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County in Nevada, United States

Nye County comprises the Pahrump micropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Las Vegas Henderson combined statistical area. In 2010, Nevada's center of population was in southern Nye County, near Yucca Mountain. The Nevada Test Site and proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository are in southwestern Nye County, and are the focus of a great deal of controversy. The federal government manages 92% of the county's land. A 1987 attempt to stop the nuclear waste site resulted in the creation of Bullfrog County, Nevada, which was dissolved two years later. The county has several environmentally sensitive areas, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, the White River Valley, several Great Basin sky islands, and part of Death Valley National Park. Visitors to Death Valley often stay at Beatty or Amargosa Valley. Nye County is one of 10 Nevada counties where prostitution is legal. The county has no incorporated cities. The seat of government in Tonopah is 160 mile (257 km) from Pahrump, where about 86% of the county's population resides.

Nye County was established during the American Civil War in 1864 and named after James W. Nye, the first governor of the Nevada Territory and later a U. S. Senator after it was admitted as a state. The first county seat was Ione in 1864, followed by Belmont in 1867, and finally Tonopah in 1905. The county's first boom came in the early 20th century, when Rhyolite and Tonopah, as well as Goldfield in nearby Esmeralda County, had gold and silver mining booms. In 1906, Goldfield had 30,000 residents, Tonopah nearly 10,000, and Rhyolite peaked at about 10,000. These cities were linked by the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. After the boom died, Nye County withered. By 1910, the population had plummeted to about 7,500 before sinking to near 3,000 in the middle of the century. With development at the military test site and increasing employment and resources, the population stabilized. After the 1990s, when Pahrump became a bedroom community for Las Vegas, it had high rates of population growth. Periodically, discussions have arisen of moving the county seat to Pahrump, or splitting off the southern portion of the county, but neither of these ideas appears to have sufficient support in the county or state government. From 1987 to 1989, Bullfrog County, Nevada, was split off from Nye County to form a separate political region. Its population was zero; its creation was an attempt to stop a nuclear waste storage facility from being built in the region.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 18199 square miles (47,135 km2), of which 18182 square miles (47,091 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (0.09%) is water. The highest and most topographically prominent mountain in the county is Mount Jefferson at 11,949 feet (3642 m). Nye County is in south central Nevada. It is Nevada's largest county and the third largest county in the contiguous United States, after San Bernardino County in California and Coconino County in Arizona. Nye County's land area of is larger than that of Maryland, Hawaii, Vermont, and New Hampshire, and larger than the combined area of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Delaware. Of this vast land area, only , or just over 7%, is private land; most of it is public land managed by the federal government. Before the Treaty of Ruby Valley, the whole area was controlled by the Western Shoshone people, who say they never ceded territory here. According to the United States Census Bureau the county's Census Tract 9805, with a land area of 4,225.415 square miles (10,944 km2), comprising the Nevada Test Site and Nye County's portion of the Nevada Test and Training Range, is the country's largest census tract that has no resident population (as of the 2000 census). Las Vegas, in Clark County, is 100 mile (161 km) southeast of Yucca Mountain. Many Pahrump residents commute 60 mile (97 km) each way to Las Vegas via Nevada State Route 160, which for much of its length is a four lane divided highway.

At the 2010 census, there were 43,946 people, 18,032 households, and 11,929 families in the county. The population density was There were 22,350 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the county was 85.9% white, 2.0% black or African American, 1.6% American Indian, 1.3% Asian, 0.5% Pacific islander, 5.2% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 13.6% of the population. Of the 18,032 households, 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.8% were non families, and 26.8% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 48.4 years.

The Nye County School District serves all of Nye County. High school students in Esmeralda County go to Tonopah High School of Nye County School District. The county is in the service area of Great Basin College.

Nye County was one of the primary broadcast locations of American veteran radio broadcaster Art Bell, who was famous for creating and hosting Coast to Coast AM, Art Bell's Dark Matter and "Midnight in the Desert", the last of which continued to be broadcast on the Dark Matter Digital Network by Bell's chosen successor, Dave Schrader. Bell lived in the county until his death on April 13, 2018.