Nye County, Nevada

Nye County, Nevada
County
Nye County
Nye County Courthouse in Tonopah
Location in the U.S. state of Nevada
Nevada's location in the U.S.
Founded	1864
Named for	James W. Nye
Seat	Tonopah
Largest community	Pahrump
Area
• Total	18,199 sq mi (47,135 km2)
• Land	18,182 sq mi (47,091 km2)
• Water	17 sq mi (44 km2), 0.1%
Population
• (2010)	43,946
• Density	2.4/sq mi (1/km²)
Congressional district	4th
Time zone	Pacific: UTC-8/-7
Website	nyecounty.net

Nye County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,946. Its county seat is Tonopah. At 18,159 square miles (47,030 km²), Nye is the largest county by area in the state and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States (thus excluding the boroughs of Alaska).

Nye County comprises the Pahrump, NV Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ Combined Statistical Area.

In 2010, the center of population of Nevada was located in southern Nye County, very near Yucca Mountain.

The Nevada Test Site and proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository are located in the southwestern part of the county, and are the focus of a great deal of political and public controversy in the state. The federal government also manages 92 percent of the land in the county. A 1987 attempt to deposit the nuclear waste resulted in the creation of Bullfrog County, Nevada, which was dissolved two years later.

The county features several environmentally sensitive areas, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, the White River Valley, several Great Basin sky islands and a portion of Death Valley National Park. Visitors to Death Valley often stay at Beatty or Amargosa Valley.

Nye County is one of 11 Nevada counties where prostitution is legal. The county has no incorporated cities. The seat of government in Tonopah is 160 miles (260 km) from Pahrump, where about 86 percent of the county's population resides. Nye County is nicknamed "The Kingdom of Nye" from the radio program Coast to Coast AM, created by Pahrump resident Art Bell.

History

Nye County was established in 1864 and named after James W. Nye, who served as the first governor of the Nevada Territory and later as a U.S. Senator from the state. The first county seat was Ione in 1864, followed by Belmont in 1867, and finally by Tonopah in 1905.

The county's first boom came in the early 20th century, when Rhyolite and Tonopah, as well as Goldfield in nearby Esmeralda County were all experiencing mining booms. In 1906, Goldfield had 30,000 residents, Tonopah had nearly 10,000 people, and Rhyolite peaked at about 10,000. All of those cities were linked by the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad.

After the boom died, Nye County withered. By 1910, the population had plummeted to about 7,500 before sinking to near 3,000 in the middle of the century. It was not until development at the test site that the population stabilized, and dramatic growth didn't occur until the 1990s, when Pahrump became a bedroom community for Las Vegas.

From time to time, there have been discussions of moving the county seat south to Pahrump, or splitting off the southern portion of the county, but neither of these ideas appears to have sufficient support at the county or state government level.

From 1987 to 1989, Bullfrog County, Nevada, was split off from Nye County territory to form a separate political region. The population of Bullfrog County was 0; the county's creation was strictly a political maneuver.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 18,199 square miles (47,140 km²), of which 18,182 square miles (47,090 km²) is land and 17 square miles (44 km²) (0.09%) is water. The highest and most topographically prominent mountain in the county is Mount Jefferson at 11,949 feet (3,642 m).

Nye County is located in south central Nevada. Nye is the largest county in Nevada and is the third largest county in the continental United States, after San Bernardino County in California and Coconino County in Arizona. With a land area of 11,560,960 acres (46,785.5 km²), Nye County is larger than the combined total area of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Delaware. Of this vast land area, only 822,711 acres (3,329.39 km²), or just over seven percent of the total, is private land; the majority of the county's land are public lands managed by the federal government. According to the United States Census Bureau the county's Census Tract 9805, with a land area of 4,225.415 square miles (10,943.77 km²), comprising the Nevada Test Site and Nye County's portion of the Nevada Test and Training Range, is the largest census tract in the United States that has absolutely no resident population (as of the 2000 census).

Las Vegas, in Clark County, is 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Yucca Mountain. Many Pahrump residents commute 60 miles (97 km) each way to Las Vegas via Nevada State Route 160, which for much of its length is a four-lane divided highway.

Major highways

Nye County has a long stretch of U.S. Route 95, the main road connecting the state's population center in Las Vegas with the state capital in Carson City. Beatty and Tonopah both rely heavily on through traffic to sustain their economies. As of 2006, an average of 2,000 cars daily traveled U.S. 95 near Tonopah.

