Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 17,278, settled in 1868. 3.2 times the nonprofits per person than the typical California town.
Trash & recyclingThe typical home is worth about $1.0 million, 11.4 years of the Truckee area’s $90K median household income. Overall it grades B−, 210th among California's 841 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 94% of the country and its schools rank ahead of 82% of California towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 40% of working residents work locally in Truckee, against 6.6% in California’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Truckee is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 15 of California’s 463 towns do better.
Where Truckee beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
16.9% of the town is conserved land, across 20 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Truckee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Donner Camp is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,147 in 1880, 16,729 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 4 maps from 1955 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Truckee. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi LakeLake Tahoe
in town LakeDonner Lake
11 mi Ski areaPalisades Tahoe Olympic Valley122 runs · 2,542 ft vertical
in town State parkDonner Memorial State Park8 mi Ski areaSugar Bowl Resort94 runs · 1,452 ft vertical7 mi Ski areaNorthstar at Tahoe Resort125 runs · 2,311 ft verticalLake 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Truckee, 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 Truckee.
Truckee has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has less food insecurity than most of California, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
119 miles of trail in 20 parks and preserves. The trail density in Truckee is 3.5 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Tahoe National Forest, 1,605 acres with 19.7 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tahoe National Forest | 19.7 mi | 1,605 |
| 2. Canyon Springs | 8.1 mi | 267 |
| 3. Old Greenwood | 2.9 mi | 256 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.02M.
Its public schools are run by the Tahoe-Truckee Unified school district. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Tahoe Truckee High, with 907 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alder Creek MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 535 | B+ |
| Tahoe Truckee HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 907 | A− |
| Glenshire ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 499 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with California is food insecurity: 8.6% of its 12,888 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.9% statewide.
20% of adults binge drink in Truckee. Truckee beats the California average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 15% of adults get no exercise outside work in Truckee.
| Truckee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 24% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.8% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Truckee | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.6% | 17.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.3% | 10.6% |
| More binge drinkers | 19.8% | 15.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 2005, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Truckee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 11.4 years of the Truckee area’s $90K median household income, the typical home (about $1.02M) costs more against local pay than in 84% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. The typical value, about $1.02M, is 11% below its June 2022 peak.
Truckee’s median rent is $1,961 a month. The typical Truckee home is worth about $1,021,000, up 2.5% in a year, 34% above the California typical home.
| Truckee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,961 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Donner Mem Sp weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 81 days, shorter than in 100% of U.S. towns. The Donner Mem Sp weather station records that 183 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 100% of U.S. towns.
Truckee has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82° and January nights drop to 19°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 7,992 working residents takes 21.1 minutes, against 28.7 across California. Jobs based here grew from 5,738 in 2013 to 8,342.
30% of Truckee workers work from home. Jobs based in Truckee grew to 8,342 in 2023, 2,604 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Reno (5%), Sunnyside-Tahoe City (3%) and Sacramento (2%).
| Truckee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 30% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $130,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 194 to 188 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within California, it does better than 69% of towns.
| Truckee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Truckee; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Truckee residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
5 places in Truckee on the National Register of Historic Places.
20 notable people were born in Truckee.
Town in California, United States
Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,729, an increase from the 16,180 recorded in the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Truckee grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #210 of 841 in California. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 69% of towns.
20 notable people were born here, including Stacey Cook and Travis Ganong.
