HOUSING BY THE NUMBERS
Published in Nov 29, 2025 issue.
The most recent Eastern Sierra regional housing assessment doesn’t break much new ground, but it does confirm the need for more housing of all types in Mono and Inyo counties. It also updates the real estate, housing and workforce data that proves that point, yet again.
The bottom line: About 3,262 new housing units are needed in Inyo and Mono counties (1,869 in Mono County and 1,393 in Inyo County). The bulk of those units need to be affordable to residents and workers making less then the region’s median income.
The study estimates about 2,239 new units are needed for workers that are “inadequately housed,” meaning they spend too much on rent or are in crowded or unsuitable housing. Another 606 units are needed to house part-time, seasonal workers. Roughly 293 units could be snapped up by commuters who would prefer to live where they work. The homeless population would need to be housed in an estimated 124 new units. The study breaks down those housing estimates by county and city/town.
The devil is in the details, and the “Housing Needs Study for the Eastern Sierra” offers up plenty of details. The study was completed by consulting firms BAE Urban Economics and SMR Development under the eye of the Eastern Sierra Council of Governments, Inyo and Mono counties, the Town of Mammoth Lakes and the City of Bishop. The consultants have presented the findings to Bishop and Mono County and will hit Inyo County on Dec. 9.
The 35-page presentation starts with the basics.
The 2024 population of Mono County was 12,861, with Inyo hitting 18,856. Those might be population peaks for both since the state Department of Finance projects both counties will be losing population in the coming decade. Mono is projected to shrink by close to 1.5 percent, knocking the population just under 12,000, while Inyo could drop to about 18,000.
Mono County appears to have lost people each year from 2019 to 2022, according to data from a Mammoth/Mono County short term rental study tracking changes from 2019-22, and change of address requests compiled by the US Postal Service. The postal data shows a total of 2,600 change of address requests over those four years. The data also shows a similar trend in Mammoth Lakes.
“While unclear who’s going in/out, this data suggests notable population/household turnover,” the report states. No similar data was available for Inyo County.
One of the more surprising statistics in the report is that about the same number of workers commute to work from Mono to Inyo and vice versa. The report states about 545 workers commute from Inyo to Mono, while 570 commuters drive from Mono to Inyo to toil. The general commuting trends and data “emphasizes the region’s reliance on a resident workforce,” the report notes.
The mix of housing types appears recognizable. Mammoth Lakes is the most out-of-kilter, with 58% of its total in multi-family units (and maybe higher since the data is only from 2019 to 2023, which leaves out about 80 recently completed workforce apartments at the Parcel). It’s 39% single family home share is the lowest in the region. Bishop and Mono County both have 48% single family homes, with 37% and 45% respectively in multifamily units. Mobile homes in Bishop are at 15% and only 6% in Mono County.
Inyo County has the highest percentage of single-family homes, 64%, and trailers, 25%, with just 11% in multifamily units.
More recent data, from 2024, reveals the average single family (SF) home and condo sales totals and median prices. Those prices are broken down in tiers from less than $500,000 to $1.5 million or more.
The overview: Unincorporated Mono: SF median price, $496,250, condos, $535,500; Mammoth Lakes, SF, $1.3 million, condos, $700,000; Unincorporated Inyo, SF, $349,000, condos, $277,500; Bishop, SF $601,000. No condo sales data was reported for Bishop.
Rental data from 2025 includes rates from studio apartments to 4-bedroom homes. The data has some gaps, but the two-bedroom comparison illustrates the range of monthly rents: Mammoth Lakes, $3,500; Bishop, $2,100; Unincorporated Inyo, $1,950; and Unincorporated Mono, $1,650.
The study dives into the morass of estimating housing needs for residents at different income levels. The infamous Area Median Income (AMI), comes into play in a number of scenarios, mostly in Mammoth Lakes and Mono County, which use AMI for eligibility and targeting of workforce housing programs. According to the report, the median income for Mono county is $118,500.
One chart lays out the “Unmet Housing Needs by Income Bracket for Unincorporated Mono County.” It estimates the need for 699 total housing units, with 385 for low-income residents, 254 for moderate to upper income families, and 60 units for the high-income folks.
The footnote on the AMI page connects income levels to rental rates and home prices: “A household must earn 120% of AMI to afford market-rate rental housing in unincorporated Mono County, or 150% in the Town of Mammoth Lakes. A household must earn 150% of AMI to purchase a median priced home in unincorporated Mono County, or 350% of AMI in the Town of Mammoth Lakes.”
The consultants conducted a survey of residents and business owners this past summer. The results are familiar.
The big number from the nearly 1,000 resident respondents is 53% are “overpaying for housing,” which generally means paying more than 30% of monthly income on housing.
The “next steps” are more workshops this winter and into spring 2026. After more “technical analysis” and “identifying actions and assigning responsibility, a “draft housing action plan” will be presented to local governments.
