Cost of living in South Lake Tahoe, California

South Lake Tahoe, California has about 21,269 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $682,400.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in El Dorado County is $2,201 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in South Lake Tahoe. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

In the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA metro area, prices sit at 106.7 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.

California taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 9.0% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not South Lake Tahoe's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical California home paid 33.61¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not South Lake Tahoe's bill.

For the week of October 12, 2026, EIA's all-grades gasoline price in California was $6.216 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,983.68 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in California shares this price.

Among 982 places we list in California with a rent figure, 647 have higher typical rent than South Lake Tahoe.