Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 42/100
D−
Median home value$682,400
Sacramento $589,500
Median rent$1,606/mo
Sacramento $1,819/mo
Cost-burdened households41%
Sacramento 38%
South Lake Tahoe
El Dorado County21,269 residentsLake Tahoe Unified
60
C
Suburbgrade score
8th of 34 Sacramento suburbs. Strong on commute & transport and cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
60
Sacramento median 54
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for South Lake Tahoe yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 60 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What South Lake Tahoe is like to live in, by category
Bars show South Lake Tahoe against Sacramento. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 48/100
D+
Within-state proficiency55th pct
Sacramento median 54th pct
Student–teacher ratio20.5
Sacramento median 22.6
Graduation rate87%
Sacramento median 90%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 75/100
B
Housing cost index96
Sacramento 100
Eff. tax rate0.65%
Sacramento 0.77%
Local sales tax8.75%
Sacramento median 7.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 80/100
B+
Mean commute16.5 min
Sacramento 27.1 min
Under 30 minutes89%
Sacramento 63%
Transit stops / sq mi0.5
Sacramento median 2.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 66/100
C+
Restaurants & cafés80
Sacramento median 53 · within 2 miles
Groceries8
Sacramento median 7 · within 2 miles
Parks17
Sacramento median 33 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 58/100
C
Median household income$82,002
Sacramento $97,188
Unemployment3.6%
Sacramento 6.2%
Professional occupations37%
Sacramento 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for South Lake Tahoe yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than South Lake Tahoe on housing & affordability
South Lake Tahoe's weakest grade is D−.
Nothing within 25 miles beats South Lake Tahoe on housing & affordability.
Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in South Lake Tahoe
Is South Lake Tahoe, CA a good place to live?
South Lake Tahoe scores 60 out of 100, 8th of 34 Sacramento suburbs. It is strongest on commute & transport and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is South Lake Tahoe expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $682,400, 16% above the Sacramento median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.65%. $1,606/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in South Lake Tahoe?
Schools grade D+. The districts serving South Lake Tahoe sit at the 55th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 87% graduation rate and a 20.5 student–teacher ratio. South Lake Tahoe is served by Lake Tahoe Unified. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from South Lake Tahoe?
The mean commute is 16.5 min, with 89% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 15% working from home. Transit density is 0.5 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in South Lake Tahoe?
Within two miles there are 8 groceries, 80 restaurants and cafés and 17 parks, which grades C+ on amenities.
Are the homes in South Lake Tahoe old or new?
The median home in South Lake Tahoe was built in 1973 — older than the Sacramento median of 1984. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 68% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.
Six Sacramento lists
Best Sacramento suburbs for familiesMost affordable Sacramento suburbsBest Sacramento suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown SacramentoMost walkable Sacramento suburbsBest Sacramento suburbs for young professionalsCompare South Lake Tahoe
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