Washoe County () is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
in 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 486,492,
making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its
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 ...
is
Reno.
Washoe County is included in the
Reno, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Washoe County was created on November 25, 1861, as one of the original nine counties of the
Nevada Territory. It is named after the
Washoe people who originally inhabited the area. It was consolidated with
Roop County in 1864.
Washoe City was the first county seat in 1861 and was replaced by
Reno in 1871.
In 1911, a small band of
Shoshone and
Bannock led by
Mike Daggett killed four stockmen in Washoe County. A posse was formed, and on February 26, 1911, at the
Battle of Kelley Creek, eight of Daggett's band were killed, along with one member of the posse, Ed Hogle. Three children and a woman who survived the battle were captured. The remains of some of the members of the band were repatriated from the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
to the
Fort Hall Idaho Shoshone-Bannock Tribe in 1994.
In 1918, Washoe County elected the first woman elected to the
Nevada Legislature,
Sadie Hurst, a
Republican.
As of 2013, "Washoe County is the first school district in the state to offer Paiute classes," offering an elective course in the
Paiute language at Spanish Springs High School
and North Valleys High School.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.7%) is water.
The highest point in Washoe County is
Mount Rose at , while the most topographically prominent peak is
Virginia Peak.
There are two incorporated cities within the county, namely Reno and Sparks. In 2010, there was a ballot question asking whether the Reno city government and the Washoe County government should become one combined governmental body. According to unofficial results the day after the election, 54% of voters approved of the ballot measure to consolidate the governments.
The
Truckee Meadows of Washoe County starts at the furthest southern runway of
Reno Tahoe International Airport, GPS Coordinates 39.468836,-119.770912 and runs south east. Rattle Snake Mountain at Huffaker Park, follows the span of Steamboat Creek to the southern east end of Washoe County. This is the last of the range/prairie and wild grass water shed from the eastern range of the Reno Tahoe basin.
Washoe County is a
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
prone area. These risks are particularly in Southern Reno (or areas just outside the city limits). As many structures are now being built in forested areas, along with often having favorable fire weather, most residents are under severe fire danger. Many fires in Southwest Reno have been destructive or spread quickly, such as the Caughlin Fire in 2011.
Adjacent counties
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Lake County,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
– north
*
Harney County,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
– northeast
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Humboldt County – east
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Pershing County – east
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Churchill County – east
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Lyon County – southeast
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Storey County – south
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Carson City – south
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Placer County,
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 ...
– southwest
*
Nevada County, California – west
*
Sierra County,
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 ...
– west
*
Lassen County,
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 ...
– west
*
Modoc County,
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 ...
– west
Major highways
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Interstate 80 Business (Verdi)
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Interstate 80 Business (Reno–Sparks)
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Interstate 80 Business (Wadsworth–Fernley)
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U.S. Route 395
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U.S. Route 395 Alternate
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U.S. Route 395 Business (Reno)
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National protected areas
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Anaho Island National Wildlife Refuge
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Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (part)
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Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge (part)
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Toiyabe National Forest (part)
Demographics
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 339,486 people, 132,084 households, and 83,741 families living in the county. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 143,908 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 80.4%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 2.1%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.8%
Native American, 4.3%
Asian, 0.5%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 7.7% from
other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. 16.6% 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.
There were 132,084 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were
married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.60% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.8 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $45,815, and the median income for a family was $54,283. Males had a median income of $36,226 versus $27,953 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $24,277. About 6.7% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the
2010 United States census, there were 421,407 people, 163,445 households, and 102,768 families living in the county.
The population density was . There were 184,841 housing units at an average density of .
The racial makeup of the county was 76.9% white, 5.2% Asian, 2.3% black or African American, 1.7% American Indian, 0.6% Pacific islander, 9.5% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 22.2% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 16.9% were
German, 13.1% were
Irish, 11.8% were
English, 7.2% were
Italian, and 4.7% were
American.
Of the 163,445 households, 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.1% were non-families, and 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 37.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $55,658 and the median income for a family was $67,428. Males had a median income of $46,653 versus $35,559 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,687. About 8.5% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 17.0% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
2016
The Demographics of Washoe County covers 6,540.4 square miles. There are approximately 42,154 households in the unincorporated areas with an estimated population of 419,948. The average household size in 2007 was estimated at 2.70. The
Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District is charged with fire protection and emergency services in the unincorporated areas of the county.
Politics
Washoe County was rather conservative for an urban county for much of the late twentieth century. It voted for the Republican candidate all but once between 1944 and 2004 (in the 1964 Democratic landslide). However, starting in the 1990s, it became more competitive, going from a 22-point win for
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
in 1988 to only a three-point win for Bush in 1992. From 1996 to 2004, the Republican candidate tallied a margin greater than four points only once, in 2000. The county swung hard to
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 ...
in 2008, going from a four-point margin for
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 ...
in 2004 to a 12-point margin for Obama in 2008. Since then, it has always voted Democratic in presidential elections, albeit by relatively narrow margins consistently under 5%. In 2016 and 2024,
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
lost the county even as he won the presidency, the first time in 116 years that a Republican won the White House without winning Washoe County.
While Washoe is now more of a swing county federally, it remains very Republican down ballot. Republicans still hold the majority of the county's seats in the state legislature. Democratic strength is concentrated in Reno and Sparks, while the rest of the county remains powerfully Republican.
The county is governed by an elected five-member Board of County Commissioners and an appointed county manager. The commissioners serve staggered four-year terms - three are elected during
midterm elections and two during
presidential elections.
1) Appointed by
Governor
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 ...
Joe Lombardo.
; Nevada Senate districts
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13th (central Reno and Sparks)
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14th (northern Washoe County)
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15th (Cold Springs, Mogul, Verdi)
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16th (Incline Village, Washoe Valley)
Communities
Cities
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Reno (county seat)
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Sparks
Census-designated places
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Cold Springs
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Crystal Bay
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Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
*
Gerlach
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Golden Valley
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Incline Village
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Lemmon Valley
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Mogul
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Nixon
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Spanish Springs
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Sun Valley
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Sutcliffe
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Verdi
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Wadsworth
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Washoe Valley
Other unincorporated communities and ghost towns
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Deep Hole
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Flanigan
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Galena
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New Washoe City
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Poeville
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Pleasant Valley
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Pyramid
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Pyramid City
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Steamboat Springs
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Vya
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Washoe City
Education
Washoe County School District is the school district for the entire county.
[ ]
Text list
/ref>
The Bureau of Indian Education-contracted Pyramid Lake Schools is in Nixon.
There is a charter school, Coral Academy of Science; and these private schools: Bishop Manogue High School and Excel Christian School.
University of Nevada, Reno is in Reno.
Washoe County Library System is the public library system.
Notable residents
* Nellie Shaw Harnar, historian and educator
* Jeremy Renner, actor best known for his role as Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise
See also
*
* '' Reno 911!'', a parody
A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
cop show set in Washoe County
* Washoe Zephyr, a regional wind referenced by 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 ...
.
References
External links
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Historical Markers of Washoe County
{{authority control
1861 establishments in Nevada Territory
Nevada placenames of Native American origin
Reno, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area
Populated places established in 1861