Census-designated place · Washoe County, Nevada

Spanish Springs, Nevada

Spanish Springs is a census-designated place in Washoe County, Nevada, part of the Reno, NV metro area. It has 17,980 residents. Spanish Springs, Nevada has a quality-of-life score of 47 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,317 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Nevada it ranks #13 of 67 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), child poverty rate (low) and poverty rate (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), loneliness (high) and students per teacher (high).

47Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,317 of 15,651 cities and towns
Nevada: #13 of 67 in NV
Population: 17,980 (2020-2024)
Land area: 56 mi²
Density: 323.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 3268350

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety14#13,400/15,637
Economy97#403/15,631
Housing14#12,859/14,977
Health57#6,645/15,609
Healthcare80#3,094/15,650
Environment23#11,872/15,453
Education22#12,198/15,649
Infrastructure83#2,591/15,650
Community27#11,412/15,651
Leisure & amenities71#4,556/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Spanish Springs, Nevada ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Washoe County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Distance to an airport · low7 mi
99/100Nevada 17 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWashoe County value
Child poverty rate · low1.6%
99/100Nevada 15.5%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Poverty rate · low2.9%
94/100Nevada 11.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi
93/100Nevada 72 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWashoe County value
Median household income · high$127,658
90/100Nevada $81,129United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Adult obesity · low26.7%
89/100Nevada 35.0%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high34.7 /100k
6/100Nevada 32.0 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWashoe County value
Loneliness · high37.6%
10/100Nevada 37.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Students per teacher · high19.2×
10/100Nevada 19.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsWashoe County value
Rent-burdened households · high57.9%
11/100Nevada 55.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Violent crime rate · high459 /100k
12/100Nevada 379 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationWashoe County value
Rent as share of income · high37.0%
14/100Nevada 33.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
15,938 (2015-2019) → 17,980 (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
41.5% (2015-2019) → 57.9% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.8% (2015-2019) → 37.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$96,797 (2015-2019) → $127,658 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.9× (2015-2019) → 4.9× (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateImproving
6.1% (2015-2019) → 1.6% (2020-2024)
−4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Spanish Springs, Nevada improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+32%$96,797 → $127,658

Declined1

Price / income+1.0×3.9× → 4.9×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Spanish Springs, Nevada between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.0 min2015-2019	33.0 min2020-2024	+5.0 min	Within the margin of error	10%
Bachelor's degree or higher	28.1%2015-2019	30.1%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Broadband subscriptions	92.2%2015-2019	96.0%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Effective property tax rate	0.62%2015-2019	0.49%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	41%
High school diploma or higher	95.7%2015-2019	96.4%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	4.9×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	23%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3762015-2019	0.3942020-2024	+0.018	Within the margin of error	36%
Median household income	$96,7972015-2019	$127,6582020-2024	+32%	Improved	59%
Poverty rate	6.4%2015-2019	2.9%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.8%2015-2019	37.0%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Rent-burdened households	41.5%2015-2019	57.9%2020-2024	+16 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Unemployment rate	2.9%2015-2019	2.8%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.5%2015-2019	3.4%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Spanish Springs, Nevada five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Spanish Springs, Nevada in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Spanish Springs, Nevada itself moved −14.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

17,980 residents (±1,194)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

6,685 households (±458)

Spanish Springs, Nevada
Nevada share

Under $25k5.7%†383
$25k–50k7.5%†503
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

6,685 households (±458)

Spanish Springs, Nevada
Nevada share

Own92%6,141
Rent8.1%†544

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+6.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

8,865 workers (±967)

Spanish Springs, Nevada
Nevada share

Drive alone79%7,004
Carpool8.1%721
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Reno, NV

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Washoe County, the county holding most of Spanish Springs's residents.

Washoe County has 14,199 employer establishments, 284 for every 10,000 residents (1.14× the US rate of 248; 1.18× Nevada's), with 209,307 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,617. The Census Bureau also counts 40,270 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 14,199; 40,270 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 284; US 248 · Nevada 241
Paid employees: 209,307
Average annual pay: $61,617; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Washoe County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,187	23.8	1.14×About typical	12,469	$87,862	2,144
Specialty trade contractors	970	19.4	1.25×More than typical	13,637	$71,117	1,232
Restaurants and other eating places	945	18.9	1.03×About typical	17,162	$25,151	149
Lessors of real estate	848	17	1.38×More than typical	3,332	$64,063	5,356
Management, scientific and technical consulting	509	10.2	1.52×More than typical	2,541	$65,730	2,251
Services to buildings and dwellings	498	10	1.48×More than typical	5,257	$40,320	1,543
Construction of buildings	444	8.9	1.18×About typical	3,587	$78,252	703
Limited-service restaurants	426	8.5	1.06×About typical	7,248	$22,577	74
Offices of physicians	387	7.7	1.20×About typical	4,571	$132,032	539
Full-service restaurants	376	7.5	0.98×About typical	7,891	$28,602	46
Real estate agents and brokers	363	7.3	1.49×More than typical	772	$66,278	1,548
Offices of other health practitioners	349	7	1.15×About typical	1,839	$56,752	1,146

Rank places for an industry Open Washoe County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 499,599 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Spanish Springs, Nevada: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

48KFY2017
41.2KFY2018
279.3KFY2019
1.9KFY2020
263.3KFY2021
96.1KFY2022
-128.7KFY2023
6.1KFY2024
23KFY2025

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Spanish Springs, Nevada, so they do not add up across cities.

Spanish Springs, Nevada's figures are part of those of Washoe County, NV ($407.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Spanish Springs is mostly in Washoe County.

See federal money in Washoe County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Spanish Springs, Nevada is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mark E. AmodeiR-NV-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 2.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Washoe County54100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Reno, NV56

Other cities and towns in Washoe County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3268350

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends