City safety & data profile
South Lake TahoeCA
South Lake Tahoe, CA is a 22K-resident city in El Dorado County with a median household income of $82,002.
El Dorado County, California. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for South Lake Tahoe, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. South Lake Tahoe has a population larger than 48% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $682,400, and 1 hospital serving the surrounding area.
- 22K
- Population (place)
- Bottom 49%
- By size
- $82,002
- Median income (place)
- $682,400
- Median home (place)
- 9.3%
- Poverty rate (place)
The read on South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe posts a median household income higher than 52% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 1 hospital serves the South Lake Tahoe area.
- Top 48%
- by median income, US cities
- 1
- hospital in & near South Lake Tahoe
Composite score · South Lake Tahoe, CA
47/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2024
A transparent index Areazine derives from Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published, not an official Census Bureau or FBI rating. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move to or avoid any place. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis. ACS 5-Year Estimates.
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS 5-Year Estimates.
Median household income vs cities tracked on Areazine; ACS 5-Year Estimates.
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents. State-level rate (per-city UCR reporting is incomplete/voluntary): every city in the state shares this value; lower is stronger on this axis.
Curious how South Lake Tahoe stacks up nationwide? See the full tables: Healthiest Cities in America (health outcomes only) · Community Wellbeing Cities (this page's blended composite).
Where South Lake Tahoe income ranks nationally
Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)
$82,002 Top 48% higher than 52% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles
Each bar is a $20,000-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year
Largest cities in CA
482 CA places (10,000+ residents, ACS income on record), sorted by population. Hover a bar for its income rank in this pool.
- Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
3,820,914 residents
- San Diego 1,404,452
San Diego, CA
1,404,452 residents
- San Jose 997,368
San Jose, CA
997,368 residents
- San Francisco 827,526
San Francisco, CA
827,526 residents
- Fresno 542,107
Fresno, CA
542,107 residents
- Sacramento 524,943
Sacramento, CA
524,943 residents
- Long Beach 474,140
Long Beach, CA
474,140 residents
- Oakland 419,267
Oakland, CA
419,267 residents
- Bakersfield 373,640
Bakersfield, CA
373,640 residents
- Anaheim 350,742
Anaheim, CA
350,742 residents
What this shows By headcount, Los Angeles ranks #1 here -- income honors go to Alamo.
Income ranking: CA
Median household income among the same 482-city pool. Tooltip shows the population rank.
- Alamo
Alamo, CA
$250,001 median
- Hillsborough
Hillsborough, CA
$250,001 median
- Los Altos
Los Altos, CA
$250,001 median
- Orinda
Orinda, CA
$250,001 median
- Piedmont
Piedmont, CA
$250,001 median
- Saratoga
Saratoga, CA
$250,001 median
- Coto De Caza
Coto De Caza, CA
$243,816 median
- Tamalpais-Homestead Valley
Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, CA
$243,227 median
- Palos Verdes Estates
Palos Verdes Estates, CA
$242,014 median
- San Carlos
San Carlos, CA
$237,470 median
What this shows Alamo leads this pool on median income; Los Angeles is the population leader instead.
The quick read
Reading South Lake Tahoe, CA beyond the headline numbers
South Lake Tahoe sits inside El Dorado County, California, at roughly 38.93°N, -119.98°W. Population 21,706, $82,002 median household income. Median home value $682,400, median rent $1,606. Poverty rate 9.3%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.
1 hospital in/around South Lake Tahoe, 3/5 avg rating, 1 with an ER. Climate: 44.2°F annual average, 20.6" precipitation.
The median home in South Lake Tahoe costs around 8.3 times what a median household earns in a year -- the most expensive quarter of reporting cities, and far enough ahead of local pay that ownership is largely closed to median earners.
Among the CDC measures on this page, binge drinking departs furthest from its peer median: 18.9% in South Lake Tahoe, the highest-prevalence quarter of the 3,759 cities reporting that measure.
2.3% of South Lake Tahoe workers commute by public transit, a larger share than at least three quarters of reporting cities.
Unemployment in South Lake Tahoe sits at 3.6%, below the midpoint of reporting cities.
15.4% of South Lake Tahoe workers are remote, above the midpoint of reporting cities.
