Living in Alta, CA
Alta is a tiny town of 656 people in Placer County, California. It's about 46 miles from Yuba City, CA and 57 miles from Sacramento, CA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 50°F, with about 9 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $470k and rent runs about $2k a month.
656people
$470kTypical home
$1,576/moRent
84° / 50°Summer / winter
9"Snow
283Sunny days
79Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 656
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 275 people per sq mi
- 57 mi to Sacramento, CA
- 46 mi to Yuba City, CA
- 14 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $470k (≈$2,964/mo)
- Median rent $1,576/mo
- Median household income $97k
- Property tax about 0.5% of value
- 6.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 50°F
- Dry summers (dew point 37°F)
- 283 sunny days a year (170 totally clear)
- 82 cloudy days a year
- 35 of 90 winter days are gray
- 79 days a year with rain or snow
- 9" of snow a year
- 3 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Low violent crime (203 per 100k), county-wide
- Low property crime (931 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 47
- 22% of households have kids
- 21% are 65 or older
- 40% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 37 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 36 mi to TKF airport
- 56 mi to SMF (major hub)
- 12 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 91% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1981
- 92% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 3,835 ft
- 88 mi to the ocean
- 35 mi to a big lake
- 2 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 23 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 11 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 77 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 6 bars within 25 mi
- 28 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 11 museums within 25 mi
- 4 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 24 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 12% of California districts (reading)
- 12 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 10 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 26 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 13 mi to the nearest vet
- 15 mi to the nearest dog park
- 4 congregations per 10k people
- 13 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Placer County: R+9 in 2024
- California: D+20 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- High drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.