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Sparks, Nevada has 4 accredited schools offering environmental science programs. Sparks has a population of about 109,106. Median household income is $86,979 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 26.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Reno, NV metro area, the top-earning environmental science-related role is Environmental Engineer at a median $120,050 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer environmental science programs near Sparks, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Sparks city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Sparks. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Nevada schools on the Nevada environmental science page.
Sparks is part of the Reno, NV metro area (BLS area code 39900). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Nevada statewide.
| Occupation | Median Wage | Source | COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Scientist and Specialist | $76,320 | Reno, NV | $75,564 |
| Conservation Scientist | $68,090 | Reno, NV | $67,416 |
| Environmental Engineer | $120,050 | Reno, NV | $118,861 |
| Zoologist and Wildlife Biologist | $79,160 | Reno, NV | $78,376 |
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 109,106 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income | $86,979 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ | 26.3% | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) | 101.0 (above U.S. average) | BEA RPP 2024 |
Our directory has 4 accredited schools offering environmental science programs near Sparks. The closest is Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, NV (4.5 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Sierra College (96.7 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying environmental science-related roles near Sparks are: Environmental Engineer ($120,050), Zoologist and Wildlife Biologist ($79,160), Environmental Scientist and Specialist ($76,320). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Nevada statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Reno, NV is 7.4 miles from Sparks and has its own set of local environmental science programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Sparks’s median household income of $86,979 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Sparks while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Nevada public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Sparks:
Data verified: September 1, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
