Big Bear Lake is a somewhat small city located in the state of California. With a population of 5,031 people and four associated neighborhoods, Big Bear Lake is the 520th largest community in California. Housing costs in Big Bear Lake 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.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Big Bear Lake is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Big Bear Lake is a city of sales and office workers, service providers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Big Bear Lake who work in management occupations (16.53%), sales jobs (13.62%), and maintenance occupations (12.00%). Of important note, Big Bear Lake is also a city of artists. Big Bear Lake has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Big Bear Lake’s character. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 23.13% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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 Big Bear Lake 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, Big Bear Lake’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live. Big Bear Lake is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.The education level of Big Bear Lake citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 33.98% of adults in Big Bear Lake have at least a bachelor's degree. The per capita income in Big Bear Lake in 2022 was $46,147, which is upper middle income relative to California, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $184,588 for a family of four. However, Big Bear Lake contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Big Bear Lake is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Big Bear Lake home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Big Bear Lake residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Big Bear Lake also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 29.63% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Big Bear Lake include Irish, German, English, Scottish, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Big Bear Lake is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Arabic.
