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

. Like other independent cities in the United States, it is treated as a

county-equivalent In the United States, a county or county equivalent is an administrative subdivision of a state or territory, typically with defined geographic boundaries and some level of governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 states, whil ...

for census purposes.

History

The

Washoe people The Washoe or Wašišiw ("people from here", transliterated in older literature as ''Wa She Shu'') are a Great Basin tribe of Native Americans, living near Lake Tahoe at the border between California and Nevada. The name "Washoe" or "Washo" ( ...

have inhabited the valley and surrounding areas for about 6,000 years. The first

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

s to arrive in what is now known as Eagle Valley were

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

and his exploration party in January 1843. Fremont named the river flowing through the valley

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five counties: Alpine Count ...

in honor of

,(1809-1868), the

, explorer and scout he had hired for his expedition. Later, settlers named the area Washoe, in reference to the indigenous people. By 1851, the Eagle Station ranch along the Carson River was a trading post and stop-over for westbound travelers and wagons on the

California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...

's Carson Branch, which ran through Eagle Valley. The valley and trading post received their name from a

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

that was hunted and killed by one of the early settlers and was featured pinned on a wall inside the post. As the area was part of the larger

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

(1850-1896), it was governed from the territorial (and later state) capital of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

on the eastern shore of the

Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, partic ...

, where the territorial government was headquartered there several hundred miles further east with

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

( The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) patriarch of

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

(1801-1877), as first

Governor of Utah A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. Early settlers bristled at the control by Mormon-influenced officials and desired the creation of the provisional

Nevada Territory The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada. Prior to the creation of the Neva ...

with

Isaac Roop Isaac Newton Roop (March 13, 1822 – February 14, 1869) was an American politician, pioneer, and member of the Whig Party. In 1859, he was the first elected (provisional) governor of the newly-proposed Nevada Territory. Early life Roop was bo ...

(1822-1869, served 1859-1861), as provisional Governor. A vigilante group of influential settlers, headed by

Abraham Curry Abraham Van Santvoord Curry (February 19, 1815 – October 19, 1873) was an American politician considered the founding father of Carson City, Nevada. A native of the state of New York, he traveled to the West Coast during the California Gold Ru ...

(1815-1873), sought a site for a capital city for the envisioned future separate territory. In 1858,

bought Eagle Station and the settlement was thereafter renamed Carson City. Curry and several other partners had Eagle Valley surveyed for development. Curry decided Carson City would someday serve as the capital city and left a plot in the center of town for a capitol building. After

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

ore were discovered in 1859 on the nearby newly-named

, Carson City's population began to grow. Curry built the Warm Springs Hotel a mile to the east of the town center. When new territorial governor James W. Nye (1815-1876, served 1861-1864), traveled east to Nevada, he chose Carson City as the territorial capital instead of earlier

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, which had functioned temporarily as such for the past few years. Influenced by Carson City lawyer

William M. Stewart William Morris Stewart (August 9, 1827April 23, 1909) was an American lawyer and politician. In 1964, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Personal Stewart was born in Wayne County, ...

(1827-1909), who escorted him from the port of

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

where he arrived onboard a passenger steamboat liner, then journeying uphill past

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

to Nevada. As such, Carson City bested

Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City dev ...

and American Flat. Curry loaned the Warm Springs Hotel to the territorial Legislature as a temporary meeting hall. The Legislature named Carson City to be the

and also selected the hotel as the territorial prison, with Curry serving as its first warden. Today, the property is still part of the state prison. When Nevada became the 36th

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

in 1864 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

(1861-1865), Carson City was confirmed as Nevada's permanent

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of ...

. Carson City's development was no longer dependent on the mining industry and instead became a thriving commercial center. The

was built between

and

Carson City Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the 6th most populous city in the state. The m ...

