  gerlachâempire was a census-designated place (cdp) in washoe county, nevada, united states. it was replaced by the separate cdps of gerlach and empire for the 2010 census. the combined population was 499 at the 2000 census. a former company town for united states gypsum corporation, empire was once home to more than 750&nbsp;people. it is part of the reno&ndash;sparks metropolitan statistical area. most of the population lives in the two tiny settlements of gerlach, a neighboring hamlet with fewer than 200&nbsp;people that shares its schools with empire; the rest live on outlying rural ranching properties. the nearest town, nixon, is 60&nbsp;miles to the south on a reservation owned by the pyramid lake paiute tribe. ==geography== according to the united states census bureau, the cdp in 2000 had a total area of , all land. its elevation is . ==demographics== as of the census{{cite web|url=http://factfin
Former_census-designated_places_in_Nevada Geography_of_Washoe_County,_Nevada Populated_places_established_in_1905 RenoaSparks_metropolitan_area