2026 Compare Cities Rankings:
Black Mountain, NC vs Sonora, CA

#8 2005 Best Places to Live

#25 Best Green Cities

#32 America's Best and Worst Cities for Crime (Mid-Size Metro Areas)

I lived in Black Mountain for about ten years and loved it! Beautiful scenery, friendly people, and a great vibe. I had to move back to my home state because of family  More

Moved to the mountains only 2 years ago from a big NC city. Thought this area near Asheville would be nice, but the people here are unkind and no one associates outside  More

There is no town in the US that is more similar to a Thonas Kinkade painting than Black Mountain, NC. You have to experience the magic of the mountains here to  More

I have lived in Sonora for two and a half years and love it. Some of the earlier reviews I read scared me before coming. Here is what we have found. We live in a  More

I have lived here for 8 years and I absolutely hate it. This town is not built for all the people it has to accommodate. Everyone from the ENTIRE county comes here to do  More

Lived here for 21 years since my family moved up from the valley (to get away from gang violence and other crime). Traffic doesn't pay attention constantly running  More