Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Nevada with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Nevada that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Nevada at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Winnemucca.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Nevada For 2024
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Nevada reading:
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Nevada For 2024
/10
Population: 8,354
Median Home Price: $300,990
Population Change: 0.3%
Home Price Change: 2.9%
More on Winnemucca: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 9,243
Median Home Price: $350,672
Population Change: 1.9%
Home Price Change: -2.7%
More on Fallon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 14,868
Median Home Price: $439,175
Population Change: 0.0%
Home Price Change: -2.7%
More on Boulder City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 20,659
Median Home Price: $372,319
Population Change: 3.2%
Home Price Change: -4.5%
More on Mesquite: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 20,513
Median Home Price: $327,254
Population Change: 0.6%
Home Price Change: 4.0%
More on Elko: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 23,035
Median Home Price: $368,372
Population Change: 3.1%
Home Price Change: -6.2%
More on Fernley: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 58,249
Median Home Price: $458,244
Population Change: 0.5%
Home Price Change: -1.0%
More on Carson City: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 108,025
Median Home Price: $489,899
Population Change: 1.1%
Home Price Change: -3.8%
More on Sparks: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 264,022
Median Home Price: $385,939
Population Change: 1.7%
Home Price Change: -6.0%
More on North Las Vegas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 265,196
Median Home Price: $526,202
Population Change: 2.0%
Home Price Change: -3.6%
More on Reno: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Nevada for 2024?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 9. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Nevada. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Nevada with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2018-2022 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Nevada with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Nevada, only 12 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 12 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Winnemucca is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Silver State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Nevada for 2024
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Nevada. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Nevada are Winnemucca, Fallon, Boulder City, Mesquite, Elko, Fernley, Carson City, Sparks, North Las Vegas, and Reno.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Nevada reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Nevada
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winnemucca | 8,354 | $300,990 | 0.3% | 2.9% |
| 2 | Fallon | 9,243 | $350,672 | 1.9% | -2.7% |
| 3 | Boulder City | 14,868 | $439,175 | 0.0% | -2.7% |
| 4 | Mesquite | 20,659 | $372,319 | 3.2% | -4.5% |
| 5 | Elko | 20,513 | $327,254 | 0.6% | 4.0% |
| 6 | Fernley | 23,035 | $368,372 | 3.1% | -6.2% |
| 7 | Carson City | 58,249 | $458,244 | 0.5% | -1.0% |
| 8 | Sparks | 108,025 | $489,899 | 1.1% | -3.8% |
| 9 | North Las Vegas | 264,022 | $385,939 | 1.7% | -6.0% |
| 10 | Reno | 265,196 | $526,202 | 2.0% | -3.6% |
| 11 | Henderson | 318,063 | $461,416 | 2.2% | -4.7% |
| 12 | Las Vegas | 644,835 | $399,875 | 1.6% | -5.2% |