Nevada County, CA

County Profile

102,481 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Nevada 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.

48out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 13% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity921st of 1,463 counties measured48
SchoolsTop 34% of 1,377 counties measured63
Growth1,120th of 1,453 counties measured35
Housing affordability1,441st of 1,462 counties measured37
ClimateTop 32% of 1,463 counties measured73
Physical resilience1,328th of 1,463 counties measured22
Access949th of 1,463 counties measured73
Economic stabilityTop 42% of 1,463 counties measured66
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.7% and median household income $89,882, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 44% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 20.6 students for every teacher.

205 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
102,481
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$89,882
Top 9% nationally
Density
107/sq mi
957.8 sq mi of land
Median age
50.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Nevada County
California
Nearest major airport
TVL
50 mi · Lake Tahoe
Median home value
$621,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.7% — higher than in all but 29% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 2.7% over the past year, to 44,740 employed residents.

42% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 93% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $89,882 is higher than in 91% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$121,10697th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$91,13993rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,9982024 ACS 5-Year$89,882Top 9%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0882024 ACS 5-Year$53,364Top 5%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$76,225Top 12%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year11.0%Top 35%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.8 minTop 44%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year41.5%Top 7%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year62.8%5th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202644,740Top 42%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.1%Bottom 36%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.7%Bottom 12%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202646,96058th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year75.0%Bottom 46%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%68th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 42%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.7%Bottom 29%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.0%99th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.23.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.7% 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

202120222023202490k75k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $89,882 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.

44% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 20.6 students for every full-time teacher across 33 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
38
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
20.6
across 33 of them
Math proficiency
43.9%
Top 29% in California
Reading proficiency
58.6%
Top 14% in California
The 12 largest of 38 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Nevada Union HighNevada Joint Union High1,56120.339%71%
Tahoe Truckee HighTahoe-Truckee Unified90720.247%67%
Bear River HighNevada Joint Union High66424.652%82%
John Muir Charter · charterJohn Muir Charter District62917.03%8%
Grass Valley Charter · charterGrass Valley Elementary54623.739%56%
Union Hill Elementary · charterUnion Hill Elementary54220.839%54%
Alder Creek MiddleTahoe-Truckee Unified53519.152%62%
Truckee ElementaryTahoe-Truckee Unified51521.541%49%
Glenshire ElementaryTahoe-Truckee Unified49924.972%73%
Cottage Hill ElementaryPleasant Ridge Union Elementary48523.147%52%
Nevada City School of the Arts · charterNevada City School of the Arts District47719.144%55%
Lyman Gilmore MiddleGrass Valley Elementary46419.331%40%

42.8% 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 $4,694 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.75% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,813, some 8% above the $1,677 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,813 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $72,500 a year, about 81% of the median household income here of $89,882.

The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,677 a month.

A median home at $621,800 costs 5.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $104,812, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
34.1%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,813
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,677
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$621,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Nevada County’s median household income of $89,882, 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-Year5.9Bottom 1%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year75.5%55th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±832024 ACS 5-Year54,30984th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,382Bottom 19%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,521Bottom 7%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,813Bottom 11%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$962024 ACS 5-Year$1,677Bottom 5%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,6672024 ACS 5-Year$621,80098th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1622024 ACS 5-Year$4,69496th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,3442024 ACS 5-Year$104,812Top 10%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.75%46th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year34.1%Bottom 6%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±5992024 ACS 5-Year9,42297th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year17.3%90th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.7%6th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±7012024 ACS 5-Year11,44492nd 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

35/ 100
Ranks 1,120 of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 3 years of 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 102,195 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 205 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Nevada County in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $121,106, above the $91,139 of households that moved out.

At 2.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
205
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.0
Bottom 37% nationally
Year over year
0%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024103k102k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
0.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
26%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$121,106
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$91,139
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Placer County, CA 856 people · 17% of arrivals
  2. Sacramento County, CA 429 people · 8.4% of arrivals
  3. Contra Costa County, CA 236 people · 4.6% of arrivals
  4. Alameda County, CA 220 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  5. Santa Clara County, CA 196 people · 3.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Placer County, CA 853 people · 17% of departures
  2. Washoe County, NV 470 people · 9.3% of departures
  3. Sacramento County, CA 312 people · 6.2% of departures
  4. Yuba County, CA 129 people · 2.5% of departures
  5. Contra Costa County, CA 101 people · 2.0% 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

2022202320242025367198
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−46%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 78°F and January a low of 34°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 62.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 36, in the Good band, and about 2 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BLUE CANYON AP, 3.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND10.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year552024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals62.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals34°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals78°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year22024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
55
90th percentile index
Days above 100
2
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

22 / 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 46% of it.

WildfireHigh
LandslideModerate
EarthquakeHigh
Inland floodingHigh

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

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.

Nevada County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.4 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 24.5 per 100,000 residents in Nevada County.

Homicide
3.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
24.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
26.5
per 100,000 residents

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 Nevada 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.
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

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Lake Tahoe at 50 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year93.0%Top 9%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle50 miBottom 31%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%Top 10%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lake TahoeTVL50 mi8,541 ft
Reno/SteadRTS54 mi9,000 ft
Mc Clellan AirfieldMCC55 mi10,599 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.

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Area Score
48
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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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.