Truckee, California

Area Profile

17,066 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Truckee, in Nevada County.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 28% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity2,529th of 4,199 cities measured51
SchoolsTop 31% of 4,162 cities measured64
GrowthTop 30% of 4,224 cities measured59
Housing affordability3,757th of 4,218 cities measured41
Climate2,874th of 4,225 cities measured64
Physical resilience3,326th of 4,226 cities measured26
Access2,585th of 4,226 cities measured89
Economic stabilityTop 38% of 4,226 cities measured64
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.7% and median household income $130,462, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Nevada County, CA, which contains Truckee, rather than for Truckee alone.

In the public schools here, 54% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 20.5 students for every teacher.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 33% of renter income and the median home is 5.7 times what its owners earn.

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
17,066
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$130,462
Top 7% nationally
Density
528/sq mi
32.3 sq mi of land
Median age
42.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Nearest major airport
RNO
25 mi · Reno/Tahoe Intl
Median home value
$947,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Nevada County, CA, which contains Truckee, is 4.7% — higher than in all but 36% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Nevada County, CA, which contains Truckee, fell 2.7% over the past year, to 44,740 employed residents.

61% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 94% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $130,462 is higher than in 93% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsNevada County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$121,10693rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftNevada County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$91,13976th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$17,6962024 ACS 5-Year$130,462Top 7%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$10,3302024 ACS 5-Year$77,791Top 5%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.2%Top 43%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.1 minTop 26%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year60.8%Top 6%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year55.5%9th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentNevada County, CA’s figureJuly 202644,740Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Nevada County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−1.1%Bottom 39%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Nevada County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−2.7%Bottom 11%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceNevada County, CA’s figureJuly 202646,96045th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year82.2%Top 35%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Nevada County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.3%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateNevada County, CA’s figureJuly 20264.7%Bottom 36%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year30.4%95th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024130k104k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $130,462 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 Nevada County, CA, which contains this city.

54% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 20.5 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
20.5
across 7 of them
Math proficiency
53.8%
Top 22% in California
Reading proficiency
64.2%
Top 24% in California
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Tahoe Truckee HighTahoe-Truckee Unified90720.247%67%
Alder Creek MiddleTahoe-Truckee Unified53519.152%62%
Truckee ElementaryTahoe-Truckee Unified51521.541%49%
Glenshire ElementaryTahoe-Truckee Unified49924.972%73%
Sierra Expeditionary Learning · charterSierra Expeditionary Learning District21621.672%72%
Donner Trail ElementaryTahoe-Truckee Unified5518.385%95%
Sierra High (Continuation)Tahoe-Truckee Unified246.010%10%
Cold Stream AlternativeTahoe-Truckee Unified112.8——

29.2% 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 $6,897 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.73% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,420, some 23% above the $1,961 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,420 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $96,800 a year, about 74% of the median household income here of $130,462.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,961 a month.

A median home at $947,900 costs 5.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $165,368, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
32.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,420
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,961
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$947,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Truckee’s median household income of $130,462, 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 ±0.82024 ACS 5-Year5.7Bottom 5%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year73.4%45th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3752024 ACS 5-Year13,98496th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,860Bottom 24%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,340Bottom 14%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,420Bottom 18%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$2302024 ACS 5-Year$1,961Bottom 8%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$48,4672024 ACS 5-Year$947,90098th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4902024 ACS 5-Year$6,89796th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$22,4032024 ACS 5-Year$165,368Top 4%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.73%31st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year32.7%Bottom 28%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4192024 ACS 5-Year6,70499th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year47.9%97th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.0%27th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3942024 ACS 5-Year7,12499th 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

59/ 100
Top 30% 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 grown 3% since 2020, reaching 17,240 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 46 units authorized in 2025, up 18% on the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 59 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, which contains Truckee, 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 3.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
59
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.5
Top 40% nationally
Year over year
+79%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202417k17k
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 rising for the last 2 years, 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. This is the figure for Nevada County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202513139
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−65%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 7.4 inches, including 20.9 inches of snow.

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.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station RENO TAHOE INTL AP, 24.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year552024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals7.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals20.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year22024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals41°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

26 / 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
Inland floodingElevated

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

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
184
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
910
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.

Truckee's police department reported 184 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 910.

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Truckee’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 Truckee (Nevada County) rather than Truckee 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.
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 Reno/Tahoe Intl at 25 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year95.5%Top 22%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle25 miBottom 35%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year2.4%Top 21%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Reno/Tahoe IntlRNO25 mi11,001 ft
Reno/SteadRTS28 mi9,000 ft
Lake TahoeTVL33 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.

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Area Score
52
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Other cities in Truckee-Grass Valley, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Grass ValleyNevada County14,11342Grass Valley vs Truckee

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Truckee side by side with a similar place.

Truckee vs RosedaleTruckee vs Tanque Verde

Moving to Truckee 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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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 codes in Truckee

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Truckee with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Truckee closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9616119,634$131,702$991,400—