Consumer website rates Carson City highly for young families with kids

Carson City is Nevada’s sixth-best place for young families, according to a study by a Bay Area consumer-advocacy website.

NerdWallet in San Francisco divulged Tuesday that the capital came in behind Spring Creek near Elko, which was ranked first, followed by Gardnerville Ranchos, Henderson, Boulder City and Gardnerville. The placements were based on public schools, home values and costs, household income and economic growth.

“Work and play are both great in Carson City,” said Mike Anderson, analyst for the NerdWallet study. “This small metro area borders Lake Tahoe where families can ski or boat on the weekends.

“During the week, Carson City kids attend a growing school district,” he added. “Just last year, it was one of 16 school districts across the nation awarded a Race to the Top grant, a $10 million prize that will enable the district to reform and innovate.”

The rankings came from aggregate scores based on public-school ratings from GreatSchools, median home value, cost of home ownership, median income and economic growth.

Carson City got an 8 rating on schools, as high as any community in NerdWallet’s top-10 group. Median home value was put at $244,600; monthly homeowner costs were pegged at $1,706; median household income was $54,235; and growth from 1999 to 2011 came in at 29.7 percent. Overall, score for the city was 62.6; leader Spring Creek’s was 79.7.

Anderson also noted that adults aren’t left out of the Carson City educational stream if they are interested.

“Adults have opportunities for advancement, too,” he said. “Western Nevada College’s main campus is in Carson City, and it serves its full-time students as well as the surrounding community.”

Trailing Carson City in the top 10 were Dayton, in seventh place, Sparks in eighth, Fallon ninth and Elko 10th.