Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,059, settled in 1861. 2.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical California town.
Trash & recyclingLakeport grades D− overall, ranked 730th of 841 in California, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its police reported 48 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 91% of U.S. towns. The median household income is $69K, and 13% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 91% of U.S. towns. Lakeport’s violent crime rate is 9.4 per 1,000 residents, above both the California town median (2.9) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). On civic life, just 23 of California’s 463 towns do better. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top.
Where Lakeport beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Lakeport’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Lakeport is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 562 in 1880, 5,026 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 3 maps from 1938 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lakeport, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Lakeport.
Lakeport draws workers from North Lakeport and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the California rate.
13 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Lakeport’s trail density is 4.0 miles per square mile.
| Lakeport | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 4.0 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Xabatin "Big Water" Community Park | — | 4 |
| 2. Library Park | 0.2 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Lakeport Unified school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Clear Lake High, with 335 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeport ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 530 | C− |
| Clear Lake HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 335 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
3,246 jobs are based in Lakeport, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19.1 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
About one in 4 of Lakeport’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Lakeport is 19 minutes. Jobs based in Lakeport grew to 3,246 in 2023, 336 more than in 2013.
| Lakeport | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Violent crime runs at 9.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the California rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D. Reported crimes rose from 95 to 153 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Lakeport reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 91% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
241 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 37 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 241 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lakeport.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $354K, is 15% below its June 2022 peak. At about $354K, home values are down 9% in five years, against a rise of 13% across California.
The typical Lakeport home is worth about $354,000, down 1.3% in a year, 53% below the California typical home. 76% of households own their home in Lakeport.
| Lakeport | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,063 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Ukiah weather station, 17 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 245 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 78% of California places with climate records.
Lakeport has mild winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 38° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,394 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lakeport’s, it is healthier than 66%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Lakeport beats the California average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 39% of Lakeport adults have high blood pressure.
| Lakeport | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 31% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 72% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Lakeport | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.1% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.4% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lakeport
About 7 of every 100 Lakeport residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
2 places in Lakeport on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Lakeport.
City in California, United States
Lakeport is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, California, United States. The city is 125 miles (201 km) northwest of Sacramento. Lakeport is situated on the western shore of Clear Lake, at an elevation of 1,355 feet (413 m). The population was 5,026 at the 2020 census, up from 4,753 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Lakeport.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeport | #730 | D− | D | D | C+ | B− |
| North Lakeport | #791 | D− | D− | — | C+ | B− |
North Lakeport reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Lakeport with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lakeport grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #730 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 5.8 years of the area's median household income ($60,621 across the Clearlake, 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 D.
7 notable people were born here, including Phil Jordon and Kevin Canty.