. A

log flume A log flume or lumber flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Loggi ...

was also built from the

mountains range into Carson City. The current

Nevada State Capitol The Nevada State Capitol is the capitol building of the U.S. state of Nevada located in the state capital of Carson City at 101 North Carson Street. The building was constructed in the Neoclassical Italianate style between 1869 and 1871. It is ...

building was constructed from 1869 to 1871. The

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bull ...

also operated its branch of the

Carson City Mint The Carson City Mint was a branch of the United States Mint in Carson City, Nevada. It primarily minted silver coins; however, it also minted gold coins, with a total face value in dollars nearly equal to that of its silver coins. The mint minted ...

between the years of 1870 and 1893, which struck gold and silver coins of

United States currency The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

. People came from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

during that time, many to work on the

transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...

being constructed. Some of them owned businesses and taught school. By 1880, almost a thousand Chinese people, "one for every five Caucasians", lived in Carson City. Carson City's population and transportation traffic decreased when the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...

built a branch line through

Donner Pass Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual a ...

to connect with the

Carson and Colorado Railroad The Carson and Colorado Railway was a U.S. narrow gauge railroad that ran from Mound House, Nevada, to Keeler, California, below the Cerro Gordo Mines. It was incorporated on May 10, 1880, as the Carson and Colorado ''Railroad'', and constr ...

. The new branch also bypassed the Virginia & Truckee line, and ran too far to the north to benefit Carson City. The city was slightly revitalized with the mining booms in nearby Tonopah and Goldfield. The United States federal building (now renamed the

Paul Laxalt Paul Dominique Laxalt ( ; August 2, 1922 – August 6, 2018) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 22nd governor of Nevada from 1967 to 1971 and a United States senator representing Nevada from 1974 until 1987. A member ...

Building) was completed in 1890 as was the

Stewart Indian School The Stewart Indian School (1890–1980) was an American Indian boarding school southeast of Carson City, Nevada. Today, it is the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum. The school's 110-acre campus still holds 65 original buildings. ...

. Even these developments could not prevent its population from dropping to just over 1,500 people by 1930. Carson City resigned itself to small city status, advertising itself as "America's smallest capital". The city slowly grew after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1939/1941-1945); by 1960, it had reached its former 1880 mining boom-town era population size of 80 years before.

20th-century revitalization and growth

In 1931,

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

was legalized in Nevada which increased tourism to Carson City. As early as the late 1940s, discussions began about merging Ormsby County and Carson City. By this time, the county was little more than Carson City and a few hamlets to the west. By the 1960 census, all but 2,900 of the county's residents lived in Carson City. However, the effort did not pay off until 1966, when a statewide referendum approved the merger. The required constitutional amendment was passed in 1968. On April 1, 1969, Ormsby County and Carson City officially merged as the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City. With this consolidation, Carson City absorbed former town sites such as Empire City, which had grown up in the 1860s as a milling center along the Carson River and current

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

. Carson City could now advertise itself as one of America's largest state capitals with its of city limits. In 1991, the city adopted a downtown master plan, specifying no building within of the capitol would surpass it in height. This plan effectively prohibited future high-rise development in the center of downtown. The

Ormsby House Ormsby House is a closed hotel and casino in Carson City, Nevada. Originally opened in 1972, it closed on October 30, 2000, for extensive renovations. The re-opening was originally planned for July 4, 2001, but was pushed back many times due to ...

is the tallest building in downtown Carson City, at a height of . The structure was completed in 1972.

Geography

Most of the city proper resides in the Eagle Valley. The

flows from Douglas County through the southwestern edge of both the valley and Carson City. Since the consolidation, the city limits today include several small populated areas outside of this valley. Today the city limits include several peaks in the

, small portions of both the

Virginia Range The Virginia Range is a mountain range of western Nevada, primarily within Storey County, and extending east into Lyon County. The range is named after James Finney, "Old Virginny", an early discoverer of gold associated with the Comstock Lode.S ...

and the

Pine Nut Mountains The Pine Nut Mountains are a north–south mountain range in the Great Basin, in Douglas and Lyon counties of northwestern Nevada, United States. The highest mountain in the range is Mount Siegel at 9,456 ft (2,882 m). Geography The range ...

and portions of Marlette Lake and

. The highest elevation in city limits is

Snow Valley Peak Snow Valley Peak is a mountain located in the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada. The mountain lies within the city limits of Carson City, NV. At 9,214 feet in elevation it is also the city's highest point. From the peak Mound House, Carson C ...

at an elevation of . Carson City is one of two state capitals that border another state, the other being

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

Climate

Carson City features a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''BSk'',

Trewartha Glenn Thomas Trewartha (1896 – 1984) was an American geographer of Cornish American descent. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with a Ph.D. in 1924. He taught at the University of Wisconsin. He gave an address to th ...

