Nevada City, California

Population

Growing. Up 1.1% since 2020.

3,174

people, the 446th-largest of California's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among California's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

95.1%

of 3,570 jobs located in Nevada City are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 21% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,411

a month. California's median is $2,036.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $2,201 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Nevada County.

• $1,078 Tract 9
• $3,279 Tract 12.10

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$1,181–$1,771

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,411 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 90% of all homes were built before 2000

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.2–2.2% to the 1,629 homes here.

4–36

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 8% less than California's.

$677,400

median home value in Nevada City.

• $677,400 Nevada City
• $734,700 California
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year