Lake of the PinesCA
The town, home to 5,461 people, lies in California.
Is Lake of the Pines a good place to live?
A town with more to fix than most. Cost of living is its weak spot: the typical home is worth about $664K, 7.4 years of the Truckee area’s $90K median household income. With a C− overall, Lake of the Pines is better than 17% of U.S. towns and ranks 524th of 841 in California. Its strongest is health (A−) — CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 76% of the country. It lags on walkability as well. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. Hazard risk is weaker too (D): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than just over four fifths of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 29% of residents are 65 or older locally, where California’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 18%.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index.
95% of working residents leave Lake of the Pines for work
Where Lake of the Pines’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2024
How Lake of the Pines grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Lake of the Pines is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Lake of the Pines: who provides what
Lake of the Pines is unincorporated, so Nevada County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Lake of the Pines.
Lake of the Pines owes part of its health edge to its incomes, has added half again as many jobs in ten years and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of California.
Conserved land covers 0.4% of Lake of the Pines
The trail density for Lake of the Pines is 1.9 miles per square mile. 5.6 miles of trail wind through 7 parks and preserves. 10 acres of Lake of the Pines lie in its parks and preserves.
| Lake of the Pines | Typical California town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.9 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.4% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Park No 5 | — | 2 |
| 2. Park No 6 | — | 2 |
| 3. Park No 1 | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Lake of the Pines faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Of the losses FEMA expects in Lake of the Pines, 54% come from inland flooding and 40% from wildfires. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 81% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Lake of the Pines earns an A− for health
Against the 5,486 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lake of the Pines’s, it is less healthy than 56%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Among adults in Lake of the Pines, 79% had a checkup this year. Across all 32 CDC measures, Lake of the Pines beats California on 15 and trails on 7. Two figures for adults locally: 30% sleep under 7 hours, 39% have high blood pressure.
| Lake of the Pines | Typical California town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 31% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 29% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lake of the Pines | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.5% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.7% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.8% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Lake of the Pines’ workers commute out
Jobs based here grew from 305 in 2014 to 592. 30.2% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
The top destinations are Grass Valley (9%), North Auburn (9%) and Roseville (5%). Lake of the Pines had 592 jobs in 2024, up 287 from 2014. Also worth knowing: the typical household income locally is $122,000. Half commute less than 20 miles.
| Lake of the Pines | Typical California town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $122,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.5% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.3% | 6.6% | 7.9% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2024 · ACS
Older than California overall
Lake of the Pines: 43% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. For Lake of the Pines, the age of the median resident is 53.1 years.
| Lake of the Pines | Typical California town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53.1 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 29% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 16% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 81 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3 points). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Lake of the Pines | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.5% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.6% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.2% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.9% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.7% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 19% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.6% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.6% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.1% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.1% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.7% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.9% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Four seasons and hot summers in Lake of the Pines
The Colfax weather station, 7 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 233 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 80% of California places with climate records.
Summer afternoons peak near 93° in July, and January nights bottom out around 37°; snowfall runs to about 7 inches a winter. Summers in Lake of the Pines are hot, and winters mild.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median home in Lake of the Pines sells for about $555K
88% of households are owner-occupiers in Lake of the Pines. Lake of the Pines’ midpoint rent is $2,399 a month. A home in Lake of the Pines typically sold within 30 days of listing.
| Lake of the Pines | Typical California town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,399 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 88% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Empire Mine State Historic Park and 27 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake of the Pines. Close and well known come first.
11 mi State parkEmpire Mine State Historic Park
37 mi Stadium & arenaARCO Arena
39 mi State parkSutter's Fort
39 mi State parkGovernor's Mansion State Historic Park
39 mi Stadium & arenaHornet Stadium
39 mi MuseumCalifornia State Railroad Museum500K visitors a yearPhoto credits
Empire Mine State Historic Park: Beej71, CC BY 2.5 · ARCO Arena: CLopez63, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sutter's Fort: Ian Howard, CC BY 2.5 · Governor's Mansion State Historic Park: Mark James Miller, CC BY 3.0 · Hornet Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · California State Railroad Museum: The original uploader was Swampyank at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
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Everything we know about Lake of the Pines
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Lake of the Pines; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Lake of the Pines residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Lake of the Pines
Census-designated place in California, United States
Lake of the Pines is a census-designated place (CDP) and a gated residential community in Nevada County, California, United States. The population was 4,301 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,516 ft
- Area code
- 530
Questions about Lake of the Pines
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lake of the Pines, CA a good place to live?
Lake of the Pines grades C− overall, better than 17% of U.S. towns and #524 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Lake of the Pines, CA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $664,000, 13% below the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.