Sparks, NV
Photo: Ken Lund from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons · Wikipedia

Rental market · Sparks, NV · Incorporated city

Sparks, NV: average rent, home values, and rental yield

Mountain · Population 109,106

B50.7
#718 of 1,863 ranked markets
Overall Score 50.7 · stronger than 61% of ranked markets

How Sparks ranks nationally

Each bar places Sparks against all 1,863 ranked U.S. markets: the marker is this city and further right is more favorable to an investor; the tick marks the national median. Inverted measures (crime, vacancy, price-to-income) are already flipped so higher always means better here.

Overall Scorethe flagship rank
50.761st percentile
Cash Flowyield & affordability
4139th percentile
Growthpopulation, jobs, income
7794th percentile
Stabilitycrime, vacancy, unemployment
3926th percentile
Expense-adjusted yield2.6% net of costs
5050th percentile
Affordabilityprice-to-income 6.2×
27more affordable than 27%
Rental vacancy7.5% vacant
18tighter than 18%
Population growth1.2%/yr (capped)
7676th percentile
Job growth1.7%/yr (capped)
7676th percentile
← Less favorableMedianMore favorable →

What a deal looks like here

A market-level buy-box for Sparks, built from this market's own numbers: the investor-entry price, its rent, and local carrying costs. An illustrative scenario, not a listing.

Target buy price
$418,217
Expected rent
$2,082 /mo
Rent-to-price
0.50%
Cap rate
3.6%
Cash-on-cash
-8.5% at 25% dn
DSCR
0.60

At 25% down and 7%, this representative scenario runs negative (about −$826/mo); it reaches cash-flow break-even around 55% down.

Buy target = Zillow Bottom-Tier ZHVI (5th–35th percentile) $418,217; typical home value $537,566. Rent = Zillow ZORI typical asking rent. Assumptions: 25% down, 7% / 30-yr, 5% vacancy, 8% management, 5% maintenance, 5% capex, 0.5% insurance, 0.48% property tax. Illustrative market-level scenario: not a listing, appraisal, recommendation, or underwriting decision. As of 2026-07-10.

Market Negotiation Leverage

Balanced (51st percentile among 2,222 cities with Redfin coverage)

Equal-weight composite of three Redfin signals’ national percentiles (days on market 36, months of supply 2.9, sale-to-list 99.5%), direction-adjusted so a higher percentile always means more room for a buyer to negotiate. This is a cross-sectional snapshot against every other tracked city today, not a seasonal or historical baseline for this specific city (no multi-year time series is committed for this data). Not a prediction of what any specific seller will accept. Source: Redfin Data Center. See how this is calculated.

Measured market data

Measured observations for Sparks, shown as context beside the market score (none of it feeds the score), and the model weights are unchanged. These are different measurements from the Census figures in the factor table: the ACS median value is what owners report in a 5-year survey, while ZHVI is a monthly index of typical value; ACS median gross rent is what sitting tenants pay including utilities, while ZORI indexes asking rent on newly listed units. Neither corrects the other. Monthly series, revised in recent months, observed 2026-07, not live.

Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI, mid tier)$537,566
ZHVI bottom tier (5th–35th pct)$418,217
ZHVI top tier (65th–95th pct)$702,187
ZHVI, single-family only$543,018
Zillow asking-rent index (ZORI)$2,082/mo
Measured gross yield (ZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI)4.65%
Market heat index59
Median days to pending14
Share of listings with a price cut28.0%
Median sale-to-list ratio100.0%
For-sale inventory462
New listings186
Median list price$598,083
Median sale price$560,000
Measured 3-yr value growth1.83%/yr
Measured 5-yr value growth2.38%/yr
Measured 3-yr rent growth4.80%/yr
Price–rent divergence (value − rent growth)-2.97%/yr
ZHVI, 1-bedroom$253,904
ZHVI, 2-bedroom$373,277
ZHVI, 3-bedroom$507,806
ZHVI, 4-bedroom$615,735
ZHVI, 5-bedroom$751,530

Source: Zillow Economic Research public research data, observation month 2026-07. Zillow is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, Compounding Estates.

Typical home value $537,566 Median rent $2,082/mo Population 109,106 Region Mountain

Price & rent history

Home value $178,588 → $537,566 (2000-01–2026-07) · Asking rent $1,024 → $2,082 (2015-01–2026-07)

Source: Zillow ZHVI (home value) and ZORI (asking rent) - monthly resolution for the last ~10 years (since 2016-08), quarterly before that. Home value uses the left axis, rent the right; toggle either series, change the range, hover to read any point. Gaps in the source series are left as gaps - never interpolated.

ZIP markets in Sparks

7 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) officially overlap Sparks by land area · 7 data-eligible for subscores. Overlap is Census land-area share, not a population or address share. Each ZIP Code's overall Rental Investor ZIP Score, grade and canonical national rank are shown below (the two component signals, affordability and rental market, are separate percentiles). There is no city-scoped ZIP rank: city overlap isn't a ranking universe, so only the national rank is shown. These ZIP rankings sit in the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, Sparks's city ranking. Vintage: the Key metric column below is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), a full survey release newer than the ACS 2019–2023 figures used above for Sparks itself, so the same measure can legitimately show a different number at the city and ZIP level.

