Elevation of Carson City
4,680ft
above sea level · 1,426 m
Carson City is the capital of Nevada. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 4th highest. The state’s largest city is Las Vegas.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 39.16° N · 119.77° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 39° 9′ 50″ N · 119° 46′ 3″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 11S · 260,900 E · 4,338,602 N
- Zone 11 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- UTC−8 · UTC−7 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 58,571 people
- 145 sq mi of land · 405 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from August 2023: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Carson City had 58,571 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, about the same as in April 2020 (58,643). Its 145 sq mi of land work out to 405 people/sq mi; the state average is 30 people/sq mi.
It’s the 10th most populous of the 132 places the Census counts in Nevada (cities, towns and CDPs), after Las Vegas (679,817), and holds 1.8% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Carson City. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.3 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Carson City sits at 4,680 ft (1,426 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Carson City is 3,582 ft above it.
Of the 5 cities in Nevada with a page, Carson City is the highest. The others are Reno (4,505 ft), Las Vegas (1,996 ft), Henderson (1,869 ft), and North Las Vegas (1,858 ft).
The highest point in Nevada is Boundary Peak, at 13,140 ft according to the USGS: 8,460 ft above Carson City, 119 mi away in a straight line.
- 4 Carson City 4,680 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Carson City.
What is the elevation of Carson City?
Carson City is 4,680 feet (1,426 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Carson City?
Latitude 39.16380 and longitude -119.76740, in decimal degrees (39° 9′ 50″ N · 119° 46′ 3″ W). In UTM, zone 11: 260,900 E and 4,338,602 N, on NAD83.
How does Carson City rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 4th highest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Carson City in?
Carson City, Nevada.
Which is higher, Carson City or Reno?
Carson City. Carson City sits at 4,680 ft and Reno at 4,505 ft: a difference of 175 ft, 25 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know