Best PlacesSouth Lake Tahoe, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Lake Tahoe, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Lake Tahoe ranks 1,493rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Lake Tahoe
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.
The best areas in South Lake Tahoe
The parts of South Lake Tahoe, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first.
Al Tahoe
Bijou
Tahoe Sierra
Gardner Mountain, Tahoe Isles Park & Tamarack
Scores across South Lake Tahoe run from about the 10th to the 85th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
South Lake Tahoe's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Lake Tahoe ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of cities
- BikingBetter than 95% of cities
- Short commute18.1 minutes each way, better than 93% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of cities
Where South Lake Tahoe ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 1% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,556 a month, better than only 12% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in South Lake Tahoe
A household needs to earn about $204,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Lake Tahoe home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $102,661, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 South Lake Tahoe's effective rate of 0.66%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Lake Tahoe.
Who works in South Lake Tahoe, and how
Work in South Lake Tahoe centers on hospitality & food 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 66%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of cities and more parkland per resident than 87% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of South Lake Tahoe and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Lake Tahoe, month by month
South Lake Tahoe sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 30° | 18° |
| April | 57° | 41° | 27° |
| July | 83° | 64° | 43° |
| October | 65° | 45° | 28° |
Flying in and out of South Lake Tahoe
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Lake Tahoe
Schools across South Lake Tahoe average a C+, better than 38% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Tahoe Lake ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Silver Fork ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Diamond Valley ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Tahoe MiddleB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- North Tahoe HighA− · 62% proficient
- El Dorado HighB− · 45% proficient
- Golden Sierra Junior Senior HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Lake Tahoe school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Lake Tahoe 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 South Lake Tahoe against the other 2,097 cities.
Who South Lake Tahoe suits
Common questions about living in South Lake Tahoe
Is South Lake Tahoe a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Lake Tahoe ranks 1,493rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on heat safety, biking, and short commutes, and lowest on empty homes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Lake Tahoe expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $795,534. The overall cost of living runs about 29% above the national average. Set against a $102,661 median income, cost of living beats 33% of cities.
Is South Lake Tahoe safe?
South Lake Tahoe is safer than 12% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $524 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Lake Tahoe?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 18. That works out to about 105 pleasant days a year, more than 63% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in South Lake Tahoe?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Al Tahoe, Bijou, and Tahoe Sierra. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare South Lake Tahoe with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Lake Tahoe. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Lake Tahoe 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.
South Lake Tahoe detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Lake Tahoe: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Lake Tahoe: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Lake Tahoe: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Lake Tahoe: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Lake Tahoe 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.
- 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.