: ''BSak'') with cold winters and hot summers. The city is in a high desert river valley approximately above sea level. There are four fairly distinct seasons. Winters see typically light to moderate snowfall, with an average of , with the most snowfall being from July 1951 to June 1952 and the least from July 2002 to June 2003. Most precipitation occurs in winter and spring, with summer and fall being fairly dry, drier than neighboring California. The wettest “rain year” was from July 1937 to June 1938 with and the driest from July 1971 to June 1972 with . The most precipitation in one month occurred in December 1955 when fell and the most snowfall in March 1952. The most precipitation in one day has been on November 19 of 1950. There are 39.5 afternoons of + highs annually, with + temperatures occurring 1.2 afternoons per year. The hottest month has been July 2021 with an average of , the hottest temperature on July 19, 1931, and the highest minimum on August 1, 2022. There are 125 mornings with lows below freezing, but afternoon maxima top on all but 52 days, and top freezing on all but five. Temperatures below are very rare, occurring about twice per winter and frequently not occurring at all. The coldest temperature in Carson City has been on January 21, 1937, the lowest maximum on December 12, 1932, and December 22, 1990, and the coldest month January 1949 with a mean temperature of , although January 1937 at is the only other month below . The average temperature in Carson City increased by between 1984 and 2014, a greater change than in any other city in the United States.

Places of interest

Museums

– original capitol still housing the governor's offices with museum exhibits *

Nevada State Museum Nevada State Museum may refer to: * Nevada State Museum, Carson City * Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas {{disambig ...

– former branch of the

featuring rock, mining and prehistoric exhibits, and a recreated

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

village *

Nevada State Railroad Museum The Nevada State Railroad Museum, located in Carson City, Nevada, preserves the heritage railroad, railroad heritage of Nevada, including locomotives and cars of the famous Virginia and Truckee Railroad. Much of the museum equipment was obtai ...

– featuring the Inyo locomotive and relocated Wabuska Railroad Station *

– museum collection includes items from former faculty, students and school * Foreman-Roberts House Museum – Gothic Revival architecture, tours available. *

Sears–Ferris House The Sears–Ferris House, at 311 W Third Street in Carson City, Nevada, is a historic house built in 1863. It was owned from 1868 to 1890 by George Washington Gale Ferris Sr., father of George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., future inventor of the ...

(not open to public) – home of

George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (February 14, 1859 – November 22, 1896) was an American civil engineer. He is mostly known for creating the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. Early life Ferris was bor ...

, inventor of the

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

* Yesterday's Flyers, an aviation museum in Carson City. * Children's Museum of Northern Nevada – Carson City

Open land

* Silver Saddle Ranch * Mexican Dam – 1860s stone dam across the Carson River * Prison Hill –

historic markers, location of the Stewart "S" * Carson Aquatic Trail * Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (

Carson Ranger District Carson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Carson (surname), a list people and fictional characters with the surname * Carson (given name), a list of people with the given name Places United States *Carson, California, a city *Carson ...

) ** Kings Canyon Falls **

– – highest point within Carson City *

Tahoe Rim Trail The Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) is a 170-mile (274 km) long-distance hiking trail that forms a loop around the Lake Tahoe Basin in the Sierra Nevada and ranges of Nevada and California in the United States.Hauserman, Tim ''The Tahoe Rim Trail'' ...

* Lake Tahoe–Nevada State Park * Lake Tahoe beachfront (several beaches along Lake Tahoe lie within the city limits) ** Chimney Beach ** Secret Harbor ** Whale Beach ** Skunk Harbor * Washoe Lake State Park – borders city to the north * "C Hill" – hill featuring the Carson City "C" and giant American Flag

Demographics

Carson City is the smallest of the United States' 366 metropolitan statistical areas. As of the 2010 census, there were 55,274 people, 20,171 households, and 13,252 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,283 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.1% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 2.4% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 9.4% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. 21% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. As of the 2000 census, there were 20,171 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97. The city's age distribution was: 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.2 males. Data from the 2000 census indicates the median income for a household in the city was $41,809, and the median income for a family was $49,570. Males had a median income of $35,296 versus $27,418 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,943. 10.0% of the population and 6.9% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Languages

As of 2010, 82.3% (42,697) of Carson City residents age 5 and older spoke

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

at home as a

first language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...