Median rent in South Lake Tahoe, CA runs $1,606/month, above the midpoint for reporting cities -- worth weighing against the income figures on this page.
At 9.3%, poverty in South Lake Tahoe, CA runs below the midpoint of reporting cities -- enough to matter locally, not enough to dominate the city's profile.
35.9% of South Lake Tahoe adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, above the midpoint of reporting cities.
Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for South Lake Tahoe from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Economic comparison bars use the unweighted average across tracked Census places with a reported value, not a household-weighted national median.
The 10-Year Trend 2013–2024
County-level trend (El Dorado County): South Lake Tahoe's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.
Money & Work
What stands out most about South Lake Tahoe's economic profile: poverty rate at 9.3%, 25% below the average across tracked places. A second figure worth noting: median household income at $82,002, 8% below the tracked-city average.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Median Rent | |
| Poverty Rate | 9.3% -25% vs avg |
| Unemployment | 3.6% |
| Bachelor's Degree+ | 35.9% |
| Work From Home | 15.4% |
| Public Transit | 2.3% |
Population
Health Snapshot 15 measures
Health Indicators
Preventive Care
Other Measures
Nearby Healthcare 1 total
CMS Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating (1-5): a composite score across dozens of reported measures, not a single outcome guarantee for any patient. It isn't adjusted for patient case mix and isn't directly comparable across hospital types, a critical-access facility and a large teaching hospital aren't rated on the same measure set.
Climate
NOAA 1991-2020 NormalsCost of Living
BEA 20246.7% above national average
Metro area: Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA (MSA)
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities via FRED. RPP of 100 = national average.
Flood Claims on Record
FEMA NFIP, county-levelSince 2016, NFIP has paid out $2.1M across 64 flood insurance claims filed in El Dorado County.
California Atmospheric River alone generated 18 of those claims, the county's largest named flood event in this record.
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims, via OpenFEMA. County-level data: individual claims are not attributed to a specific city or address by FEMA.
What alerts and safety updates affect South Lake Tahoe?
No area-tagged alerts are on record for South Lake Tahoe right now. New federal and counterpart-agency notices still land in the site feed as agencies publish them.
City alert dispatch desk
Sheet CA-SOUTH-LAKE-TAHOE · South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe: no area-tagged alerts on record. State hubs carry the live CAP stream.
- FEED-QUIET No tagged alerts
- LEAD-NONE Feed idle
- DESK-IDLE Awaiting feed
Counts reflect published articles tagged to South Lake Tahoe; untagged NOAA county warnings may still appear in the site feed. Browse California state hubs · Methodology
Keep reading
Frequently Asked Questions 9
What is the population of South Lake Tahoe, CA? ▼
What is the median household income in South Lake Tahoe? ▼
What is the median home value in South Lake Tahoe? ▼
What are the top health concerns in South Lake Tahoe? ▼
How many hospitals are in South Lake Tahoe? ▼
What is the median age in South Lake Tahoe? ▼
What is the climate like in South Lake Tahoe? ▼
What is the cost of living in South Lake Tahoe? ▼
How many flood insurance claims has El Dorado County filed? ▼
Comparable cities by poverty or income, nationwide 8
Two ACS-derived peer sets for South Lake Tahoe, both outside California so the neighborhoods are not the geographic nearby list below.
Similar poverty rate
Nearest place-level ACS poverty rates outside CA (9.3% here).
Similar median income
Nearest place-level ACS median household incomes outside CA ($82,002 here).
Compare South Lake Tahoe with another city
Pick a second U.S. city to open a side-by-side profile on population, income, health, and hospitals, the same federal datasets as this page.
Cities Close By 8
Using South Lake Tahoe's profile
Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.
- Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the South Lake Tahoe area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
- A median income figure alone can mislead, cross-check it against the poverty rate for the fuller picture.
- Compare South Lake Tahoe against California peers on any ranking lens. Explore California
Population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) are place-level U.S. Census ACS; health is CDC PLACES; hospital counts reflect facilities in and around the city. County-level trends are labeled when shown.
Data Sources
All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (El Dorado County) where that is the smallest published unit.
Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census (place-level ACS), CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. County-level trends are labeled when shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-09-16.