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Towns / California

Alta Sierra, California

Alta Sierra is an unincorporated community of about 7,400 people in Nevada County, California. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 5.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Sacramento, is about 45 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
7,361
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$563,700
Nevada County prices up 1.2% since 2022
Household income
$105,603
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural California
100
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Grass Valley, CA
To Sacramento
45 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices match the U.S. average in the parts of California outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Colfax High, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySierra Nevada Memorial Hospital in Grass Valley, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySacramento is about 45 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Alta Sierra meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$563,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 1.2%Nevada County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,254 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$105,603U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
87%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,616 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100U.S. average = 100 (the parts of California outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 1.2% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of California outside metro areas, not Alta Sierra alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
7,361The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
55 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
29%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
39%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (26%); professional and business services (16%); retail (15%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, Grass Valley, CA, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Alta Sierra, run by Pleasant Ridge Union Elementary. The nearest public high school is Colfax High, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
96%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
33°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
36 a year
Nights at or below freezing
61 a year
Rain and melted snow
53.2 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
2,083 feet

Weather station: Grass Valley #2 (5 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, Lincoln, Sacramento.

Nevada County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Alta Sierra's history on Wikipedia.

Know Alta Sierra?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Rough and Ready, CA (unincorporated)736 people, 9 miles
  • Penn Valley, CA (unincorporated)1,678 people, 9 miles
  • Dutch Flat, CA (unincorporated)200 people, 13 miles
  • Foresthill, CA (unincorporated)1,483 people, 14 miles
  • Alta, CA (unincorporated)656 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.