The Richest Small City in California

Listed by Patricia Kramer Pacific Sotheby's International via Realtor.com

People love to read about rich small cities. Recently, we uncovered a golden nugget: the cheapest city to live in Southern California. You can read about it here. Now, let’s look for the most expensive small city to live in California. The runners up are the cities of Hillsborough, which is is a close second, and the third most affluent city to live in Cali is Los Altos Hills.

Sports like lacrosse, track, tennis, and golf are a big deal for primary and secondary students and their parents in the richest small city in California. Trunk show neighborhood signs are the equivalent of garage sale signs. The speed limit is 25 mph, they have their own local newspaper, and the streets are lined with palm trees and road crossing signs for equestrian horse riders and golf carts. Let’s find out what makes this small city in California so dang pricey!

Get our free mobile app

Austin Neill on Unsplash

HOW DID RANCHO SANTA FE BECOME AN ENCLAVE OF THE RICH?

“Those who live here know that the lifestyle of our community is uniquely exclusive, casual, and special.” - Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club

RANCHO SANTA FE is the richest small city to live in California. In 1927, a man named Max Kellogg bought some land so that he could create a rural and exclusive community of large homes for the rich. His plan obviously worked out very well. Celebrities and other well-to-do types have purchased land and built homes here, including Spokane, Wash. native and actor/crooner, Bing Crosby.

Getty Images

Population of Rancho Santa Fe:

Around 3,000 people

Google Maps

Rancho Santa Fe Crime Rate:

Seeing as how there are thousands of affluent people living in Rancho Santa Fe and thieves see an opportunity to strike it rich off the backs of the rich, the property crime rate here is kind of high. The national average is 25 per 1,000 and this small city has been somewhat close to that in recent years. The average rate for other crimes, such as murder, sexual assaults, battery, and straight up robberies is very low.

The Closest Big City to Rancho Santa Fe:

San Diego

The Closest Airport to Rancho Santa Fe:

San Diego International Airport (SAN)

Nearest Public State University to Rancho Santa Fe:

University of California, San Diego to Rancho Santa Fe:

Some of the Best Restaurants in Rancho Santa Fe:

The Pony Room

The Pony Room via Google Maps

Do any Celebrities live in Rancho Santa Fe?

Here is a list of celebrities who allegedly have homes (or had) in Rancho Santa Fe:

Janet Jackson, Bill Gates, Jenny Craig, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Aaron Rodgers, Deepak Chopra, Pink & husband Tony Hawk, Phil Mickelson, Drew Brees, Thomas Sanzone (CEO of Petco), Kenneth Jacobs (Owner of Qualcaomm), Steve Wynn (owner of Wynn/Encore Resorts), Mike Lynton (CEO of Sony Pictures), Ted Danson, Jon Legere (CEO of T-Mobile), Peter Thiel (Founder of PayPal), Reed Hastings (CEO of Netflix), Jeff Skoll (Co-founder of Ebay), Evan Spiegel (CEO of Snapchat), Mike Kreiger (Co-founder of Snapchat), Dustin Moskovitz (co-founder of Facebook), Kevin Hartz (Co-founder of Eventbrite), Reid Hoffman (Co-Founder of LinkedIn), Bing Crosby, L.H. Baum (writer of The Wizard of Oz).

Google Maps

Cost of homes for sale and apartments

Want to buy a home in Rancho Santa Fe? The average price is $4.5 million, and that’s for the CHEAP mansions. I found this home for sale in Rancho Sante Fe for $98 million.

Listed by Patricia Kramer Pacific Sotheby's International via Realtor.com
There are no apartment complexes in Rancho Santa Fe, but there are townhomes you can rent. I saw this one for the low, low price of $5,695 per month.

Craig Logan, Logan Family Properties via Realtor.com

TRENDING NOW: The Cheapest Town in Southern California

Get our free mobile app

6 Interesting Facts and Things to Do in the Smallest Rich City in California:

Nearest Beach? Solana Beach

Closest Cities? Del Mar and Escondido

Concert Venues? Del Mar Fairgrounds, where they host the San Diego County Fair and other concerts https://delmarfairgrounds.com/events-calendar/

Museum? California Surf Museum is in Oceanside, less than half an hour away from Rancho Santa Fe https://surfmuseum.org/

Shopping Mall? The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch, catering to a more upscale clientele with shops like Le Dimora, Trader Joe’s, Pure Barre, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Luna Grill, Crunch Fitness, and more.

Recreation? Rancho Santa Fe has its own golf course and equestrian lot.

RELATED: These Top 3 California Mysteries Remain Unsolved

Report a typo or correction

Got a news tip? Email us here.

Quiz: Do you know your state insect?

Stacker has used a variety of sources to compile a list of the official state insect(s) of each U.S. state, as well as their unique characteristics. Read on to see if you can guess which insect(s) represent your state.