, while 14.1% (7,325) spoke

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, 0.6% (318)

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and numerous

Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east ...

were spoken as a main language by 0.5% (261) of the population over the age of five. In total, 17.7% (9,174) of Carson City's population age 5 and older spoke a first language other than English.

Government and politics

Ormsby County consolidated with Carson City in 1969, and the county simultaneously dissolved.Board of Supervisors
, Carson City. The city is now governed by a five-member board of supervisors, consisting of a mayor and four supervisors. All members are elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

, but each of the four supervisors must reside in respective wards, numbered 1 through 4. The mayor and supervisors serve four year terms. Elections are staggered so the mayor and the supervisors from Wards 2 and Ward 4 are elected in presidential election years, and the supervisors from Wards 1 and 3 are elected in the even-numbered years in between (i.e., the same year as gubernatorial elections). The city is generally considered a Republican stronghold, often voting for Republicans by wide margins. In 2004,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

defeated

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

57–40%. In 2008, however,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

became the first Democrat since 1964 to win Ormsby County/Carson City, defeating

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

49–48%, by 204 votes, a margin of under 1%. Carson City, being the state capital, has seen many political protests and demonstrations. In an attempt to either make a proposed spent nuclear fuel storage facility at

Yucca Mountain Yucca Mountain is a mountain in Nevada, near its border with California, approximately northwest of Las Vegas. Located in the Great Basin, Yucca Mountain is east of the Amargosa Desert, south of the Nevada Test and Training Range and in the ...

prohibitively expensive (by raising property tax rates to the maximum allowed) or to allow the state to collect the potential federal payments of property taxes on the facility, the state government in 1987 carved Yucca Mountain out of

Nye County Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, beh ...

and created a new county with no residents out of the area surrounding Yucca called Bullfrog County. Carson City became the county seat of Bullfrog County, even though it was not in Bullfrog County and is more than from Yucca Mountain. A state judge found the process unconstitutional in 1989, and Bullfrog County's territory was retroceded to Nye County.

Culture

Sports and recreation

Carson City has never hosted any professional team sports. However, a variety of sports are offered at parks and recreation. Many neighborhood parks offer a wide variety of features including picnic tables, beaches, restrooms, fishing, softball, basketball hoops, ponds, tennis, and volleyball. The largest park is Mills Park, which has a total land area of and includes the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

Carson & Mills Park Railroad. While there are no ski slopes within Carson City, the city is near the

Heavenly Mountain Resort Heavenly Mountain Resort is a ski resort located on the California–Nevada border in southeastern Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. It opened for business on December 15, 1955 and has 97 runs and 30 lifts that are spread between ...

, Diamond Peak and

Mount Rose Ski Tahoe Mount Rose Ski Tahoe (commonly known as Mount Rose) is a ski resort in Nevada, United States. The resort is situated in the Sierra Nevada mountains, near to Reno, Incline Village, and Lake Tahoe. Despite the name, the resort is actually on ...

skiing areas. Carson City houses the 2024 #1 rated disc golf course in Nevada, Stadium Course At Carson Ridge.

Notable people

Carson City has served as one of the state's centers for politics and business. Every

state governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

since Denver S. Dickerson has resided in the Governor's Mansion in Carson City. The following personalities took up residence in Carson City at some point in their lives. *

Mackena Bell __NOTOC__ Mackena Bell (born June 9, 1990) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. She drove the No. 23 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet for one race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2014. She was also a graduate of NASCAR Drive f ...

, racing driver *

Duane Leroy Bliss Duane Leroy Bliss (June 10, 1833 – December 23, 1907) was a 19th-century American timber and mining magnate. He founded the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company from Gold Hill, Nevada. He eventually controlled every facet of the busine ...

, timber businessman *

Orion Clemens Orion Clemens (July 17, 1825 – December 11, 1897) was the first and only Secretary of the Nevada Territory. His younger brother Samuel Langhorne Clemens became an author under the pen name Mark Twain. Early life Born in Gainesboro, Tennessee ...

, Secretary of Nevada Territory * Steven S. Coughlin, American epidemiologist and author *

John Cradlebaugh John Cradlebaugh (February 22, 1819 – February 22, 1872) was the first delegate to the United States House of Representatives from Nevada Territory. Biography Born in Circleville, Ohio, he attended the common schools; Kenyon College (in Gambie ...

