Lenticular clouds over Lake Tahoe, 2010
Tahoe Vista’s story
115 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2010 and 3 maps from 1955 on.
- 1911Tahoe Vista is settled
Tahoe VistaCA
This town of 1,048 people was settled in 1911.
Population
1,048
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$830K
+4.4% in a year
Household income
$113K
median
Median age
63.1
years
Jobs based here
498
Balanced
Is Tahoe Vista a good place to live?
The best of Tahoe Vista’s subject grades are an A+ for walkability, an A for health, and an A− for schools; the weakest is a C for hazard risk. 41% of residents are 65 or older in Tahoe Vista, where California’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 18%. Only 60 of California’s 1,063 towns score higher on walkability. 46% of the land in Tahoe Vista is conserved, above both California’s towns (4.3%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 62 of California’s 1,064 towns score higher on the outdoors. The biggest place to walk is North Tahoe Regional Park, 112 acres with 1.9 miles of trail. Tahoe Vista has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Tahoe Vista stand out
Where Tahoe Vista beats most towns.
Small town
1,048 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Kings BeachCarnelian BayTahoe Vista
How Tahoe Vista grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Tahoe Vista is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 12.1 of 20; 0% of households have no carA+Open →HealthIncline Village Community Hospital 5.6 miles awayAOpen →SchoolsBeat 82% of California districts on tests and graduationA−Open →Hazard riskInland flooding tops the listCOpen →Cost of livingNear typical for the towns comparedC+Open →Jobs & income$113K median household incomeB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsAmong the best for parks and open landA+Open →HistoryAmong the weakest of the towns comparedDOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Housing market83 days on market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 63.1; 63% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 38 attractions →Lake Tahoe and 30 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Tahoe Vista. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi LakeLake Tahoe
12 mi LakeDonner Lake
11 mi Ski areaPalisades Tahoe Olympic Valley122 runs · 2,542 ft vertical
11 mi State parkDonner Memorial State Park4 mi Ski areaNorthstar at Tahoe Resort125 runs · 2,311 ft vertical
11 mi Ski areaMount Rose Ski Tahoe57 runs · 1,625 ft verticalSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Lake Tahoe: Lara Farhadi, CC BY 2.0 · Donner Lake: J.smith, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Palisades Tahoe Olympic Valley: Jonnyboyca at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Donner Memorial State Park: Joe Parks from Berkeley, CA, CC BY 2.0 · Mount Rose Ski Tahoe: Beesmill, CC BY-SA 4.0
Getting set up
Moving to Tahoe Vista: who provides what
Tahoe Vista is unincorporated, so Placer County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerLiberty Utilities27.6¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterNorth Tahoe PUD - Main water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers98% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesPlacer CountyPlacer 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 herePlacer County Registrar of VotersPlacer County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2023
ZIP codes96148, 9614396148 71% · 96143 29%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 Tahoe Vista.
OutdoorsA+
Trail density in Tahoe Vista is higher than in most of California or the rest of the country
Across 5 parks and preserves: 18 miles of trail.
46%conserved
46%
conserved · 836 of 1,817 acres
18 mi
of trails · 6.5 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. North Tahoe Regional Park | 1.9 mi | 112 |
| 2. Tahoe Vista Recreation Area and Boat Launch | 0.1 mi | 3 |
| 3. North Tahoe Beach | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HealthA
Tahoe Vista ranks healthier than 87% of the country’s towns
The share of adults in Tahoe Vista who smoke cigarettes: 9.8%. The town beats the California average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. Two figures for adults here: 32% sleep under 7 hours, 9.1% have diabetes.
87%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Tahoe Vista | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 12% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 11% | 14% |
32 measures vs. California
15 better15 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Tahoe Vista | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.2% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.3% | 6.4% |
Incline Village Community Hospital
5.6 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C
High risk in Tahoe Vista, with inland flooding at the top
FEMA expects more storm and flood damage in Tahoe Vista than in 68% of U.S. communities.
68risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingEarthquakesWildfire
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Tahoe Vista
Expect July afternoons of 81° and January nights of 19°, with about 179 inches of snow a winter.
179″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–43°
Spring29–55°
Summer43–78°
Fall31–62°
Sep 25
typical first frost
Jun 9
typical last frost
+1.2°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Most people working in Tahoe Vista commute elsewhere
Since 2013, Tahoe Vista has added 202 jobs, to 498 in 2023. For most workers, Tahoe Vista is a place to come home to: only 7% work in town. The town’s mean commuting time is 20 minutes. The top destinations are Sunnyside-Tahoe City (9%), Sacramento (7%) and Incline Village (6%).
7%work in town
| Tahoe Vista | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $113,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Tahoe Vista7%
Sunnyside-Tahoe City9%
Sacramento7%
Incline Village6%
Truckee6%
70 mi
median commute distance
498
jobs based in Tahoe Vista
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
A+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HousingCost of living grade C+
Zillow puts the typical Tahoe Vista home at about $830K
On the market in Tahoe Vista: a median 83 days to sell. In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 4.4%. 90% of households live in a home they own here.
$830KZillow home value
Typical home value
Tahoe Vista$830K
California$762K
Market temperature
83
days on market
99%
sale-to-list price
+4.4%
value change, 1 year
6
homes sold in September
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Tahoe Vista
17pages on Tahoe Vista
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Tahoe Vista
About 9 of every 100 Tahoe Vista residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Get outside
18 miles of trails in Tahoe Vista
46% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
Trails © OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
About Tahoe Vista
Census-designated place in California, United States
Tahoe Vista is a census-designated place located on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Placer County, California. It is part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 1,392 at the 2020 census, down from 1,433 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 6,234 ft
- ZIP code
- 96148
- Area code
- 530
Questions about Tahoe Vista
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Tahoe Vista, CA expensive?
That is 8.5 years of the area's median household income ($97,188 across the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA metro 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+.