Loyalton, CA
Sierra County · California · United States
Home to 1,492 people across 170.712 square miles.
At a glance
96118 by the numbers
Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.
Location
Where 96118 is
| Coordinates | 39.639597, -120.247144 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | America/Los_Angeles |
| County | Sierra County |
| State | California (CA) |
| Land area | 170.712 mi² |
| Coordinate source | Census ZCTA internal point |
Local time
America/Los_Angeles
Current weather
Live from the National Weather Service
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Distance to major cities
Straight-line, computed from coordinates
| San Francisco, CA | 174.1 mi |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 401.6 mi |
| San Diego, CA | 508.3 mi |
| Seattle, WA | 560.2 mi |
People
Who lives in 96118
1,492 residents in 645 households, averaging 2.31 people per household. The largest age group is 65+ at 37.0% of residents.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 645 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 2.31 |
| Family households | 63.1% |
| Living alone | 36.9% |
| Median age | 58.3 years |
| Households with internet | 77.7% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 96118
The median household here earns $44,417 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 96118 ahead of 10% of American ZIP codes. 20.4% of residents live below the poverty line.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | $44,417 ±$34,103 |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $38,165 |
| Poverty rate | 20.4% |
| Unemployment rate | 24.3% |
| Labor force participation | 44.3% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 22.0% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 92.5% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 96118
A typical home is valued at $262,800. This is an owner-majority area — 81.9% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1972.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $262,800 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | —/mo |
| Median year built | 1972 |
| Housing units | 766 |
| Vacancy rate | 15.8% |
Own vs. rent
Of 645 occupied units
| Owner households | 528 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 117 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 96118 commutes
79.0% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 26.9 minutes.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 26.9 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 96118
ZIP code 96118 is assigned to Loyalton, CA, and falls within Sierra County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 1,492 people live inside it.
At 9 residents per square mile spread over 170.712 square miles, 96118 reads as a rural area. It is a sparsely populated postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.
Household earnings are well below the national median. At $44,417, 96118 ranks among the lower-income postal codes, ahead of 10% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.
Living here
What life in Loyalton looks like
Housing in 96118 costs close to the national median. A typical home is valued at $262,800 against a US median of $207,500. Ownership dominates: 81.9% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, which usually signals an established residential area with relatively low turnover.
The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 84.3% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1972, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.
The population skews considerably older than the national median, with a median age of 58.3 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.31 people, and 63.1% are family households.
Getting to work takes 26.9 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 79.0% of workers, while 10.2% work from home. Commute patterns are one of the better proxies for how a place actually functions day to day.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Loyalton, CA
96118 covers a rural area, and accommodation within the postal code itself is likely to be sparse — perhaps a country inn, a lodge or a vacation rental rather than a conventional hotel. Widening the search radius is usually the practical approach, and it also opens up more availability at short notice.
For reference, San Francisco, CA is about 174.1 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.
Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.
Opens Booking.com in a new tab. We are not affiliated with Booking.com and receive nothing from this link.
Practical uses
What ZIP code 96118 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 96118 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.
For anyone weighing a move, 96118 offers a compact profile of Loyalton: 1,492 residents, a median household income of $44,417, 22.0% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 24.3%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.
One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 96118 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Loyalton may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.
Nearby
ZIP codes near 96118
The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every California ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.
More in Sierra County
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Questions
Common questions about 96118
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Methodology
Where this data comes from
- Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
- Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 96118. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
- Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
- Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
- Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).