Susanville, California

Area Profile

14,177 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Susanville, in Lassen County.

34out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 1% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity4,076th of 4,199 cities measured24
Schools3,478th of 4,162 cities measured23
Growth4,184th of 4,224 cities measured11
Housing affordabilityTop 9% of 4,218 cities measured82
Climate3,493rd of 4,225 cities measured61
Physical resilience3,811th of 4,226 cities measured15
Access3,978th of 4,226 cities measured59
Economic stability4,129th of 4,226 cities measured19
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 6.7% and the Opportunity signal places Susanville in the bottom 3%. The unemployment rate is published for Lassen County, CA, which contains Susanville, rather than for Susanville alone.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 20.4 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Lassen County, CA, which contains Susanville, rather than for Susanville alone.

No residential units were authorized over the past twelve months, against a nonzero total 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
14,177
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$61,641
Bottom 42% nationally
Density
1,790/sq mi
7.9 sq mi of land
Median age
36.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Micro area
Nearest major airport
RTS
66 mi · Reno/Stead
Median home value
$235,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Lassen County, CA, which contains Susanville, is 6.7% — higher than in all but 5% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Lassen County, CA, which contains Susanville, fell 1.5% over the past year, to 7,313 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLassen County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,76810th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLassen County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$58,82122nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,6132024 ACS 5-Year$61,641Bottom 42%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,8402024 ACS 5-Year$21,763Bottom 12%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year17.5%Bottom 28%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year17.8 minTop 11%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%Bottom 24%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year75.4%44th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentLassen County, CA’s figureJuly 20267,313Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Lassen County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−1.8%Bottom 27%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Lassen County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−1.5%Bottom 33%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceLassen County, CA’s figureJuly 20267,8391st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year38.2%Bottom 3%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Lassen County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateLassen County, CA’s figureJuly 20266.7%Bottom 5%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.9%31st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202462k53k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $61,641 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Lassen County, CA, which contains this city.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Lassen County, CA, which contains Susanville, rather than for Susanville alone.

There are 20.4 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Lassen County, CA, which contains Susanville, rather than for Susanville alone.

Public schools
—
Students per teacher
20.4
Math proficiency
31.4%
Bottom 28% in California
Reading proficiency
44.5%
Bottom 23% in California

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Lassen County, CA: too few schools in Susanville reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.

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 $1,785 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.76% 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 42% above the $902 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 83% of the median household income here of $61,641.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $902 a month.

A median home at $235,500 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $83,263, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
25.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,279
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$902
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$235,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Susanville’s median household income of $61,641, 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%10th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+18.9%4th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of California’s figure2026 Q2+65.8%9th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 39%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year53.9%13th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2722024 ACS 5-Year4,57388th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,016Top 24%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,779Top 33%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,279Top 27%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$772024 ACS 5-Year$902Top 42%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$17,5672024 ACS 5-Year$235,50062nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1342024 ACS 5-Year$1,78551st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,6712024 ACS 5-Year$83,263Top 44%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.76%34th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.9%Top 37%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±982024 ACS 5-Year17393rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.8%77th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.5%73rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1962024 ACS 5-Year74593rd percentileof 32,3302024 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

11/ 100
Ranks 4,184 of 4,224 published city 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 25% since 2020, to 12,359 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward in 2025, after moving the other way the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 0 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Lassen County, CA, which contains Susanville, rather than for Susanville alone.

Federal tax returns show Lassen County, which contains Susanville, 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 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
0
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.0
Bottom 1% nationally
Year over year
−100%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202416k12k
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. This is the figure for Lassen County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025110.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+350%).

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, 2.2 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

15 / 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). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
712
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
929
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Susanville's police department reported 712 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 929.

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Susanville’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around Susanville (Lassen County) rather than Susanville itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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 66 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year89.8%Top 50%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle66 miBottom 6%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%Top 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Reno/SteadRTS66 mi9,000 ft
Reno/Tahoe IntlRNO79 mi11,001 ft
Lake TahoeTVL112 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.

Compare

Put Susanville side by side with a similar place.

Susanville vs WoodwardSusanville vs Cañon City

Moving to Susanville from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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.