Sierraville, California

Sierraville (Sierra, Spanish for "mountain range" and Ville, French for "town") is a census-designated place^[1] in Sierra County, California, United States.^[2] It is at the southern end of the huge Sierra Valley which is used primarily as pasture and is also at the junction of California State Route 49 and California State Route 89 southwest of Loyalton. Sierraville has a post office with ZIP code 96126.^[3] The post office opened under the name Sierra Valley in 1862 and became known as the Sierraville post office in 1899.^[4] The population was 239 as of the 2020 census.

It is the site of the only traffic signal (a flashing red light) in Sierra County. In the winter of 2007, it was removed after an automobile accident and was replaced in the fall of 2008.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 5.0 square miles (13.0 km²), of which 99.98% is land and 0.02% is water.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Sierraville has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.^[5]

Demographics

Sierraville first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.^[6]

The 2020 United States census reported that Sierraville had a population of 239. The population density was 47.6 inhabitants per square mile (18.4 /km²). The racial makeup of Sierraville was 200 (83.7%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 0 (0.0%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 12 (5.0%) from other races, and 27 (11.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30 persons (12.6%).^[7]

The whole population lived in households. There were 94 households, out of which 25 (26.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 30 (31.9%) were married-couple households, 12 (12.8%) were cohabiting couple households, 31 (33.0%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 21 (22.3%) had a male householder with no partner present. 36 households (38.3%) were one person, and 19 (20.2%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54.^[7] There were 51 families (54.3% of all households).^[8]

The age distribution was 45 people (18.8%) under the age of 18, 7 people (2.9%) aged 18 to 24, 49 people (20.5%) aged 25 to 44, 72 people (30.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 66 people (27.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.2 males.^[7]

There were 130 housing units at an average density of 25.9 /mi2, of which 94 (72.3%) were occupied. Of these, 62 (66.0%) were owner-occupied, and 32 (34.0%) were occupied by renters.^[7]

Politics

In the state legislature, Sierraville is included in ,^[9] and .^[10]

Federally, Sierraville is in .^[11]

References

1. ^
2. ^
3. ^ ZIP Code Lookup
4. ^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Quill Driver Books. p. 555. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
5. ^ Climate Summary for Sierraville, California
6. ^ "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California". United States Census Bureau
7. ^ "Sierraville CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
8. ^ "Sierraville CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
9. ^ "Senators". State of California. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
10. ^ "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
11. ^ Retrieved October 17, 2025.