The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Nye County is a county of Nevada with 54,344 residents. Its economy produced $2,670 million in 2024 (ranked #7 of 17 counties) and had 13,764 jobs with an average annual pay of $68,204 (#10 for pay). The unemployment rate was 6.0% in 2026M09. It is part of the Pahrump, NV micropolitan area (central county).
Nye County produced about $2,670 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 1.0% of the combined output of the 17 counties of Nevada that BEA reports (about 1.7% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 7th of 17 on that measure. Per resident that is $49,133, 42% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $84,472. In current dollars output grew 7.8% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 13,764 jobs located in Nye County on average in 2024, spread over 960 employer sites (about 14 jobs per site). That is 0.25 jobs for every resident, below the 0.42 of the typical county in Nevada, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $68,204, about the same as the average of all counties in the state ($68,204 against $66,313). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 1.8% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are professional and technical services (20.7% of private jobs, $123,939 a year on average), retail trade (16.8% of private jobs, $37,878 a year on average), accommodation and food services (15.4% of private jobs, $26,961 a year on average). Together they hold 52.9% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is professional and technical services at $123,939 a year, followed by mining, oil and gas ($117,653). The county is specialised in several industries: mining, oil and gas (19.4 times the US share, 1,008 jobs); arts, entertainment, recreation (2.3 times the US share, 541 jobs); professional and technical services (2.3 times the US share, 2,186 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: retail trade ($37,878), accommodation and food services ($26,961). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Nye County was 6.0%, 33% above the average of the state's counties (6.0% against 4.5%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 19,141. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 5.7% (2026M08) to 6.8% (2026M01); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $60,714 (ACS 2020–2024), 22% below the state median ($60,714 against $78,260). The guide covers 3 cities with this as the main county: Pahrump, Tonopah, Amargosa Valley. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $843 in Tonopah to $1,304 in Pahrump, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Nye County in output are Elko County, Storey County, Lyon County, Humboldt County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 17 counties of Nevada ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 54,344 | 5 of 17 |
| GDP 2024 | $2,670 million | 7 of 17 |
| GDP per resident | $49,133 | 15 of 17 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 13,764 | 7 of 17 |
| Average annual pay | $68,204 | 10 of 17 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +1.8% | 5 of 17 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 6.0% | 16 of 17 |
| Median household income | $60,714 | 15 of 17 |
Federal jobs in Nevada (347) →All cities of NevadaState guide: Nevada
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Nye County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pahrump | 47,347 | $62,109 | $1,304 | $310,300 | 13.3% |
| Tonopah | 1,910 | $47,031 | $843 | $143,900 | 17.7% |
| Amargosa Valley | 1,445 | $53,139 | n/a | n/a | 14.9% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional and technical services | 2,186 | 20.7% | $123,939 | 2.28 |
| Retail trade | 1,772 | 16.8% | $37,878 | 1.29 |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,619 | 15.4% | $26,961 | 1.29 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 1,008 | 9.6% | $117,653 | 19.36 |
| Administrative and waste services | 825 | 7.8% | $85,500 | 1.02 |
| Construction | 753 | 7.1% | $52,570 | 1.04 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 541 | 5.1% | $40,660 | 2.34 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 398 | 3.8% | $46,631 | 0.96 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 356 | 3.4% | $45,696 | 3.20 |
| Utilities | 224 | 2.1% | $118,613 | 4.28 |
| Manufacturing | 180 | 1.7% | $46,882 | 0.16 |
| Real estate and rental | 166 | 1.6% | $57,236 | 0.78 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 159 | 1.5% | $57,308 | 0.27 |
| Finance and insurance | 145 | 1.4% | $71,578 | 0.26 |
| Wholesale trade | 125 | 1.2% | $60,834 | 0.23 |
| Information | 56 | 0.5% | $50,537 | 0.22 |
| Management of companies | 28 | 0.3% | $181,418 | 0.12 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 19,141 |
| Employed residents | 17,998 |
| Unemployed residents | 1,143 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.0% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 13,764 |
| Employer sites | 960 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County | 2,329,548 | $195,936 million | $84,109 | 1,124,772 | $64,985 | 4.8% |
| Washoe County | 497,200 | $43,717 million | $87,927 | 240,544 | $69,452 | 3.5% |
| Lyon County | 61,680 | $2,368 million | $38,390 | 13,744 | $58,903 | 3.9% |
| Carson City | 58,384 | $5,376 million | $92,087 | 31,895 | $69,100 | 3.5% |
| Nye County | 54,344 | $2,670 million | $49,133 | 13,764 | $68,204 | 6.0% |
| Elko County | 54,047 | $3,995 million | $73,912 | 22,205 | $64,165 | 3.0% |
| Douglas County | 49,623 | $4,048 million | $81,579 | 20,644 | $69,271 | 3.7% |
| Churchill County | 25,805 | $1,639 million | $63,531 | 8,837 | $60,811 | 4.0% |
| Humboldt County | 17,289 | $1,815 million | $104,992 | 7,812 | $72,366 | 3.0% |
| White Pine County | 8,735 | $1,332 million | $152,463 | 4,323 | $76,315 | 3.8% |
| Pershing County | 6,487 | $592 million | $91,295 | 1,972 | $82,386 | 3.6% |
| Lander County | 5,770 | $921 million | $159,537 | 3,626 | $96,950 | 3.7% |
| Mineral County | 4,542 | $233 million | $51,223 | 1,166 | $55,205 | 7.2% |
| Lincoln County | 4,405 | $254 million | $57,764 | 1,350 | $49,874 | 3.9% |
| Storey County | 4,140 | $2,769 million | $668,900 | 19,320 | $83,629 | 5.1% |
| Eureka County | 1,585 | $1,297 million | $818,580 | 4,450 | $117,686 | 4.3% |
| Esmeralda County | 1,028 | $47 million | $45,648 | 284 | $61,632 | 5.7% |
54,344 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$2,670 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
6.0% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
13,764 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $68,204 (BLS QCEW).