The town-limit signs list Sierra City's population as 225. The main industry is tourism. None of the nearby hard-rock mines are in operation, but the Kentucky mine just outside the town limits now houses a mining museum. In the summer months, fishing in the North Yuba and its tributaries and in nearby alpine lakes is popular, as is mountain-biking, placer-mining, and hiking. A cluster of sheer rock peaks, known as the Sierra Buttes, , is 1.6 miles (2.6 km) from Sierra City and towers over the town. Many trails cross the area, and the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the flanks of the Sierra Buttes some 2,000 feet (610 m) above the town. Wild Plum Campground is a little more than a mile away on Haypress Creek.
