South Lake Tahoe is a medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 21,079 people and 13 associated neighborhoods, South Lake Tahoe is the 308th largest community in California.

Housing costs in South Lake Tahoe are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in California.

A relatively large number of people in South Lake Tahoe telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 13.20% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Another notable thing is that South Lake Tahoe is a major vacation destination. Much of the city’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, South Lake Tahoe’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 16.44 minutes getting to work every day.

The education level of South Lake Tahoe citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 33.98% of adults in South Lake Tahoe have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in South Lake Tahoe in 2022 was $50,098, which is upper middle income relative to California, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $200,392 for a family of four. However, South Lake Tahoe contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

South Lake Tahoe is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call South Lake Tahoe home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of South Lake Tahoe residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. South Lake Tahoe also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 28.21% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in South Lake Tahoe include German, English, Irish, Italian, and Norwegian.

Foreign born people are also an important part of South Lake Tahoe's cultural character, accounting for 20.33% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in South Lake Tahoe is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Tagalog.