, first Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Nevada Territory *

, founding father of Carson City and early politician * Dat So La Lee, Native American basket weaver and artist *

Nellie Verrill Mighels Davis Nellie Mighels Davis (née Verrill; September 10, 1844 – June 24, 1945) was a US civic leader and journalist. In 1897, she was the first woman to report a boxing prize fight ( Fitzsimmons/ Corbett) in the United States. She was also the firs ...

, journalist *

David Eddings David Carroll Eddings (July 7, 1931 – June 2, 2009) was an American fantasy writer. With his wife Leigh, he authored several best-selling epic fantasy novel series, including ''The Belgariad'' (1982–84), '' The Malloreon'' (1987–91), '' The ...

, best selling author of fantasy novels *

, inventor of the

Ellen Hopkins Ellen Louise Hopkins (born March 26, 1955) is a novelist who has published several ''New York Times'' bestseller, bestselling novels that are popular among the teenage and young adult audience. Personal life Hopkins was adopted by Albert and Va ...

, author *

, former Governor and U.S. Senator *

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...

, two time World Champion road racing cyclist, and three-time winner of the Tour de France * Alice Little, Irish-American sex-worker and advocate * David Lundquist, Major League baseball player (Chicago White Sox) * Maurice E. McLoughlin, two-time U.S. Open champion, member of

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

Henry Rust Mighels Henry Rust Mighels (November 5, 1830 – May 27, 1879) was an American journalist and politician. A writer of the Sagebrush School, he was the editor and publisher of Carson City, Nevada's '' Nevada Appeal''. He was born in Norway, Maine. ...

, journalist, politician, first husband of Nellie Verrill Mighels Davis *

Hank Monk Hank Monk (March 24, 1826 – February 28, 1883) was a legendary stagecoach driver in the 19th century who drove a stage between Carson City, Nevada and Placerville, California in the 1870s. He is mentioned in Chapter XX of Mark Twain's ''Roughin ...

, stagecoach driver * William Ormsby, soldier and namesake of

and

Donovan Osborne Donovan Alan Osborne (born June 21, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from -. Career Osborne attended Carson High School in Carson City, Nevada before he was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 19 ...

, Major League baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals) *

Darrell Rasner Darrell Wayne Rasner, Jr. (born January 13, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the T ...

, Major League baseball player (New York Yankees) * Don Tatro, member of the

Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the pr ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

, author (lived with his brother Orion Clemens) * Matt Williams, Major League third baseman (San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, and Arizona Diamondbacks) *

Sarah Winnemucca Sarah (née Winnemucca) Hopkins ( – October 17, 1891) was a Northern Paiute writer, activist, lecturer, teacher, and school organizer. Her Northern Paiute name was Thocmentony, also spelled Tocmetone, which translates as " Shell Flower." Sara ...

, Native American activist and author

Economy and infrastructure

The following is a list of notable employers in Carson City from the fourth quarter of 2012: 1,000–1,499 employees * Carson City School District 500–999 employees *

Nevada Department of Transportation The Nevada Department of Transportation (Nevada DOT or NDOT) is a government agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. NDOT is responsible for maintaining and improving Nevada's highway system, which includes U.S. highways and Interstate highways with ...

Western Nevada College Western Nevada College (WNC) is a public college with its main campus in Carson City, Nevada, United States. There are additional campuses in Fallon and Minden, and WNC centers in Dayton, Fernley, Hawthorne, Lake Tahoe, Lovelock, Smith Val ...

200–499 employees *

Nevada Department of Corrections The Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. The NDOC headquarters is located on the property of the Stewart Indian School in Carson City. History In 1862, the first prison in Nevada was cr ...

Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is a Nevada Government agency, state agency responsible for issuing Driver's license, driver licenses and Motor vehicle registration, vehicle registration. The DMV operates a total of 20 offices across ...

* Casino Fandango *

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Precision Castparts Corp. Precision Castparts Corp. is an American industrial goods and metal fabrication company that manufactures investment castings, forged components, and airfoil castings for use in the aerospace, industrial gas turbine, and defense industries ...

