Empire is a census-designated place and Ghost town in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 217 at the 2010 census. A former company town for United States Gypsum Corporation, Empire was once home to more than 750�people. It is part of the Reno?Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prior to the 2010 census, Empire was part of the Gerlach?Empire census-designated place. The nearest town, Nixon, is 60 miles to the south on a reservation owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.