Sonora Named One Of The Richest Small Towns In America

SONORA (CBS13) — The Gold Rush has been over for about 160 years, but an old mining town is loaded. Bloomberg Business calls Sonora one of the richest small towns in America.

Downtown Sonora doesn't look like Rodeo Drive, but locals say not everything is the way it appears to be in this small mountain community.

The Tuolumne Chamber of Commerce says Sonora is not like other cities, making Bloomberg's rich small town list. It's more country and less flashy than the Hamptons or Key West.

"People for the most part are very nice. They don't put on airs up here," said Mike Ayala.

But if you go off the beaten path in Sonora, you will find the gated neighborhood of Apple Valley Estates or the former Seventh Day Adventist Church contractor Bill Canning got his hands on.

"I made the decision to make it into a house. That was probably the stupidest decision I made," he said.

Canning admits he can't help himself from remodeling it over and over. He's added a wine cellar that looks like a gold mine, and converted the altar and attendance space into a massive kitchen and living room. He still works full time, but his neighbors are mostly relaxing.

"There's an extreme amount of people who retire from the Bay and from Southern California," he said.

The chamber says in recent years, a lot more Bay Area executives are moving in and working from home.

"They haven't quite quit, but they don't have to be in Silicon Valley day-to-day," Ayala said.

And they're bringing their money to the town of 4,000. For Canning, Sonora's appeal is that even the wealthy can feel like average Joes.

"It's great to be in a small town. I enjoy the small-town atmosphere," he said.