Glacier Lodge Big Pine Frasher 1926, 1926
Big Pine’s story
156 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1926.
- 1870Big Pine is settled
Big PineCA
A town of 1,615, settled in 1870.
Photo: Clinton Steeds from Los Angeles, USA · CC BY 2.0
Population
1,615
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$426K
+2.1% in a year
Household income
$68K
median
Median age
42.1
years
Jobs based here
155
A commuter town
Is Big Pine a good place to live?
Big Pine’s best subject grades are an A for walkability and an A+ for the outdoors; its weakest is a D for hazard risk. Big Pine’s July high is 96°F, where California’s towns sit at 89°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. 69% of the land in Big Pine is conserved, where California’s towns sit at 4.3% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. On the outdoors, just 2 of California’s 1,064 towns do better. Big Pine has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Big Pine stand out
Where Big Pine beats most towns.
A commuter town
93% of working residents leave Big Pine for work
Where Big Pine’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
155jobs based in Big Pine
7%of working residents work in town
41 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Big Pine grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Big Pine is from typical.
Hazard riskavalanches tops the listDOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 10.7 of 20; 6.7% of households have no carAOpen →Jobs & income$68K median household income; 155 jobs based hereC−Open →SchoolsCOpen →Cost of livingCOpen →HealthNorthern Inyo Hospital 14.9 miles awayC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 42.1; 23% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Big Pine: who provides what
Big Pine is unincorporated, so Inyo County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerLos Angeles Department of Water & Power26.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterRolling Green Utilities, Inc.1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet2 providers95% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesInyo CountyInyo County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereInyo County Clerk-ElectionsInyo County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2025
ZIP codes93513, 9351493513 95% · 93514 5%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Big Pine.
OutdoorsA+
Big Pine has set aside nearly a third of its land for conservation
8.5 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Big Pine’s trail density is 2.9 miles per square mile.
69.4%conserved
69.4%
conserved · 1,305 of 1,880 acres
8.5 mi
of trails · 2.9 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mendenhall Park | — | 18 |
| 2. Big Pine Triangle County Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
SchoolsC
Big Pine’s schools rank behind 69% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Big Pine Unified school district. Its two schools are below.
31%of CA districts it outscoresCSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Pine ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 121 | C− |
| Big Pine HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 30 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests
HousingCost of living grade C
The typical home in Big Pine is valued at about $426K
The typical Big Pine home is worth about $426,000, up 2.1% in a year, 44% below the California typical home. The median rent in Big Pine is $1,202 a month.
$426KZillow home value
| Big Pine | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,202 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 64% | 73% |
Typical home value
Big Pine$426K
California$762K
+2.1%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Very high risk in Big Pine, with avalanches at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 80% of U.S. communities.
80risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
AvalanchesHeat wavesInland flooding
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Big Pine’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Big Pine for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Bishop (19%), Independence (13%) and Fresno (5%). Half commute less than 41 miles.
7%work in town
| Big Pine | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Big Pine7%
Bishop19%
Independence13%
Fresno5%
Mammoth Lakes3%
41 mi
median commute distance
155
jobs based in Big Pine
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
A
Walkability grade: more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
A typical January night in Big Pine is 29°F, against 40°F in California’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns
Big Pine has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 96° and January nights drop to 29°.
96°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter30–54°
Spring42–71°
Summer61–93°
Fall45–74°
+1.7°
vs. the 20th-century average
96°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthC+
Residents of Big Pine are less healthy than 57% of U.S. towns
Big Pine beats the California average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 16% of adults report frequent physical distress in Big Pine.
43%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
| Big Pine | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 72% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 14% |
32 measures vs. California
2 better20 too close to call10 worse
| What stands out | Big Pine | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.5% | 10.6% |
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 65.1% | 57.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.4% | 5.1% |
Northern Inyo Hospital
14.9 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Big Pine
16pages on Big Pine
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Big Pine; the nearest are
Reedley CollegeCommunity college · Public · Reedley75 mi$1,334 in-state tuitionCalifornia State University-FresnoUniversity or college · Public · Fresno83.6 mi$7,350 in-state tuition
About 7 of every 100 Big Pine residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
About Big Pine
Census-designated place in California, United States
Big Pine (formerly Bigpine) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States. Big Pine is located approximately 15 miles (24 km) south-southeast of Bishop. Its population was 1,875 at the 2020 census, up from 1,756 at the 2010 census. The Big Pine Band of Owens Valley Paiute Shoshone Indians of the Big Pine Reservation bases their tribal headquarters here.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,989 ft
- ZIP code
- 93513
Questions about Big Pine
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Big Pine, CA expensive?
That is 5.8 years of the area's median household income ($73,991 across the Bishop, CA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.