The United States acquired the area of Nevada from Mexico in 1848. Nevada Territory was organized from the western part of Utah Territory on March 2, 1861. The territory added area along the eastern boundary from Utah Territory in 1862. Nevada was admitted to the Union on October 31, 1864, as the 36^th state. In 1866, additional territory on the east and southeast was added from Utah and Arizona territories, and the state assumed generally the same boundary as the present state.

Although the territory had not yet been legally established, census data for Nevada are available beginning with the 1860 census. The 1860 census population is for the area of present-day Nevada formed from Utah Territory. (The portion of present-day Nevada, then in New Mexico Territory, was not enumerated in 1860.) The population of the entire legally established Utah Territory (of which the area of Nevada was a part) in 1860 was 47,130. For an explanation of the revision to the 1870 population of Nevada, see Richard L. Forstall, Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996, page 104.

Data for the legally established state of Nevada are available beginning with the 1870 census.

American Indian Areas

Nevada has 28 federally recognized American Indian areas.  There are 27 reservations, 4 with off-reservation trust land.  There is also one trust land.

Metropolitan And Micropolitan Statistical Areas And Related Statistical Areas

Nevada has three metropolitan statistical areas, five micropolitan statistical areas, and three combined statistical areas.

Counties

There are 17 counties and equivalents in Nevada.  There are 16 counties, each governed by a board of county commissioners.  Carson City is an independent city that is a functioning governmental unit at the place level and a county equivalent.

County Subdivisions

There are 71 county subdivisions in Nevada. They are all census county divisions (CCDs), which are delineated for statistical purposes, have no legal function, and are not governmental units. 
CCDs were first established in Nevada for the 1990 census.  Prior to 1990, the minor civil divisions used in the census included election precincts, judicial districts, and townships (non-functioning administrative areas). 

Places

Nevada has 129 places; 19 incorporated places and 110 census designated places (CDPs).  There are 18 cities and 1 place with no legal descriptor, Carson City.  The minimum population threshold for incorporation is 250.  Carson City is a county equivalent with a single census county division.

Census Tracts/Block Groups/Blocks

Nevada has 687 census tracts, 1,836 block groups, and 84,538 census blocks.

Congressional Districts

For the 111^th Congress (January 2009-January 2011), Nevada had three congressional districts.  For the 113^th Congress (January 2013-January 2015), Nevada has four congressional districts as a result of reapportionment based on the 2010 Census.

School Districts

Nevada has 17 unified school districts. 

State Legislative Districts

There are 19 senatorial districts and 42 assembly districts in Nevada.

Urban Areas

Nevada has 26 urban areas; 3 urbanized areas and 23 urban clusters.

Zip Code Tabulation Areas

There are 176 ZIP Code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) in Nevada.

¹  Source:  U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1923
²  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, recomputation for historical county level data which relied upon aggregate county level population data with an estimated county centroid resulting in a possible error of up to one mile.
³  Source:  U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Centers of Population for States and Counties, 1974
⁴  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division, recomputation from archived national block group/enumeration area data resulting in a possible error of up to 1,000 feet.
⁵  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division, recomputation from archived national block group data resulting in a possible error of up to 1,000 feet.
⁶  Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, computation from national block-level data