Three-quarters of an acre with power at the lot, about 15 minutes from Elko, in the heart of Nevada’s gold country. Elko is a working town with an economy most small cities would envy: the world’s largest gold-mining complex is headquartered here, gold is near record prices, and homes in town sell in days. This 0.76-acre lot in Meadow Valley Ranchos gives you a foothold on the edge of it all, with the Ruby Mountains on the horizon and room to breathe.
The parcel is covered in native sagebrush and juniper, inside an established grid of residential lots, some with neighbors already living on or using their land. Power is available at the property. It’s offered at $6,950, with owner financing available and no credit check.
Why people are looking at Elko right now
- Gold country. Elko is home base for Nevada Gold Mines, the Barrick and Newmont partnership that runs the Carlin Trend mines west of town, the most productive gold district in North America. In 2026 the partners agreed to bring Barrick’s Fourmile project, which Barrick calls one of the most significant gold discoveries of the century, into the venture. Twenty drill rigs were turning there by mid-year and underground development has begun.
- Gold prices. Gold set an all-time record in January 2026, and in October it was still trading near $4,200 an ounce, roughly double where it stood two years earlier.
- Jobs and wages. Elko County had Nevada’s lowest unemployment rate, 3.5%, in mid-2026, and mining jobs here commonly pay $50,000 to $100,000 a year.
- A tight housing market. The typical Elko home is worth about $363,000 and goes under contract in about 11 days (Zillow, August 2026). Land close to town with power already available is in short supply.
Life in Elko
- The Ruby Mountains, “Nevada’s Swiss Alps,” are 25 miles away: the 12-mile Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway, day hikes to Lamoille, Island and Liberty lakes, the 36-mile Ruby Crest Trail, and heli-skiing in winter. The city’s own SnoBowl ski and bike hill is right in town.
- Water and fishing. South Fork State Recreation Area, 24 miles away, is a 1,650-acre reservoir known for trophy trout and bass, with a campground, boat ramp and ice fishing in winter. Wild Horse Reservoir and Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge are day trips.
- Hunting and open country. Mule deer, elk, antelope and chukar on the public land that surrounds Elko County.
- A real downtown. Family-style Basque dinners at the Star Hotel (since 1910) and Toki Ona, Picon Punch, 51 murals, the Western Folklife Center, the Northeastern Nevada Museum, the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum, casinos and two movie theaters.
- Events. The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering every January, the National Basque Festival in July, and the Elko County Fair over Labor Day weekend.
- Getting around. Interstate 80 runs through town, Delta flies nonstop to Salt Lake City every day, and Salt Lake City is about 4 hours by car, Reno about 5.
What’s nearby (driving from the lot)
- Downtown Elko: about 5.5 miles via Bullion Road, roughly 15 minutes.
- Groceries: Smith’s (5.9 miles), Raley’s (6.5), Walmart Supercenter (6.6) and Albertsons (7.3), plus Joe’s Market and Roy’s Market in town.
- Shopping and supplies: Home Depot, C-A-L Ranch, Kohl’s, Marshalls, JCPenney and Big 5, all about 6 to 7 miles.
- Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital: 7.6 miles. Great Basin College: 6.7 miles. Elko Regional Airport: 6.8 miles. Ruby View Golf Course: 7.7 miles.
- Interstate 80: 7 miles. Spring Creek: 19 miles. Carlin and the Carlin Trend mines: 27 miles.
- Lamoille Canyon: 24 miles (about 45 minutes). South Fork State Recreation Area: 24 miles. Wells: 57 miles.
- Twin Falls, Idaho: 170 miles (3 hours). Salt Lake City: 237 miles (4 hours). Reno: 295 miles (5 hours).
How this price compares
- County records show single lots in Meadow Valley Ranchos Unit 9 selling for $6,000 to $15,000 in 2025 and 2026, and the median of all Unit 9 sales since 2023 is $11,000.
- This lot, with power already available, is $6,950, well under what most lots in the unit have sold for.
What to know before you buy
- Legal description: Meadow Valley Ranchos Unit No. 9, Block 15, Lot 10 (county file 26830), in the SW¼ SE¼ of Section 31, Township 34 North, Range 55 East, MDB&M (Elko County APN 064-015-010).
- County records list the location as Medicine Bow St. Area maps show the subdivision’s dirt streets along the parcel’s south side; the lot is a short drive on dirt out to paved Bullion Road.
- The lot measures roughly 145 feet wide by 225 feet deep.
- Boundary note: the lot lines on our images are approximate. The county’s online parcel map draws this lot a little east of where it actually sits; the brush-covered ground is the lot, and the cleared yard and buildings east of it belong to the neighbor. Only a survey can mark the exact corners.
- Power is available at the property. There’s no water on site: you would drill a private well or arrange water from a neighbor’s well with a written agreement.
- Wells in Nevada: a household well for a single home doesn’t need a water right as long as it uses no more than two acre-feet a year. It must be drilled by a licensed Nevada well driller, who files a notice of intent with the Nevada Division of Water Resources. Because this lot is under an acre, the well also needs approval from the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, which checks its distance from a septic system. The Division of Water Resources’ Elko office, (775) 753-3553, can confirm the rules for this area.
- Zoning: AR, Agricultural-Residential. The Elko County Assessor lists the lot’s zoning as AR. Under Elko County Code 4-2-3, AR is meant for rural, estate-style living with room for hobby farming: it allows one single-family home per parcel, plus gardens, orchards, vegetable crops, nurseries and greenhouses, and private stables, while uses such as schools, churches or a small business need a county permit. AR setbacks are 50 feet in front, 30 feet in back and 20 feet on each side, and buildings can be up to three stories or 40 feet tall. The code also sets a one-acre minimum and a 150-foot average width for AR parcels, and this lot is 0.76 acre and about 145 feet wide. If you plan to build a home, ask Elko County Planning and Zoning, (775) 738-6816, to confirm what they will permit on this lot before you buy.
- Property taxes are about $28 a year: $28.31 for 2026-27, already paid in full, with nothing owed. The county’s taxable value for the lot is $6,000.
Questions? Use the form on this page or mention the listing number when you contact us. We’ll answer anything we can and tell you plainly what we don’t know.
