View of mountains, Mammoth Lakes, California, 2012
Crowley Lake’s story
Crowley Lake in pictures
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2012.
Explore the history →Crowley LakeCA
A town of 1,069.
Population
1,069
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$592K
Census ACS
Household income
$115K
median
Median age
38.3
years
Jobs based here
153
A commuter town
Is Crowley Lake a good place to live?
The best of Crowley Lake’s subject grades is an A+ for the outdoors; the weakest is a D− for cost of living. 32% of residents live below the poverty line in Crowley Lake, against 10% in California’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 104 of California’s 1,058 towns score lower on cost of living. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 57% of the land in Crowley Lake is conserved, above both California’s towns (4.3%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). On the outdoors, just 1 of California’s 1,064 towns do better. Crowley Lake has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Crowley Lake stand out
Where Crowley Lake beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Small town
1,069 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
How Crowley Lake grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Crowley Lake is from typical.
Cost of livingTypical home $592K, 6 years of the county’s $99K median household incomeD−Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listDOpen →Jobs & income$115K median household incomeC−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.7 of 20; 0% of households have no car; 8.9% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB+Open →HealthMammoth Hospital 13 miles awayBOpen →SchoolsBeat 58% of California districts on tests and graduationBOpen →
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.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Crowley Lake: who provides what
Crowley Lake is unincorporated, so Mono County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerSouthern California Edison31.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterMountain Meadows Mwc water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers78% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesMono CountyMono 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 hereMono County Clerk-ElectionsMono County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2021
ZIP code9354693546 100%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 Crowley Lake.
OutdoorsA+
Nearly a third of Crowley Lake is conserved land
11 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Crowley Lake’s trail density is 3.8 miles per square mile.
56.8%conserved
56.8%
conserved · 1,044 of 1,839 acres
11 mi
of trails · 3.8 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crowley Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Very high risk in Crowley Lake, with inland flooding at the top
89risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingAvalanchesEarthquakes
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Crowley Lake’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Crowley Lake for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Crowley Lake grew to 153 in 2023, 97 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Mammoth Lakes (26%), Bishop (8%) and Bridgeport (4%).
3%work in town
| Crowley Lake | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Crowley Lake3%
Mammoth Lakes26%
Bishop8%
Bridgeport4%
June Lake3%
25 mi
median commute distance
153
jobs based in Crowley Lake
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
In Crowley Lake, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Crowley Lake has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. The July high in Crowley Lake is 83°F.
83°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–45°
Spring30–58°
Summer49–80°
Fall35–64°
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
83°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthB
On CDC estimates, Crowley Lake is healthier than 58% of U.S. towns
Crowley Lake beats the California average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 75% of adults had a checkup this year in Crowley Lake.
58%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Crowley Lake | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 72% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 29% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 22% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 35% | 36% |
32 measures vs. California
6 better20 too close to call6 worse
| What stands out | Crowley Lake | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.7% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.8% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 6.4% |
Mammoth Hospital
13 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Nearby attractions
All 30 attractions →Yosemite National Park and 11 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Crowley Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi National ParkYosemite National Park4.3M visitors a year
34 mi LakeMono Lake
23 mi National ParkKings Canyon National Park780K visitors a year
15 mi Ski areaMammoth Mountain153 runs · 2,962 ft vertical
6 mi LakeConvict Lake
19 mi National MonumentDevils Postpile National Monument100K visitors a yearSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Yosemite National Park: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mono Lake: File:Mono lake sat.jpg: created by NASA Rotation and crop: Hike395, Public domain · Kings Canyon National Park: NileGuide.com (Josh Steinitz), CC BY 2.0 · Mammoth Mountain: Hike395 (talk · contribs), CC BY 3.0 · Convict Lake: The original uploader was Geographer at English Wikipedia., CC BY 1.0 · Devils Postpile National Monument: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA, CC BY 2.0
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Keep exploring
Everything we know about Crowley Lake
16pages on Crowley Lake
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Crowley Lake; the nearest are
Clovis Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Fresno71.8 mi$1,378 in-state tuitionCalifornia State University-FresnoUniversity or college · Public · Fresno75.9 mi$7,350 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 Crowley Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
A commuter town
97% of working residents leave Crowley Lake for work
Where Crowley Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
153jobs based in Crowley Lake
3%of working residents work in town
25 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Crowley Lake
Census-designated place in California, United States
Crowley Lake is a census-designated place in Mono County, California, United States. Crowley Lake sits at an elevation of 6,939 feet (2,115 m). The 2020 United States census reported Crowley Lake's population as 980.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 6,949 ft
- Area code
- 760
Questions about Crowley Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Crowley Lake, CA expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.