Census-designated place · Elko County, Nevada

Spring Creek, Nevada

Spring Creek is a census-designated place in Elko County, Nevada, part of the Elko, NV metro area. It has 14,739 residents. Spring Creek, Nevada has a quality-of-life score of 28 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,277 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Nevada it ranks #37 of 67 cities and towns. It ranks best on public transit commuters (high), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), distance to an emergency room (high) and distance to an airport (high).

28Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,277 of 15,651 cities and towns
Nevada: #37 of 67 in NV
Population: 14,739 (2020-2024)
Land area: 54 mi²
Density: 274.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 3268550

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.

Safety25#11,795/15,637
Economy84#2,544/15,631
Housing23#11,480/14,977
Health28#11,310/15,609
Healthcare13#13,686/15,650
Environment53#7,283/15,453
Education16#13,153/15,649
Infrastructure49#8,037/15,650
Community24#11,920/15,651
Leisure & amenities71#4,500/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Spring Creek, Nevada ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Elko 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

Public transit commuters · high17.3%
99/100Nevada 2.2%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.8 µg/m³
97/100Nevada 6.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyElko County value
Child care cost burden · low20.2%
94/100Nevada 24.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElko County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.364
89/100Nevada 0.467United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Public EV charging ports · high13.5 /10k
89/100Nevada 8.3 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyElko County value
Job growth · high1.8%
87/100Nevada 2.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataElko County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high99.8
0/100Nevada 34.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyElko County value
Distance to an emergency room · high33.4 mi
0/100Nevada 4.9 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesElko County value
Distance to an airport · high179 mi
1/100Nevada 17 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauElko County value
Firearm deaths · high31.3 /100k
2/100Nevada 16.8 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataElko County value
Suicide rate · high29.5 /100k
4/100Nevada 20.5 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataElko County value
Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
4/100Nevada 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsElko County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
13,671 (2015-2019) → 14,739 (2020-2024)
+7.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
20.7% (2015-2019) → 50.9% (2020-2024)
+30 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.4× (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.5% (2015-2019) → 31.2% (2020-2024)
+7.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.309 (2015-2019) → 0.364 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Public transit commutersImproving
14.2% (2015-2019) → 17.3% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%

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, Spring Creek, Nevada improved on 0 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Inequality+0.0550.309 → 0.364
Price / income+1.1×2.3× → 3.4×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Spring Creek, Nevada between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	42.5 min2015-2019	42.6 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	46%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.5%2015-2019	22.3%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Broadband subscriptions	93.7%2015-2019	93.3%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Child poverty rate	10.8%2015-2019	9.4%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Effective property tax rate	0.68%2015-2019	0.59%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	33%
High school diploma or higher	95.2%2015-2019	93.3%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	+1.1×	Declined	19%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3092015-2019	0.3642020-2024	+0.055	Declined	14%
Median household income	$99,8542015-2019	$105,1542020-2024	+5.3%	Within the margin of error	12%
Poverty rate	7.7%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Public transit commuters	14.2%2015-2019	17.3%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	100%
Rent as share of income	23.5%2015-2019	31.2%2020-2024	+7.7 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Unemployment rate	4.0%2015-2019	4.1%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.7%2015-2019	7.2%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	22%

“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 Spring Creek, Nevada five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Spring Creek, 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, Spring Creek, Nevada itself moved −15.9 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

14,739 residents (±1,033)

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

5,077 households (±418)

Spring Creek, Nevada
Nevada share

Under $25k6.4%†327
$25k–50k10%†513
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

5,077 households (±418)

Spring Creek, Nevada
Nevada share

Own87%4,425
Rent13%†652

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† 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

6,872 workers (±594)

Spring Creek, Nevada
Nevada share

Drive alone58%3,959
Carpool14%952
Public transit17%1,188

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 Elko, 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 Elko County, the county holding most of Spring Creek's residents.

Elko County has 1,185 employer establishments, 217 for every 10,000 residents (0.87× the US rate of 248; 0.90× Nevada's), with 21,652 paid employees at an average annual pay of $67,904. The Census Bureau also counts 2,961 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,185; 2,961 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 217; US 248 · Nevada 241
Paid employees: 21,652
Average annual pay: $67,904; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	101	18.5	0.89×About typical	866	$60,042	87
Restaurants and other eating places	86	15.8	0.86×About typical	1,248	$25,585	21
Specialty trade contractors	68	12.5	0.81×About typical	1,204	$97,218	123
Lessors of real estate	49	9	0.73×Fewer than typical	249	$37,213	352
Traveler accommodation	45	8.2	4.57×More than typical	3,652	$40,320	21
Limited-service restaurants	42	7.7	0.96×About typical	671	$22,864	11
Architectural, engineering and related services	36	6.6	1.89×More than typical	357	$65,504	30
Services to buildings and dwellings	35	6.4	0.95×About typical	180	$44,578	172
Offices of other health practitioners	34	6.2	1.03×About typical	209	$43,139	53
Automotive repair and maintenance	33	6	1.20×About typical	156	$61,968	62
Construction of buildings	30	5.5	0.73×Fewer than typical	324	$82,713	74
Full-service restaurants	29	5.3	0.69×Fewer than typical	472	$30,778	3

Rank places for an industry Open Elko County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 54,566 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 $6,813 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Spring Creek, Nevada: $0.46 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $6,813
Per resident: $0.46; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Department of Veterans Affairs$6,813100%

Top recipients

CORTNEY NICHOLE DICKENSON$6,813100%
SIERRA SPORTS MARKETING, LLC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

818.2FY2017
2KFY2018
251.3KFY2020
1.5KFY2022
2.8KFY2023
-3.8KFY2025
6.8KFY2026

What was bought

Health & medical$6,813

Top industries (NAICS)

Offices of other health practitioners · 6213$6,813100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 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 Spring Creek, Nevada, so they do not add up across cities.

Spring Creek, Nevada's figures are part of those of Elko County, NV ($15.7M 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: Spring Creek is mostly in Elko County.

See federal money in Elko 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.

Spring Creek, 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.

Elko County38100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Elko, NV46

Other cities and towns in Elko 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/3268550

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends