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Towns / California

Susanville, California

Susanville is a small town of about 12,800 people in Lassen County, California. It's the county seat. It has lost about 22% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Sacramento, is about 136 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
12,816
down 22% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$235,500
Lassen County prices up 7% since 2022
Household income
$61,641
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural California
100
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Banner Lassen Medical Center
To Sacramento
136 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices match the U.S. average in the parts of California outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood83 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 7.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town8 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school and 2 other.
  • A hospital close byBanner Lassen Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySacramento is about 136 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Susanville meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Worth a closer look

Susanville has lost about 22% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$235,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 7%Lassen County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$902 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$61,641U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,785 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100U.S. average = 100 (the parts of California outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 7% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of California outside metro areas, not Susanville alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
12,8162020: 16,443
Median age
36.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
11%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
14%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Government (28%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (17%); schools, health care and social services (16%)
Unemployment rate
9%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
18%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Banner Lassen Medical Center, Susanville, CA, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center, Reno, NV, about 76 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

8 public schools in Susanville, run by Susanville Elementary and Lassen County Office of Education.

Colleges in or next to town: Lassen Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
63%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
90%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
22°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
31 a year
Nights at or below freezing
149 a year
Rain and melted snow
13 inches a year
Elevation
4,362 feet

Weather station: Susanville 2SW (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Reno, Sacramento.

Lassen County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lassen Volcanic National Park33 miles

Read about Susanville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Susanville?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Johnstonville, CA (unincorporated)1,039 people, 4 miles
  • Janesville, CA (unincorporated)2,399 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.