Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

located in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. According to the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, it is the 32nd most populous state, with inhabitants, but the 7th largest by land area spanning . Nevada is divided into 17

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

and contains 19 incorporated

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. Nevada's incorporated municipalities cover only of the state's land mass but are home to of its population. Incorporated places in the state are legally described as cities, except for the state capital

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

, which has no legal description but is considered 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 ...

as it is not located in any county. To incorporate, a petition for incorporation can be made to the board of county commissioners, who consider numerous geographic, demographic, and economic factors. Cities are categorized by population for the purpose of determining the number of

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

and council election structure as well as the number of city clerks: cities with 50,000 or more inhabitants are in population category one, cities with 5,000 or more but fewer than 50,000 inhabitants are in population category two, and cities having fewer than 5,000 inhabitants are in population category three. Cities are responsible for providing local services such as fire and police protection, road maintenance, water distribution, and sewer maintenance. The largest municipality by population in Nevada is

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

with 641,903 residents, and the smallest is Caliente with 990 residents. The largest municipality by land area is

Boulder City Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon. Boulder City is one of on ...

, which spans , while Lovelock is the smallest at . The first place in Nevada to incorporate was Carson City, on , and the most recent place was Fernley, on .

Incorporated cities and municipalities

DowntownLasVegas.jpg, alt=Downtown Las Vegas, Downtown

, Nevada's largest city by population Green Valley High School, Henderson, Nevada (18193053422).jpg, alt=Aerial view of Henderson, Aerial view of

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...

, suburb of Las Vegas and Nevada's second most populous city Reno skyline.JPG, alt=Skyline of Reno, Skyline of

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, third most populous city in Nevada Northlasv.jpg, alt=Mountains around North Las Vegas, Mountains around

North Las Vegas North Las Vegas is a suburban city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 216,961, with an estimated population of 251,974 in 2019. The city was incorporated on May 1, 19 ...

, suburb of Las Vegas Victorian Square, Sparks, Nevada.jpg, alt=Sparks, Nevada, Sparks, suburb of Reno and Nevada's fifth most populous city Carson city nevada capitol.jpg,

, Nevada's capital and sixth largest city by population 2015-10-30 10 09 36 View west along Main Street (Nevada State Route 427) in Fernley, Nevada.jpg, alt=Main street in Fernley, Main street of Nevada's newest city, Fernley 2012-09-30 14 28 33 View of downtown Elko in Nevada from a bluff to the south.jpg, alt=Downtown Elko, Downtown Elko, eighth most populous city in Nevada Mesquite Nevada 2.jpg, alt=Downtown Mesquite, Downtown

Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus ''Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under grou ...

, Nevada's ninth most populous city Boulder City, View of Lake Mead.jpg, alt=Boulder city and Lake Mead, View of

, Nevada's tenth most populous city, and

Lake Mead Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. L ...

Notes

References

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Cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Incorporated cities and municipalities

See also

Notes

References