Population:
* Douglas County 42,810
Lake Tahoe Basin approx 7,139
1998 showed a 4.6% growth rate for Douglas County.

Douglas County is located in the western portion of Nevada bordered by Lyon County, Carson City, and the state of California. The two major towns are Minden and Gardnerville, but also included are Genoa, Topaz Lake, Stateline/Kingsbury, Roundhill, Zephyr Cove, and Antelope Valley. Carson Valley comprises the towns of Minden (the County seat), Gardnerville, and Genoa. Douglas County was established in 1861 and encompasses 751 square miles, which makes it the third smallest land area within the state, but the fifth most populated. TheCounty has grown 177% over the last 20 years. The Valley is connected to Lake Tahoe by an 11-mile drive on SR207 (Kingsbury Grade). Average elevation for the Valley is 4,750 feet and Lake Tahoes average elevation (top of Kingsbury Grade) is 7,280 feet.

Median Housing Cost:
Single-Family Units:
Carson Valley $173,927
Tahoe Area $300,000
Topaz Area $86,000

Multi-Family Units: (2 bedroom rental)
Carson Valley $650.00/Month
Tahoe Area $950.00/Month

Local Government:
Douglas County, is governed by a five member Board of Commissioners, who are elected for a term of four years. A County Manager is hired, on a contract basis, by the Commissioners. The towns of Minden, Gardnerville and Genoa are unincorporated; the County is the determining level of authority.

Taxation:
In Nevada, you will not pay any of the following state taxes:
Personal Income Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Franchise Tax on Income
Unitary, Inventory Tax Inheritance, Estate, Gift Tax
Admissions, Chain Store Tax

Taxation
Douglas County: Sales tax 6.5%; property tax rates in Douglas County range from $1.77 to $3.22 per $100 assessed valuation. Differences within each county result from additional rates imposed within different townships and improvement districts.

Business License:
Douglas County DOES NOT have a business license requirement, other than a Fictitious Name Filing. Information: Douglas County Clerk's Office, Fictitious Name Filing, 1594 Esmeralda Avenue, Room 105, P.O. Box 218, Minden, NV 89423. (775) 782-9012.

Fire and Law Enforcement:
Douglas County has 12 Volunteer Fire Stations. The East Fork Fire District has 24 paid staff and 260 volunteers. Tahoe Douglas has 52 paid staff. The Sheriff's Department has 92 sworn officers, 47 search and rescue volunteers, 25 reserves, and serves the entire County as one policing function for all towns.

Religion:
Approximately 30 churches of various denominations.

RV Parks:
Minden -2 RV Parks
Gardnerville -1 RV Park
Topaz Lake -3 RV Parks
Lake Tahoe -1 RV Park / Dry Camp - 1 RV Park /Tent Both Dry

Lodging:
Minden & Gardnerville- 1 Hotel/Casino 5 Motels, 1 Bed/Breakfast
Genoa - 1 Hot Springs Resort 3 Bed/Breakfasts
Topaz Lake - 1 Lodge/Casino
Lake Tahoe - 5 Hotel/Casinos 2 Resorts & Numerous condos/motels

Licensed Child Care Facilities:
Carson Valley - 8 Lake Tahoe - 4

Senior Care Facilities:
Minden has two small group care homes. Gardnerville has one nursing home facility and recently opened a residential care facility & three others are under construction.

Education:
Douglas County School District takes pride in its occupational and technological education, multi-track year-round education, and its professional development center for teacher training. Western Nevada Community College, Douglas County (main campus is located in Carson City), offers a wide range of academic & technical courses. There are seven (7) elementary schools,three (3) middle schools, and two (2) high schools - totaling over 7,252 students. Current pupil/teacher ratios are:
-Grades K-3..15:1
- Grades 4-6..25:1
-Grades 7-1225.1

Douglas County campus showed the highest growth of all campuses in the colleges seven-county service area.

Transportation Bus & Taxi Service:
Douglas County Rural Transit (DART) has local stops in Carson Valley and can provide transportation to Carson City. Greyhound Bus Lines also provides a regional service from Gardnerville. One taxi company provides service in the Carson Valley and one at Stateline. A shuttle service provides direct service to and the Reno/Tahoe Airport.

Rail Service:
There is no rail service in Douglas County; passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak in Reno/Sparks. Freight service is provided by Southern Pacific in Reno/Sparks and in Lyon County. Union Pacific Railroad also provides freight service in Reno/Sparks.

Airport:
Douglas County owns and operates the Minden-Tahoe Airport, a public general aviation airport. The facility offers: charter service, auto rental, airplane rental, tie downs, aviation fuel, and other support services. The facilitys longest runway is 7,395 feet and the other runway measures5,289 feet. While there is no commercial service at the airport, Reno-Tahoe International is approximately one hour away.

Medical/Health Resources:
Douglas County has two medical centers in the Carson Valley, and three medical centers in Stateline.

Carson Valley Medical Center (a Barton Memorial Hospital facility) is located in Gardnerville. It houses a group of multi-specialty physicians, outpatient services, home health, laboratory, medical imaging, pharmacy, physical therapy, a 24-hour emergency department, and an ambulatory surgery center.

Minden Emergency/Urgent Care is located in the Minden Medical Center and is a satellite facility of Carson-Tahoe Hospital. Outpatient services include clinical laboratory, neurodiagnostic laboratory, medical imaging, home health, and urgent care.

