Living in Big Bear Lake, CA
Big Bear Lake is a big small town of 5,041 people in San Bernardino County, California. It's about 35 miles from Riverside, CA. Summer highs average 79°F and winter highs 46°F, with about 58 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $577k and rent runs about $1k a month.
5,041people
$577kTypical home
$1,454/moRent
79° / 46°Summer / winter
58"Snow
337Sunny days
43Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 5,041
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 806 people per sq mi
- 35 mi to Riverside, CA
- 35 mi to Riverside, CA
- 6 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $577k (≈$3,637/mo)
- Median rent $1,454/mo
- Median household income $76k
- Property tax about 0.7% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 79°F
- Winter highs around 46°F
- Dry summers (dew point 42°F)
- 337 sunny days a year (238 totally clear)
- 28 cloudy days a year
- 15 of 90 winter days are gray
- 43 days a year with rain or snow
- 58" of snow a year
- 14 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 5 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Above-average violent crime (449 per 100k), county-wide
- About average property crime (1,519 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 47
- 19% of households have kids
- 21% are 65 or older
- 33% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 6% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 26 min
- 5% walk or take transit to work
- 22 mi to SBD airport
- 22 mi to SBD (major hub)
- 31 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 88% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1976
- 96% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 6,890 ft
- 70 mi to the ocean
- 70 mi to a big lake
- 6 mi to the nearest trailhead
- Ski area in town
- Campground in town
- 15 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 374 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 9 bars within 25 mi
- 146 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 5 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 22 museums within 25 mi
- 7 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- Farmers market in town
Everyday
- Schools in the top 49% of California districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 3 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 24 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 2 mi to the nearest vet
- Dog park in town
- 3 congregations per 10k people
- 20 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- San Bernardino County: Purple — split almost evenly
- California: D+20 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- High drought risk
- Very low winter storm risk
- High heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk