Lassen County, CA

County Profile

30,356 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lassen County, CA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

34out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 1% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity1,385th of 1,463 counties measured24
Schools1,174th of 1,377 counties measured22
Growth1,423rd of 1,453 counties measured13
Housing affordabilityTop 44% of 1,462 counties measured75
Climate1,092nd of 1,463 counties measured61
Physical resilience1,363rd of 1,463 counties measured18
Access1,332nd of 1,463 counties measured48
Economic stability1,313th of 1,463 counties measured25
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 6.7% and the Opportunity signal places Lassen County in the bottom 5%.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 20.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 9 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 16 the year before. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
30,356
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$67,403
Top 43% nationally
Density
7/sq mi
4,541.4 sq mi of land
Median age
38.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Lassen County
California
Micro area
Nearest major airport
RTS
82 mi · Reno/Stead
Median home value
$265,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.7% — higher than in all but 4% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 1.5% over the past year, to 7,313 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$51,76827th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$58,82154th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,4072024 ACS 5-Year$67,403Top 43%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2872024 ACS 5-Year$26,634Bottom 12%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$43,760Bottom 5%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.8%Bottom 43%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.0 minTop 20%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year13.1%Bottom 6%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year74.2%29th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20267,313Bottom 6%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.8%Bottom 28%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.5%Bottom 31%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20267,8396th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year47.1%Bottom 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%63rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 43%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20266.7%Bottom 4%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%34th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.74.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.7% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202467k59k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $67,403 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 20.4 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
22
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
20.4
across 20 of them
Math proficiency
31.4%
Bottom 33% in California
Reading proficiency
44.5%
Bottom 17% in California
The 12 largest of 22 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lassen HighLassen Union High81620.432%57%
McKinley ElementarySusanville Elementary37822.2——
Meadow ViewSusanville Elementary31824.538%32%
Janesville ElementaryJanesville Union Elementary31318.426%41%
Diamond View MiddleSusanville Elementary28828.827%32%
Long Valley · charterLong Valley District25025.027%42%
Shaffer ElementaryShaffer Union Elementary24624.632%37%
Johnstonville ElementaryJohnstonville Elementary21121.137%52%
Richmond ElementaryRichmond Elementary19219.252%67%
Mt. Lassen Charter · charterFort Sage Unified15422.022%47%
Thompson Peak Charter · charterThompson Peak Charter District15116.817%32%
Fletcher Walker ElementaryWestwood Unified12821.345%45%

56.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of California is up 19% over five years, and up 0.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,923 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.72% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,279, some 28% above the $1,000 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,279 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $51,200 a year, about 76% of the median household income here of $67,403.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,000 a month.

A median home at $265,300 costs 3.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $79,688, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
27.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,279
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,000
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$265,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lassen County’s median household income of $67,403, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+0.3%6th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+18.9%2nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+65.8%8th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 21%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year68.2%23rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±842024 ACS 5-Year12,23149th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,016Bottom 42%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,779Bottom 31%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,279Bottom 38%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1002024 ACS 5-Year$1,000Bottom 31%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,0202024 ACS 5-Year$265,30075th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1032024 ACS 5-Year$1,92362nd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,3612024 ACS 5-Year$79,688Top 43%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.72%43rd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.4%Top 46%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2312024 ACS 5-Year1,45880th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%85th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.5%71st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2982024 ACS 5-Year2,98466th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

13/ 100
Ranks 1,423 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 12% since 2020, to 28,340 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 17 units authorized in 2025, against 6 the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 9 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Lassen County lost about 1.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $51,768, below the $58,821 of households that moved out.

At 0.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
9
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.3
Bottom 5% nationally
Year over year
−44%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202432k28k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
40%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,768
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$58,821
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Washoe County, NV 106 people · 11% of arrivals
  2. Shasta County, CA 67 people · 6.8% of arrivals
  3. Plumas County, CA 45 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  4. Sacramento County, CA 45 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  5. Los Angeles County, CA 38 people · 3.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Washoe County, NV 131 people · 11% of departures
  2. Shasta County, CA 78 people · 6.4% of departures
  3. Sacramento County, CA 44 people · 3.6% of departures
  4. Butte County, CA 33 people · 2.7% of departures
  5. Plumas County, CA 33 people · 2.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025236.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+55%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 13.0 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SUSANVILLE 2SW, 20.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals13.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

18 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 50% of it.

WildfireHigh
EarthquakeHigh
Volcanic activityModerate
DroughtElevated
Inland floodingHigh
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, avalanche, hail, strong wind, tornado, cold wave, ice storm, tsunami, hurricane, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Lassen County has a modeled homicide rate of about 6.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 14.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 62.4 per 100,000 residents in Lassen County.

Homicide
6.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
62.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Lassen County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Reno/Stead at 82 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year88.7%Top 36%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle82 miBottom 8%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.4%Top 34%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Reno/SteadRTS82 mi9,000 ft
Reno/Tahoe IntlRNO95 mi11,001 ft
Lake TahoeTVL130 mi8,541 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
34
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Lassen County, CA