* Gold Dust West Hotel and Casino * Carson Nugget * Costco Wholesale Corporation *

Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is a Nevada state agency that focuses on the preservation and management of Nevada’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources. The current director is James Settelmeyer. Th ...

100–199 employees * Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Welfare and Supportive Services

Transportation

There are four highways in the city:

Nevada State Route 28 State Route 28 (SR 28) is a State highway#United States, state highway in Douglas County, Nevada, Douglas County, Carson City, Nevada, Carson City, and Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County in western Nevada, United States, that run ...

, U.S. Route 395,

, and Interstate 580, its only freeway. Phase 1 of the Carson City Freeway Project from US 395, just north of the city, to US 50 was completed in February 2006, and Phase 2A, extending from Rt. 50 to Fairview Drive, was officially opened on September 24, 2009. Phase 2B, Fairview Drive to Rt. 50, was completed in August 2017. Prior to 2012, Carson City was one of the only five state capitals not directly served by an interstate highway until I-580 was extended into the city limits. Carson City's first modern bus system,

Jump Around Carson Jump Around Carson is a public transit operator in Carson City, Nevada. It offers both dial-a-ride Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,

, or JAC, opened to the public in October 2005. JAC uses a smaller urban bus ideal for Carson City.

Tahoe Transportation District The Tahoe Transportation District, formally known as South Tahoe Area Transit Authority and BlueGO, is the primary provider of mass transportation in the Lake Tahoe region of northcentral California and northwestern Nevada. The service uniquely pr ...

connects

Gardnerville Gardnerville is an unincorporated town in Douglas County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the county seat of Minden. The population was 6,211 at the 2020 census. U.S. Route 395 runs through the center of Gardnerville. State Route 207, kno ...

with Carson City. However, there is virtually no ground public transportation to other destinations. Passenger trains have not served Carson City since 1950, when the

was shut down.

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

stopped their bus services to the town in 2006 and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

discontinued their connecting thruway bus to

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, in 2008. There is now only a limited Monday – Friday RTC bus service, to

which is still served by both Greyhound and Amtrak, as well as

Eastern Sierra Transit Authority Eastern Sierra Transit is the operator of public transportation for the Eastern Sierra Region in California (between the Sierra Nevada and the California state line). The agency operates both inter-city and local service. They also offer Dial-a-r ...

service from Lone Pine to Reno. Carson City is also served by the Carson Airport, which is a regional airport in the northern part of the city.

Reno–Tahoe International Airport Reno–Tahoe International Airport is a public and military airport southeast of downtown Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It is the state's second busiest commercial airport after Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. ...

, which is away, handles domestic commercial flights.

Education

The Carson City School District, the sole public school district of the city, operates ten schools there. The six elementary schools are Bordewich-Bray Elementary School, Empire Elementary School, Fremont Elementary School, Fritsch Elementary School, Mark Twain Elementary School, and Al Seeliger Elementary School. The two middle schools are Carson Middle School and Eagle Valley Middle School. Carson High School and the alternative Pioneer High School serve high school students. Carson High is on Saliman Road. The district sponsors Carson Montessori School, a public charter school serving grades K-6. Students residing in any Nevada county may enroll. Carson Montessori School is the only school in district operating with a balanced budget. In 2019 Carson Montessori School received the Governor's STEM Schools Designation, an official recognition given to 25 schools statewide which causes a short ceremony attended by the governor during which receiving schools are assigned a 10-foot banner.

(WNC) is a regionally accredited, two-year and four-year institution which is part of the

Nevada System of Higher Education The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE, formerly the University and Community College System of Nevada or UCCSN) is a state government unit in Nevada that oversees its public system of colleges and universities. It was formed in 1968 to overs ...

. The college offers many programs including education, arts and science. Carson City has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, the Carson City Library.

Historic buildings

Image:StCharlesHotel Carson City.jpg, Image:Laxalt Building, 2007.jpg, Image:Nevada Govenors Mansion.JPG, File:Paul Laxalt State Building.jpg, Paul Laxalt State Building – formerly the U.S. Court House & Post Office, now home to the Nevada Commission on Tourism

References

External links

* * *
Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau
* {{Authority control Cities in Nevada Independent cities in the United States Populated places established in 1858 Nevada counties 1858 establishments in Utah Territory Former county seats in Nevada State capitals in the United States