Owning a Business

Why Truckee

Truckee is a vibrant mountain town committed to creating a community where people want to live, work and play. Reflecting this commitment to our quality of life, Town leaders are focused on fostering a thriving business climate that supports and retains local businesses and attracts new business opportunities.

Mountain Town

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You know the place. It’s home to your favorite, best ever top-to-bottom run, ride or paddle glide. Where the stars and the conditions align and you enter, the zone. Where that certain restaurant chainsaws ice blocks, where that artist forges up-cycled iron, that chef creates farm-to-mountain-top dinners, that entrepreneur brainstorms the next killer App on a chairlift. Read more about our authentic town…

Quality of Life

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Quality of Life Image

Economic Development

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Truckee is a vibrant mountain town committed to creating a community where people want to live, work and play. Reflecting this commitment to our quality of life, Town leaders are focused on fostering a thriving business climate that supports and retains local businesses and attracts new business opportunities.  Learn more about Truckee’s Business Friendly Culture and Business Support Programs.

Business Culture

Truckee retains our small mountain town charm while boasting business-friendly characteristics that rival many big city locations. These include:

Talent Pool: No matter your business, Truckee offers a highly desirable quality of life and recreational opportunities to attract top professionals. Truckee boasts a highly educated population compared to state averages; 50.7% of Truckee residents have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher (33.9% statewide) and 16.5% have earned a graduate or professional degree. This focus on educational attainment is also reflected in Truckee’s award-winning schools.

Location: Just 200 miles northeast of San Francisco and Silicon Valley, 100 miles east of Sacramento, and 32 miles west of Reno, Truckee provides easy access to several large markets. Conveniently located on interstate 80, Truckee also offers a public airport, and is only 30 minutes away from Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

Entrepreneurial Creativity and Ecosystem: With the majority of local businesses categorized as “micro enterprises” (fewer than five employees), Truckee has a strong track record of supporting small businesses. Support programs include professional networking opportunities and free, confidential business consulting services provided by Sierra Small Business Development Center.

Healthcare Hub: Centered around the Tahoe-Forest Health System, Truckee serves as the hub for healthcare services in the Tahoe region. With services ranging from primary care to 24-hour emergency care, surgery, cancer care, physical therapy, occupational health and natural medicine, Truckee is an established and attractive base for healthcare-related industries.

Tech Ecosystem and Creative Culture: Truckee boasts a thriving community of creatives, makers, and technology businesses and startups. Check out this blog post to learn more.

Business Support

The Town of Truckee is committed to supporting businesses and commercial activities that build upon and enhance Truckee’s unique character and natural environment. Building a successful company is a long journey. The Town and its partners provide several economic development programs, tools and resources to help entrepreneurs feel we are your partner and ally in your journey to opening day and help you get your businesses up and running more quickly.

OpenCounter: The Town of Truckee offers the OpenCounter business portal that helps entrepreneurs by asking the right questions, in the right order, so business owners see the requirements, fees, and processing time that will apply to their planned use and location. The OpenCounter tool also collects metrics on new business development activities to inform the Town’s economic development strategies, including which neighborhoods or districts have the most commercial activity and what kinds of businesses are starting.

ZoningCheck: The Town of Truckee offers the ZoningCheck portal that simplifies the site selection process and shows you where your project is permitted. Just enter the type of use and the address, and the tool will tell you whether the use is allowed. Click the “Learn More” button and you can see additional information on the zoning for the property.

Permits: The Town of Truckee provides links to learn what type of building, land use, or special event permits are needed and eSuite to apply for building permits, schedule an inspects or check your permit status.

Personalized Support: The Town of Truckee provides an economic development coordinator to answer your questions, help direct new businesses to available support programs, and guide you through the permitting process.

Sierra Small Business Development Center: The Small Business Development Center provides free, confidential one-on-one business consulting to help entrepreneurs start, grow and sustain their business. Additionally, periodic Small Business Development Center workshops support business skill development in a small group setting. Learn more about Small Business Development Center programs.

Facts and Demographics

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Why Truckee

Truckee is a vibrant mountain town committed to creating a community where people want to live, work and play. Reflecting this commitment to our quality of life, Town leaders are focused on fostering a thriving business climate that supports and retains local businesses and attracts new business opportunities. READ BLOG POST ABOUT OUR AUTHENTIC TOWN. Visit our WHY TRUCKEE PAGE. 

