Lake Arrowhead is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, CA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Lake Arrowhead

Lake Arrowhead is an unincorporated community in California with household incomes running above the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Lake Arrowhead deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, county unemployment above the national average, and long average commutes.

The good

  • Higher-than-average incomes

The not so good

  • Rent well above the national average
  • High home prices
  • Above-average unemployment in the county
  • Long commutes
  • Air quality concerns
  • High student-teacher ratio

How Lake Arrowhead compares

Median household income

Lake Arrowhead$95,236
California avg$99,122
US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Lake Arrowhead$1,875
California avg$2,036
US$1,413

Median home value

Lake Arrowhead$596,500
California avg$734,700
US$332,700

What it takes to move to Lake Arrowhead

Based on Lake Arrowhead's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,750

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

  • Income to keep rent under 30%: $75,000 a year
  • 57% of Lake Arrowhead renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$119,300

a 20% down payment on the median home

  • With 10% down: $59,650
  • Homes cost 6.3× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 33% above US

$1,875/mo median rent

Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,875 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices are steep, with a median around $596,500. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $596,500 · 57% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

5.4% county unemployment

Unemployment in San Bernardino County is 5.4%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

San Bernardino County (county-wide)

Safety

444 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Lake Arrowhead doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs above the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1113/100k · Policed by San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 42% above US

37 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 37 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 21% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone
74%
Work from home
21%
Carpool
2.7%
Walk
1.4%
Other
0.5%

Climate

Summers are comfortable, with highs around 80°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 29°F and snow a regular occurrence.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)
20°40°60°80°10"Jan: 8.36" precipitationFeb: 9.87" precipitationMar: 5.17" precipitationApr: 2.76" precipitationMay: 1.15" precipitationJun: 0.26" precipitationJul: 0.12" precipitationAug: 0.13" precipitationSep: 0.31" precipitationOct: 2.06" precipitationNov: 2.37" precipitationDec: 5.17" precipitation29°JJan: high 44°F, low 29°FFFeb: high 45°F, low 30°FMMar: high 52°F, low 32°FAApr: high 60°F, low 36°FMMay: high 67°F, low 41°FJJun: high 76°F, low 49°FJJul: high 81°F, low 57°F82°AAug: high 82°F, low 57°FSSep: high 74°F, low 52°FOOct: high 63°F, low 43°FNNov: high 52°F, low 34°FDDec: high 43°F, low 29°F

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

1 hospital

There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforceNear US average

38% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 38% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.

Schools

5 public schools inside the boundary

There are 5 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 22:1, above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (26 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Lake Arrowhead's strongest point is household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($1,875/mo) equals 24% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (21% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget, anyone moving without a job lined up, and people who dread long commutes.

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