Susanville, CA

Micro Area Profile

30,356 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Susanville, CA micropolitan area.

32out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 1% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity777th of 835 metro and micro areas measured23
Schools578th of 695 metro and micro areas measured23
Growth822nd of 834 metro and micro areas measured9
Housing affordabilityTop 45% of 835 metro and micro areas measured75
Climate581st of 835 metro and micro areas measured61
Physical resilience788th of 835 metro and micro areas measured14
Access739th of 835 metro and micro areas measured48
Economic stability721st of 835 metro and micro areas measured19
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 6.7% and the Opportunity signal places Susanville in the bottom 7%.

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 48% nationally
Density
7/sq mi
4,541.4 sq mi of land
Median age
38.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
California
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 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

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

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,4072024 ACS 5-Year$67,403Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2872024 ACS 5-Year$26,634Bottom 6%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.8%Bottom 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.0 minTop 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year13.1%Bottom 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year74.2%29th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20267,313Bottom 1%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.8%Bottom 30%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.5%Bottom 31%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20267,8391st percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year47.1%Bottom 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%50th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 40%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20266.7%Bottom 4%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%32nd percentileof 9352024 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.

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 37% 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.

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 Susanville’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 to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year68.2%40th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±842024 ACS 5-Year12,2317th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,016Bottom 32%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,779Bottom 24%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,279Bottom 29%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1002024 ACS 5-Year$1,000Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,0202024 ACS 5-Year$265,30067th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1032024 ACS 5-Year$1,92348th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,3612024 ACS 5-Year$79,688Bottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.72%40th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.4%Top 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2312024 ACS 5-Year1,45859th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%90th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.5%87th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2982024 ACS 5-Year2,98433rd percentileof 9352024 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

9/ 100
Ranks 822 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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.

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

At 0.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

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.

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

14 / 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. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle82 miBottom 11%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.4%Top 48%of 9352024 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.

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Area Score
32
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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)
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
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
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.

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