Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 21,115, incorporated in 1965.
South Lake Tahoe's standout: it is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C−, 484th among California's 841 graded towns. It has 17 miles of trail and 26% conserved land. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $657K, 6.8 years of the Sacramento metro’s $97K median household income. 37% of working residents work locally in South Lake Tahoe, against 6.6% in California’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. South Lake Tahoe is home to Lake Tahoe Community College. Among 846 California towns, just 5 have a lower January low than South Lake Tahoe.
Where South Lake Tahoe beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Lake Tahoe Community College | 1,994 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far South Lake Tahoe is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 11%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 12,921 in 1970, 21,330 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1915 and 5 maps from 1955 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in South Lake Tahoe, 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 South Lake Tahoe.
South Lake Tahoe has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, has home values still below their peak and has commutes shorter than most of California.
17 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The trail density in South Lake Tahoe is 1.6 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is South Lake Tahoe Recreation Area, at 49 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. South Lake Tahoe Recreation Area | — | 49 |
| 2. Bijou Community Park | — | 34 |
| 3. Van Sickle Bi-State Park | 0.2 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Lake Tahoe Unified school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is South Tahoe High, with 1,076 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Tahoe MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 716 | – |
| South Tahoe HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,076 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
South Lake Tahoe’s violent crime rate is 7.2 per 1,000 residents.
| South Lake Tahoe | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.6 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 51 flood insurance claims have been paid out in South Lake Tahoe.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Tahoe City weather station, 19 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 108 days, shorter than in 100% of U.S. towns. The Tahoe City weather station, 19 miles away, records that 179 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 100% of U.S. towns.
South Lake Tahoe has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 81° and January nights drop to 22°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
South Lake Tahoe beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 70% of adults had a checkup this year in South Lake Tahoe.
| South Lake Tahoe | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | South Lake Tahoe | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults lacking emotional support | 24.8% | 28.6% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.9% | 15.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 10,197 working residents takes 16.5 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
About one in 3 of South Lake Tahoe’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in South Lake Tahoe grew to 8,643 in 2023, 1,274 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Stateline (9%), Sacramento (6%) and Kingsbury (3%).
| South Lake Tahoe | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Children under 18 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). 36% of South Lake Tahoe adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| South Lake Tahoe | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 41.1 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.9, men 42.4.
| South Lake Tahoe | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.3% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.4% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.8% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.1% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.3% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.9% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.2% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.7% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.2% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.7% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical value, about $657K, is 10% below its June 2022 peak.
The typical South Lake Tahoe home is worth about $657,000, up 2.2% in a year, 14% below the California typical home.
| South Lake Tahoe | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,606 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Lake Tahoe. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi LakeLake Tahoe
23 mi Ski areaPalisades Tahoe Olympic Valley122 runs · 2,542 ft vertical
31 mi LakeDonner Lake4 mi Ski areaHeavenly Mountain Resort141 runs · 3,370 ft vertical
6 mi State parkEmerald Bay State Park
10 mi Park & preserveDesolation WildernessLake Tahoe: Lara Farhadi, CC BY 2.0 · Palisades Tahoe Olympic Valley: Jonnyboyca at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Donner Lake: J.smith, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Emerald Bay State Park: Michael, CC BY 2.0 · Desolation Wilderness: Phreakdigital at English Wikipedia, GFDL
1 within 15 miles of the center of South Lake Tahoe
About 8 of every 100 South Lake Tahoe residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
10 notable people were born in South Lake Tahoe.
City in California, United States
South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The city's population was 21,330 at the 2020 census, down from 21,403 at the 2010 census. The city, along the southern edge of Lake Tahoe, extends about 5 miles (8 km) west-southwest along U.S. Route 50, also known as Lake Tahoe Boulevard. The east end of the city, on the California–Nevada state line right next to the town of Stateline, Nevada, is mainly geared towards tourism, restaurants, hotels, and Heavenly Mountain Resort with the Nevada casinos just across the state line in Stateline. The western end of town is mainly residential, and clusters around "The Y", the …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with South Lake Tahoe.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
South Lake Tahoe grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #484 of 841 in California. It grades B for health, D for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
South Lake Tahoe was incorporated in 1965 and has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 10 notable people were born here, including Jamie Anderson and Maddie Bowman.