ZIP CodeOverallgrade · natl rankTier · overlapAffordabilitysignal · natl rankRental marketsignal · natl rankKey metric
89434Sparks B 62#2,510 nat RankedPrimary 69#3,225 of 20,132 · top 16% 52#8,900 of 20,132 · top 44% 5.0%Survey yield
89431Sparks A 69#768 nat RankedPrimary 65#4,271 of 20,132 · top 21% 55#7,498 of 20,132 · top 37% 4.4%Survey yield
89436Sparks A 69#705 nat RankedPrimary 58#6,338 of 20,132 · top 31% 42#13,136 of 20,132 · bottom 35% 4.3%Survey yield
89502Reno A 69#724 nat Ranked3.2% overlap 60#5,789 of 20,132 · top 29% 58#6,109 of 20,132 · top 30% 4.0%Survey yield
89433Sun Valley A 65#1,482 nat Ranked3.0% overlap 64#4,427 of 20,132 · top 22% 64#4,062 of 20,132 · top 20% 4.3%Survey yield
89512Reno A 67#1,071 nat Ranked0.1% overlap 58#6,407 of 20,132 · top 32% 71#1,627 of 20,132 · top 8% 3.8%Survey yield
89441Spanish Springs C 51#7,996 nat Ranked0.0% overlap 56#7,097 of 20,132 · top 35% 8#19,649 of 20,132 · bottom 2% 4.0%Survey yield
Open these 7 ZIP markets in the explorer →

The honest read

Sparks scores 51/100 overall (grade B): 41 for Cash Flow, 77 for Growth, and 39 for Stability, each a 0–100 score built from the factors in that category. The scenario above shows what a representative investor-entry purchase pencils out to at today's rates. Everything we can measure is in the table below, with its source.

Every factor, shown

The Overall score blends three category scores built from thirteen measured factors: Cash Flow (35%), Growth (35%), and Stability (30%). The table shows every factor; the tag on each percentile marks which category a scored factor feeds. Untagged factors are shown for context but not scored. Every value carries its source and as-of date. How the score works.

FactorValueNational percentileSource · as-ofWhat it means
Expense-adjusted yield2.6%50th percentile · Cash FlowZillow ZORI/ZHVI · 2026-07-31Annual rent divided by price, net of a modeled vacancy, tax, capex, and management allowance: the core of the Cash Flow category and what the score is actually computed from. The unadjusted gross yield is shown elsewhere on this page.
Price to income6.2x27th percentile · Cash FlowZillow + ACS income · 2026-07-31Home price over local median income. Lower is cheaper relative to what people earn. Part of the Cash Flow category.
Population growth1.2%/yr76th percentile · GrowthCensus PEP · Census PEP 2020→2024 (vintage 2024) + Census PEP 2014→2024 (vintages 2019+2024)Census population trend for the place, capped at 4.5%/yr before scoring (diminishing returns above that rate): the heaviest factor in the Growth category.
Job growth1.7%/yr76th percentile · GrowthBLS LAUS (county) · BLS LAUS county annual 2019→2023 (pre-COVID anchor) + BLS LAUS county annual 2013→2023County employment trend, capped at 4.0%/yr before scoring (diminishing returns above that rate). A Growth-category factor.
Income growth7.7%/yr87th percentile · GrowthCensus ACS · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Local median-income trend. A Growth-category factor.
Rent growth5.7%/yr92nd percentile · GrowthZillow ZORI · 3yr + 10yr to 2026-07-31A 40/60 blend of 3-year and 10-year rent trend (the model's own weighting). A Growth-category factor.
Home-value growth4.4%/yr46th percentile · GrowthZillow ZHVI · 3yr + 10yr to 2026-07-31A 40/60 blend of 3-year and 10-year price trend (the model's own weighting). A small Growth-category factor.
Unemployment4.4%18th percentile · StabilityBLS LAUS (county) · BLS LAUS county annual 2023County unemployment rate. Lower is steadier, a Stability-category factor.
Rental vacancy7.5%18th percentile · StabilityCensus ACS B25004 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Share of rentals empty. Lower means more pricing power. A Stability-category factor.
Property tax rate0.5%95th percentile · StabilityCensus ACS B25103/B25077 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Median tax over median value. A direct drag on cash flow, scored in the Stability category as carrying-cost burden.
Months of supply2.9 mo46th percentile · StabilityRedfin Data Center · 2026-05-01Listings over sales pace. Under about 4 is a seller market, over 6 a buyer market. A Stability-category factor.
Days on market36 days51st percentileRedfin Data Center · 2026-05-01How fast homes sell. Lower means more liquidity and an easier exit. Shown for context, not scored.
Sale-to-list ratio99.5%53rd percentileRedfin Data Center · 2026-05-01Sale price over asking. Above 100% means homes clear over ask. Shown for context, not scored.
Net domestic migration+4.3/1k78th percentileCensus PEP (county) · PEP vintage 2024Net people moving in or out of the county, per 1,000 residents. Shown for context, not scored.
Building permits27.8/1k18th percentileCensus BPS (county) · BPS 2023New-construction permits per 1,000 homes. More means more supply coming. Shown for context, not scored.
Rent burden30%55th percentileCensus ACS B25071 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Median rent as a share of income. Higher means less headroom for increases. Shown for context, not scored.
Median year built199176th percentileCensus ACS B25035 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023Age of the housing stock. Older stock carries more capex. Shown for context, not scored.
Max drawdown60%4th percentileZillow ZHVI · 2026-07-31Worst peak-to-trough home-value decline on record. Shown for context, not scored.
Violent crimenot reported-FBI CDENo agency reported this place to the FBI. We never impute a crime number; where it is missing, the Stability category renormalizes over its remaining factors.

Related cities

Nearby in the Nevada rankings · all Nevada cities

Similar overall grade, elsewhere in the country

Compare Sparks head-to-head

Side by side, the three category scores plus every measured column with sources - the same shown math as this page.

Underwrite a Sparks deal

For learning, not advice. A market screen from public data - not a forecast, not underwriting, not a recommendation to buy anywhere.