Best PlacesLassen County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lassen County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lassen County ranks 2,313th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lassen County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Lassen County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lassen County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 146 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of counties
- QuietBetter than 86% of counties
- TransitBetter than 83% of counties
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 81% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 74% of counties
Where Lassen County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 7% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lassen County
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lassen County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,078, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Lassen County's effective rate of 0.83%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lassen County
Lassen County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lassen County.
Who works in Lassen County, and how
Work in Lassen County centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Lassen County
Lassen County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Lassen County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lassen County growing, and who is moving in?
Lassen County has lost about 10% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Bakersfield, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lassen County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lassen County, month by month
Lassen County sees roughly 146 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 65° | 50° | 36° |
| July | 93° | 75° | 54° |
| October | 68° | 48° | 34° |
Flying in and out of Lassen County
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 75 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lassen County
Schools across Lassen County average a D+, better than 15% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Richmond ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Johnstonville ElementaryC · 32% proficient
- Fall River ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Diamond View MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
- Modoc MiddleD · 20% proficient
- Fort Sage MiddleD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Surprise Valley HighB− · 42% proficient
- Fall River Junior-senior HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Lassen HighC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lassen County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lassen County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Lassen County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Lassen County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Lassen County
Is Lassen County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lassen County ranks 2,313th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and transit, and lowest on education levels and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lassen County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $251,515. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $74,078 median income, cost of living beats 18% of counties.
Is Lassen County safe?
Lassen County is safer than 31% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $446 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lassen County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 27. That works out to about 146 pleasant days a year, more than 91% of counties.
Is Lassen County good for families?
Schools beat 15% of counties, crime safety beats 31%, and childcare runs $886 a month.
Compare Lassen County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lassen County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lassen County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Lassen County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lassen County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lassen County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lassen County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lassen County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lassen County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.