Carnelian Bay, California

Carnelian Bay (formerly, Cornelian Bay)^[3] is an unincorporated community on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Placer County, California, United States. The Cornelian Bay post office operated from 1883 to 1887 and from 1891 to 1893.^[3] The Carnelian Bay post office opened in 1908.^[3]

Carnelian Bay, California
census-designated place
Location of Carnelian Bay in Placer County, California.
Carnelian Bay, California
Coordinates: 39°13′58″N 120°04′54″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Placer
Area [1]
• Total	1.50 sq mi (3.88 km2)
• Land	1.30 sq mi (3.36 km2)
• Water	0.20 sq mi (0.52 km2)  13.3%
Elevation [2]	6,325 ft (1,928 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	518
• Density	398.77/sq mi (153.98/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	96140
Area codes	530, 837
GNIS feature ID	2628716
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Carnelian Bay, California

For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Carnelian Bay as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name. The population was 518 at the 2020 census. The elevation is 6,325 feet (1,928 m).

Nearby cities and towns include: Tahoe Vista, Brockway, Kings Beach, Crystal Bay, Incline Village, Truckee, Tahoma, Homewood, and Tahoe City. Its ZIP code is 96140 and its area code 530.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), 86.7% of it land, and 13.3% of it water.^[1]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	524		—
2020	518		−1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[4] 1850–1870[5][6] 1880-1890[7] 1900[8] 1910[9] 1920[10] 1930[11] 1940[12] 1950[13] 1960[14] 1970[15] 1980[16] 1990[17] 2000[18] 2010[19]

Carnelian Bay first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. Census.^[19]

The 2020 United States census reported that Carnelian Bay had a population of 518. The population density was 398.8 inhabitants per square mile (154.0/km²). The racial makeup of Carnelian Bay was 469 (90.5%) White, 3 (0.6%) African American, 1 (0.2%) Native American, 4 (0.8%) Asian, 1 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 5 (1.0%) from other races, and 35 (6.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31 persons (6.0%).^[20]

The whole population lived in households. There were 246 households, out of which 46 (18.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 99 (40.2%) were married-couple households, 22 (8.9%) were cohabiting couple households, 67 (27.2%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 58 (23.6%) had a male householder with no partner present. 78 households (31.7%) were one person, and 21 (8.5%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.11.^[20] There were 135 families (54.9% of all households).^[21]

The age distribution was 83 people (16.0%) under the age of 18, 14 people (2.7%) aged 18 to 24, 155 people (29.9%) aged 25 to 44, 146 people (28.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 120 people (23.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.7 males.^[20]

There were 919 housing units at an average density of 707.5 units per square mile (273.2 units/km²), of which 246 (26.8%) were occupied. Of these, 176 (71.5%) were owner-occupied, and 70 (28.5%) were occupied by renters.^[20]