• Interstate 11 (Future)
• U.S. Route 6
• U.S. Route 95
• State Route 160
• State Route 267
• State Route 318
• State Route 361
• State Route 372
• State Route 373
• State Route 374
• State Route 375
• State Route 376
• State Route 377
• State Route 379
• State Route 844

Adjacent counties

• Churchill County - northwest
• Lander County - north
• Eureka County - north
• White Pine County - northeast
• Lincoln County - east
• Clark County - east
• Esmeralda County - west
• Mineral County - west
• Inyo County, California - south

National protected areas

• Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
• Death Valley National Park (part)
• Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (part)
• Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	1,087		—
1880	1,875		72.5%
1890	1,290		−31.2%
1900	1,140		−11.6%
1910	7,513		559.0%
1920	6,504		−13.4%
1930	3,989		−38.7%
1940	3,606		−9.6%
1950	3,101		−14.0%
1960	4,374		41.1%
1970	5,599		28.0%
1980	9,048		61.6%
1990	17,781		96.5%
2000	32,485		82.7%
2010	43,946		35.3%
Est. 2014	42,282		−3.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the census of 2000, there were 32,485 people, 13,309 households, and 9,063 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 15,934 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.0% White, 1.18% Black or African American, 1.96% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.32% Pacific Islander, 2.98% from other races, and 3.15% from two or more races. 8.35% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2006 there were 42,693 people living in Nye County, representing a growth of 31.3% since 2000. This was slightly faster growth rate than recorded during the same period for Clark County, where Las Vegas is located.

Even as the Pahrump area grew thanks to its proximity to Las Vegas, the racial makeup of Nye County was very different from that of Clark County. Non-Hispanic whites now constitute 82.7% of the county population. African-Americans were now 1.7% of the population, which meant actual increase of the number of African Americans residing in the county was over 50%. Native Americans were only 1.8% of the population now. Asians were a full one percent of the population. Pacific Islanders were 0.5% of the population and Latinos made up 11.0% of the population.

In 2000 there were 13,309 households out of which 26.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.90% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.70% under the age of 18, 5.40% from 18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 28.50% from 45 to 64, and 18.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 105.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,024, and the median income for a family was $41,642. Males had a median income of $37,276 versus $22,394 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,962. About 7.30% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.10% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.

Like many rural counties of the western United States, Nye County experiences a relatively high suicide rate. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the annual suicide rate in Nye County averaged 28.7561 per 100,000 people during 1989–1998, the most recent period for which data is available. This was the third-highest rate amongst Nevada counties, behind White Pine (34.3058) and Lyon County (30.8917), but ahead of the overall rate of 22.96 for Nevada, which leads the nation.

Education

The Nye County School District serves all of Nye County and Esmeralda County. The Districts Headquarters is located in the county seat of Tonopah. The current superintendent of the NCSD is Dale Norton.

Communities

Gold specimen from the Round Mountain Gold Mine.

Census-designated places

• Beatty
• Gabbs
• Pahrump
• Tonopah (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

• Amargosa Valley
• Carvers
• Crystal
• Currant
• Duckwater
• Hadley
• Manhattan
• Mercury
• Round Mountain
• Scotty's Junction
• Sunnyside
• Tybo
• Warm Springs
• Yomba

Ghost towns

Road from Carrara, Nevada towards the marble quarry in the background.

• Belmont
• Bonnie Claire
• Bullfrog
• Berlin
• Cactus Springs
• Carrara
• Gold Center
• Ione
• Nyala
• Pioneer
• Potts
• Rhyolite
• Warm Springs

In popular culture

Nye County was a featured location in two episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Nye County was one of the broadcast locations of American veteran radio broadcaster Art Bell, who was famous for hosting Coast to Coast AM and Art Bell's Dark Matter. He now broadcasts on Sirius Radio and resides in the county.

Many episodes from the 1950s Television show "State Trooper" take place in both Tonopah and Goldfield.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Nye County, Nevada
• South Egan Range Wilderness
• Weepah Spring Wilderness

External links

• Official website
• Nye County Nuclear Waste Repository Project Office
• Nye County and Census Tract 9805, Nye County, Nevada United States Census Bureau