© OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap
Moving to
Dayton.
Dayton is an unincorporated community in Lyon County, NV. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Dayton
Dayton is an unincorporated community in Nevada with household incomes running above the national average and air quality that stays clean most of the year. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Dayton deals with home prices well above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, college degree attainment below the national average, and larger class sizes than the national average.
The good
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Clean air
The not so good
- High home prices
- Above-average commute times
- Low college degree attainment
- High student-teacher ratio
- Cold winters
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Dayton compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Dayton
Based on Dayton's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,042
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $60,840 a year
- 33% of Dayton renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$86,640
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $43,320
- Homes cost 4.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,521/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,521 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $433,200. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $433,200 · 33% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.8% county unemployment
Unemployment in Lyon County is 4.8%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Lyon County (county-wide)
Safety
293 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Dayton doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Lyon County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs close to the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 579/100k · Policed by Lyon County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 18% above US
31 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 30.8 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 12% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 86°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 25°F and snow a regular occurrence. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 44% below US
20% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 20%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
5 public schools inside the boundary
There are 5 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 20:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Yosemite National Park (96 miles away).
Bottom line
Dayton's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and air quality that stays clean most of the year; the main tradeoffs are home prices well above the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($1,521/mo) equals 18% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. Whether it fits comes down to the specifics: the neighborhood, the job, and what matters most in the move.
Other places near Dayton
All Nevada guides →Not sure Dayton is the one?
Put it side by side with another city.