Gerlach–Empire 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 people. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the population lives in the two tiny settlements of Gerlach, a neighboring hamlet with fewer than 200 people that shares its schools with Empire; the rest live on outlying rural ranching properties.