Most of South Lake Tahoe is in El Dorado County, where a full-time job needs to pay at least $57.98 an hour before taxes to take home four times the typical studio rent.
Across the 4 ZIP codes in South Lake Tahoe with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $1,350 to $1,660 a month. At the middle rent, $1,595, a full-time job would need to pay $55.26 an hour before taxes.
What the standard would be at each ZIP code's own studio rent. The calculator and the official standard use the county figure.
| ZIP | County | Studio rent | Pay needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96150 | El Dorado County | $1,530/mo | $52.54/hr |
| 96151 | El Dorado County | $1,660/mo | $57.98/hr |
| 96155 | El Dorado County | $1,350/mo | $45.00/hr |
| 96158 | El Dorado County | $1,660/mo | $57.98/hr |
Under the Four Times Rent standard, a full-time job in South Lake Tahoe needs to pay at least $57.98 an hour before taxes, about $120,588 a year. That is the figure for El Dorado County, where the typical studio rent is $1,660 a month.
Yes. Across the 4 ZIP codes in South Lake Tahoe with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $1,350 to $1,660 a month. At the middle rent of $1,595, the pay needed would be $55.26 an hour.
The minimum wage in El Dorado County is $16.90 an hour. The Four Times Rent standard there is 3.4 times that.
The Four Times Rent standard: a month of full-time work (160 hours) should take home at least four times the typical rent on a studio apartment in the county where the work is done. Rents: HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents. Taxes: 2026 federal and state income taxes plus Social Security and Medicare, for a single filer. Why four times rent? · Method and data downloads