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Placer and El Dorado counties: moves to Northern Nevada

About 378 people a year moved from El Dorado County, California into Washoe County in 2016-2020 (plus or minus 301), and about 247 moved from Placer County (plus or minus 131). Placer sent more people to Lyon County, about 726 a year, and El Dorado sent about 643 to Douglas County.

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  • Data page

Placer County includes Auburn, Roseville and the north shore of Lake Tahoe, and El Dorado County includes Placerville and South Lake Tahoe. The table above shows what each sends to Washoe County; the notes below add their flows to the other Northern Nevada counties.

  • Largest flowEl Dorado County, California
  • Moved from El Dorado County, CA to Washoe County, per yearabout 378
  • Moved from Placer County, CA to Lyon County, per yearabout 726
Moves into Washoe County from Placer and El Dorado counties, per year
CountyPeople per year (estimate)Margin of error
El Dorado County, California378+/- 301
Placer County, California247+/- 131

Data: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS county-to-county migration flows 2016-2020 (5-year, yearly averages with margins of error).

Into Washoe County

El Dorado County sends about 378 people a year with a margin of 301, and Placer County sends about 247 with a margin of 131. The El Dorado range runs from about 77 to 679, so it is a weak estimate, while Placer's range of about 116 to 378 is tighter. In the opposite direction, about 585 people a year move from Washoe County to Placer County (plus or minus 447) and about 273 to El Dorado County (plus or minus 138).

That means Washoe's trade with El Dorado is roughly balanced to within the noise, and Washoe's trade with Placer cannot be resolved because both ranges are wide.

The rear doors of an older O'Brien's Moving & Storage truck in Bekins livery
The rear doors of an older O'Brien's Moving & Storage truck in Bekins livery

The bigger flows are to the Valley and Lyon County

El Dorado County is the largest single source for Douglas County, at about 643 people a year (plus or minus 238), and also sends about 573 to Carson City (plus or minus 429). Placer County sends about 726 people a year to Lyon County (plus or minus 549) and about 210 to Douglas County. Out of Douglas County, about 278 a year go to El Dorado, and out of Carson City about 176 go to Placer.

The direction is clear even where individual margins are wide: El Dorado sends more people to Douglas County and Carson City than to Washoe County, and Placer sends more to Lyon County than to Washoe County. See Carson Valley migration and Lyon County migration.

Both counties in numbers

Placer County grew from 402,950 to 442,081 people between 2020 and 2025, about 9.7 percent, and El Dorado County moved from 192,925 to 192,323. Net domestic migration for 2020-2025 was about 35,036 for Placer and about 1,859 for El Dorado.

In the Census ACS 2020-2024 data, the Sacramento metro, which includes both counties, has a median rent of $1,819, a median home value of $589,500 and a median household income of $97,188, against $1,592, $502,300 and $87,485 in the Reno metro.

Routes and passes

From the Sparks warehouse, Sacramento is 134 miles and about 2 hours 38 minutes. Echo Summit (US 50, 7,382 feet) and Spooner Summit (US 50, 7,144 feet) lie on the Placerville route, and Donner Summit (I-80, about 7,200 feet) on the Auburn and Sacramento route. South Lake Tahoe is 60 miles and 1 hour 23 minutes and Stateline 57 miles and 1 hour 17 minutes. Details are on the mountain passes page.

Route pages for the two ends are Auburn to Reno and Placerville to Reno. A move that crosses the state line is an interstate move, and on those O'Brien's handles the Reno end through the Bekins network.

An O'Brien's and Bekins straight truck parked outside a warehouse
An O'Brien's and Bekins straight truck parked outside a warehouse

What the data leaves out

County files treat the Sierra foothills and the Tahoe shore as one place and do not split Roseville from Tahoe-side Placer County. They also say nothing about second homes, where a household keeps a California address and may still spend part of the year in Nevada. The period, 2016-2020, ends before later shifts.

Sources (checked October 18, 2026)

Answers

Questions people ask

Still have a question? Call 775-359-6683, Mon-Fri 8-5, or see the moving FAQ.

Which California county sends the most people to the Carson Valley?

El Dorado County, at about 643 a year, with a margin of 238.

How many people move from Placer County to Reno?

About 247 a year move from Placer County into Washoe County, with a margin of error of about 131, in the 2016-2020 Census flows.

Why is the El Dorado to Washoe number uncertain?

The estimate is 378 but the margin of error is 301. That is a range of about 77 to 679 people.

Which pass do I use to reach Placerville?

US 50 over Spooner Summit (7,144 feet) and Echo Summit (7,382 feet). Check Caltrans QuickMap and nvroads.com for conditions.

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What customers say about O'Brien's

Charles C.

Great company, I'd highly recommend for any move!!!

Owner's reply

Charles, It was a pleasure working with you on your moves. We hope your trip is amazing and if you ever come back our way, we will be happy to help. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to complete this review on our behalf.

Nadine K.

The guys were very friendly and hard working. Would definitely use them again!

Owner's reply

Nadine, We are pleased you chose us for your move, it was a pleasure working with you! We are extremely happy the move was a success.

Greg S.

3 O'Brien movers came down from Reno to South Lake Tahoe to assist our company moving a lot of big furniture out of a large warehouse. They showed up on-time, were friendly, and were professional and got the job done quickly and diligently. Will definitely use them again.

Owner's reply

Thanks for the great review Greg! We really appreciate you taking the time to do that for us. We look forward to working with you again!

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4.3 on Google · 71 reviewsFamily owned since 1941U.S. DOT No. 30611