Douglas County has a Paramedic Ambulance District (located in Minden), which provides a complete life support paramedic service. Care Flight, an emergency helicopter transport service based in Reno, provides service to Douglas County for critically ill or injured persons. Douglas County does not have a local hospital. The nearest hospitals are Carson-Tahoe Hospital in Carson City (15 minutes north of Minden) and Barton Memorial Hospital located in South Lake Tahoe, CA, five miles from the Stateline.

Recreation Facilities In Douglas County there are:
14 parks, 12 playgrounds, 24 basketball courts, 5 football field, 16 soccer fields, 5 swimming pools, 14 tennis courts, 24 baseball fields, 2 camping and boating facilities, 6 group picnic areas, 1 rodeo/fairground, 5 golf courses, 1 ski resort

Attractions:
- Art Galleries
- Basque Dining
- Boating/Water Skiing, Lake Tahoe & Lake Topaz
- Casino Gaming
- David Walley's Hot Springs Resort, Genoa
- Fishing/Hiking/Biking
- Hang Gliding
- Heavenly Tram Tours
- Horseback Riding
- Hot Air Ballooning
- Lahontan Fish Hatchery, Gardnerville
- Lake Tahoe Cruises
- Museums
- Parasailing, Lake Tahoe
- Ponderosa Ranch, Lake Tahoe
- Rafting/Kayaking
- Snow Skiing
- Soaring
- Sporting Clays/Trap/Pheasant Hunting, Lake Topaz
- Water Ski School, Minden
- World Class Golf Courses

** View our Recreation pages for more information

Communications:
Express Mail:Four express mail services are available:
Federal Express Fleet Delivery United Parcel Service U.S. Post Office Express Mail

Post Offices (Mail):
There are six: Minden, Gardnerville, Genoa, Stateline, Roundhill, and Zephyr Cove.

Newspapers:
The Record Courier of Gardnerville is printed Saturday and Wednesday. Nevada Appeal of Carson City, Reno Gazette Journal of Reno, and Tahoe Daily Tribune of Lake Tahoe, are printed daily.

Radio Stations:
KGVM FM 99 Gardnerville/Minden
KGLE FM 103 Carson City & Lake Tahoe
KOWL FM 93.6 Lake Tahoe

Telephone:
GTE $13.58 base rate.Gardnerville & Lake Tahoe

Television:
Four (4) national networks broadcast from Reno: ABC - CBS - NBC - Fox.
One (1) public broadcasting station from Reno: PBS.

Cable Services:
QuadraVision Carson City
ATT Cable Carson Valley
AD Cable Time Zephyr Cove

Utilities:
Electric Company: Sierra Pacific Power Company Rate, .$.08321 KW

Disposal Company:
South Tahoe Refuse Douglas Disposal Carson Valley

Natural Gas Company:
Southwest Gas Corporation .62 / Therm.

Sanitation Districts:
Minden/Gardnerville Sanitation District
Douglas County Sewer Improve-ment District, Zephyr Cove
Kingsbury General Improvement District, Stateline & Roundhill

Water Companies:
Carson Valley:
Gardnerville General Improvement District
Gardnerville Town Water
Sheridan Acres Water Co.
Town of Minden Water Co.

Lake Topaz:
Topaz Mutual Company, Inc.

Stateline:

• Skyland Water Co.

Zephyr Cove:

• Cave Rock Water Co.
• Round Hill General Improvement District
• Zephyr Cove Water Utility District

Banking:
DOUGLAS COUNTY

• Bank of America
• Comstock Bank
• El Dorado Savings
• Greater Nevada Credit Union
• First Security
• Nevada State Bank
• Norwest Bank
• U.S. Bank
• Wells Fargo

Total Industries
Mining
Construction
Manufacturing
Transportation & Public Utilities
Wholesale & Retail Trade
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
Service Ind.
Government

***In 1996, the total number of jobs in Douglas County was 26,627.
The unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in 1994 and 4.2 in 1995.
Of the 26,627 jobs, over half were in the service sector of the job market.

Unemployment Rate:
5.7 for 1998

Ethnic Distribution
* Douglas County reflects a rather homogeneous population with 96.1 percent of the population classified as white. The remaining classifications are Native American, Eskimo, Black, Hispanic, Pacific Islanders and other races.

Distribution by Age (Douglas) 1990
0 - 4 years 2,061
5 -14 years 5,788
15-19 years 3,215
20-34 years 6,795
35-44 years 7,016
45-64 years 11,846
65-84 years 5,651
85+ 438

** Nevada

*** Douglas

$20,534

25,101

$21,937

25,820

$23,818

N/A

$26,059

31,321

4.65

2.66
4.51
5.41
2.30
2.92
3.51
1.53
2.71
1.93
1.73
3.50
1.22
9.18
1.96
3.31
2.97
2.61

3.80

1.64
4.52
4.60
1.95
1.98
1.39
1.26
2.80
1.09
0.17
3.92
1.09
4.68
2.47
3.29
1.17
1.57

4.30

2.79
6.41
4.75
2.27
2.30
0.11
2.83
3.65
1.47
1.52
5.13
0.07
3.79
2.64
3.92
2.37
0.55

44.8 - 17.6
49.5 - 22.2
57.4 - 25.7
65.3 - 31.0
72.8 - 37.4
81.5 - 42.6
90.2 - 48.0
88.6 - 45.7
80.7 - 39.3
69.4 - 31.2
56.7 - 23.6
47.2 - 19.2

1.72
1.42
.94
.56
.52
.35
.30
.21
.23
.49
1.03
1.60