Reno-Sparks metropolitan area in the context of Western Nevada

Gerlach, Nevada is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 130 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prior to 2010, Gerlach was part of the Gerlach–Empire census-designated place. The town of Empire is now a separate CDP. The next nearest town, Nixon, is 60 miles (100 km) to the south on a reservation owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The Fly Geyser is located near Gerlach.

Gerlach–Empire was a census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was replaced by the separate CDPs of Gerlach and Empire for the 2010 census. The combined population was 499 at the 2000 census. A former company town for United States Gypsum Corporation, Empire was once home to more than 750 people. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the population lives in the two tiny settlements of Gerlach, a neighboring hamlet with fewer than 200 people that shares its schools with Empire; the rest live on outlying rural ranching properties. The nearest town, Nixon, is 60 miles to the south on a reservation owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

Empire is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, with a population estimated at 65 (2021). Prior to the 2010 census it was part of the Gerlach–Empire census-designated place, it is now part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The nearest town, Nixon, is 60 miles (97 km) to the south on a reservation owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

For 63 years, from 1948 to 2011, Empire was a company town of the US Gypsum Corporation, a manufacturer of gypsum-based construction sheetrock, and once had a population of more than 750 people. US Gypsum closed the mine and the town in 2011; the mine and town were bought in 2016 by the Empire Mining Company (EMC), a manufacturer of gypsum based agricultural and construction additives. In 2016, the town again became a company town under the new auspices of EMC. Since that date both the town and the mine have been partially reopened by the new owners.

Nixon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, USA. The population was 374 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the seat of tribal government of the Paiute Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation and home to the tribe's Museum and Visitor Center. Nixon lies along State Route 446 which connects the settlement to Sutcliffe and Pyramid Lake.

Verdi-Mogul is a former census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. For the 2010 census it was split into two separate CDPs, Verdi and Mogul. The communities lie on the western side of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area, just off Interstate 80. The population of the combined CDP was 2,949 at the 2000 census.