Location

Located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Truckee is just 200 miles northeast of San Francisco, California; 100 miles east of Sacramento, California; 40 miles west of Reno, Nevada; and 12 miles north of Lake Tahoe, California. Planes, trains, and automobiles are three convenient ways to get to Truckee.  Highway I-80 runs right through Truckee, as does Amtrak along the Transcontinental Railroad, which passes right through town, and Truckee Tahoe Airport provides for daily private and charter flights.

Elevation

Downtown Truckee: 5,980 ft.
Donner Summit: 7,239 ft.
Donner Peak: 8,019 ft.
Mt. Judah: 8,243 ft.

Population

Town of Truckee: 17,470
(source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census) Summary File1.ESRI Forecasts for 2020 and 2025

Climate

Average Summer Temperature:
40-79 degrees Fahrenheit

Average Winter Temperature:
17-42 degrees Fahrenheit

Average Total Snowfall:
201 inches

Average Total Precipitation:
30 inches (source: Western Regional Climate Center)

Coldest Spot in the Nation?
Truckee has often been recognized as the coldest spot in the nation, but not during the winter ski season as one might expect. These nippy temperatures are noteworthy because they occur from June through early October. While it may be true, it really doesn’t give a true picture of Truckee’s pristine California weather pattern. Official temperatures are taken at the Truckee-Tahoe Airport, located in Martis Valley. On clear nights, cool air from the high mountains sink downslope into the valley, a high-elevation basin. The dense air mass settles into the basin, creating a chilled microclimate contributing to the chilly readings. As the sun begins to rise, so does the temperature, creating enviable summer and fall temperatures.

Terrain

The Truckee Donner area has expansive granite mountain, vista, meadow, and lake terrain.

Town Boundary

34 square miles of largely developed land in the eastern portion of Nevada County.
Vacant/Underutilized: 28.4%
Residential: 27.0%
Permanent/Protected Open Space: 18.8%
Roads/Railway Right-of-Way/Other: 12.2%
Parks, Lakes, Public/Institutional: 10.8%
Commercial/Office: 1.5%
Industrial/Mining: 1.3%

Government

Truckee was first established in 1863 and incorporated in 1993. The Town of Truckee is one of three incorporated cities in Nevada County (Grass Valley and Nevada City are the other two). The Town is governed by five council members, elected at large for four-year terms. Elections are held every other year, and terms are staggered.

Sales Tax (State and Local): 8.375%
(7.5% State of California, .125% Nevada County Library Tax; .5% Truckee Measure V – Roads; .25% Truckee Measure R — Trails)

Sales Tax Revenue
2020/2021: $6,197,845
2019/2020: $4,939,562
2018/2019: $4,598,381
2017/2018: $4,342,553
2016/2017: $4,067,588
2015/2016: $4,057,947

Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT): 12%
Note: Effective 1/1/2021, TOT increased from 10% to 12%.
2020/2021: $5,463,657
2019/2020: $3,988,560
2018/2019: $4,464,925
2017/2018: $3,399,228
2016/2017: $3,414,610
2015/2016: $2820,319

Property Tax
2020/2021: $12,780,840
2019/2020: $12,083,871
2018/2019: $11,523,966
2017/2018: $10,874,121
2016/2017: $10,367,240
2015/2016: $9,749,656

Truckee Tourism Business Improvement District (TTBID) 1.25%

The Truckee Tourism Business Improvement District (TTBID) was renewed through a resolution of the Truckee Town Council September 20, 2020. This 1.25% assessment on hotel, property management, and individual vacation home rentals funds Visit Truckee-Tahoe, the Destination Marketing & Management Organization (DMMO) for Truckee that promotes sustainable tourism.

Housing

Single Family:

  • Median price: $1,210,000
  • Average days on market: 23
  • Homes sold: 676

Condos/Townhomes:

  • Median price: $710,000
  • Average days on market: 30
  • Condos sold: 229

Average monthly rent: $3000

Source: Dickson Realty, Truckee, from Tahoe Sierra Multiple Listing Service, for Truckee zip code 96161, sold 4/1/21-3/24/22 (as of 4/13/22). Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Community Renewable Metrics

Truckee Donner Public Utility District’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)

2019  63% RPS
2018  65% RPS
2017  66% RPS
2016  61% RPS
2015  48% RPS

Town of Truckee + Town Hall
10183 Truckee Airport Rd., Truckee, CA 96161
Phone (530) 582-7700
Fax (530) 582-7710
www.townoftruckee.com

Truckee Facts