Photo: Don Ramey Logan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsEverything on this page comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2020 to 2024, plus its one-year survey for 2024 to show the trend. It describes the homes people live in, not what is for sale this week, so use it to decide where to look and what kind of home to look for.
Own or rent
Reno has 114,322 households in 123,756 housing units. Of the occupied homes, 56,957 are owner-occupied and 57,365 are rented. Across the Reno metro area, 38.1 percent of households rent, which shows that the city center skews toward renters and the suburbs toward owners. In Sparks, 25,380 households own and 17,034 rent.
The median gross rent is 1,556 dollars in Reno and 1,716 dollars in Sparks. The renting page covers leases and deposits, and the property tax page covers the owner's side.
How old the homes are
The median Reno home was built in 1990. About 37.4 percent of homes predate 1980, 35.6 percent were built in 2000 or later, and 5,796 units date from 2020 or later. Sparks has a newer stock, with a median build year of 1993 and 39.8 percent built since 2000. Older homes tend to sit closer to downtown, and newer ones toward the south and north edges of the valley, a pattern the neighborhoods page breaks out by ZIP code.
How big the homes are
Half of Reno's housing units (50.1 percent) are single-family detached houses. By bedrooms, 3-bedroom homes are the largest group at 38,108 units, followed by 2-bedroom units at 34,927 and 4-bedroom units at 19,846. About 50 percent of units have three or more bedrooms, and 8,734 are studios. Sparks has 16,137 three-bedroom units and 9,324 four-bedroom units.
Prices over time in Washoe County
The one-year survey tracks Washoe County since 2010. The median home value was 176,500 dollars in 2012, 383,400 dollars in 2019 and 571,800 dollars in 2024. Median gross rent went from 871 dollars in 2012 to 1,195 dollars in 2019 and 1,691 dollars in 2024. Median household income rose from 49,026 dollars to 91,241 dollars over the same period, so home values grew faster than incomes.
| Washoe County (ACS 1-year) | 2012 | 2019 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value | 176,500 | 383,400 | 571,800 |
| Median gross rent | 871 | 1,195 | 1,691 |
| Median household income | 49,026 | 71,881 | 91,241 |
What this means for a move
A typical Reno household that buys is moving into a home worth about 6.8 times its income, which is why many newcomers arrive with equity from a sale elsewhere or rent first. If the two closings do not line up, storage while selling a home keeps your belongings safe for the gap. Apartment and condo moves have their own details, and the apartments and condos page covers elevators, parking and move-in windows.