Sacramento County, California


Sacramento County is located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854.
Sacramento County is the central county of the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. The county covers about in the northern portion of the Central Valley, on into Gold Country. Sacramento County extends from the low delta lands between the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, including Suisun Bay, north to about beyond the State Capitol and east into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The southernmost portion of Sacramento County has direct access to San Francisco Bay. Since 2010, statewide droughts in California have further strained Sacramento County's water security.

History

Sacramento County was one of the original counties of California, which were created in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county was named after the Sacramento River, which forms its western border. The river was named by Spanish cavalry officer Gabriel Moraga for the Santisimo Sacramento, referring to the Catholic Eucharist.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Most of the county is at an elevation close to sea level, with some areas below sea level. The highest point in the county is Carpenter Hill at, in the southeast part of Folsom. Major watercourses in the county include the American River, Sacramento River, Cosumnes River, a tributary of the Mokelumne River, and Dry Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,585,055. The median age was 36.9 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.1 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 45.2% White, 9.6% Black or African American, 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 17.8% Asian, 1.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 11.7% from some other race, and 13.4% from two or more races. Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino] residents of any race comprised 23.6% of the population.
97.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 564,445 households in the county, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 587,551 housing units, of which 3.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 57.1% were owner-occupied and 42.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.1%.

Racial and ethnic composition

Race / Ethnicity Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020
White alone 599,830721,932706,655687,166650,27176.57%69.34%57.76%48.43%41.03%
Black or African American alone 57,88393,970118,073139,949145,7247.39%9.02%9.65%9.86%9.19%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 8,8279,8549,0707,8757,4321.13%0.95%0.74%0.56%0.47%
Asian alone 39,15692,131132,601198,944276,2955.00%8.85%10.84%14.02%17.43%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone xx6,78813,09918,0110.55%0.92%0.55%0.92%1.14%
Other race alone 3,5441,7883,4063,41810,1040.45%0.17%0.28%0.24%0.64%
Mixed race or Multiracial xx51,01662,141102,784xx4.17%4.38%6.48%
Hispanic or Latino 74,141121,544195,890306,196374,4349.46%11.67%16.01%21.58%23.62%
Total783,3811,041,2191,223,4991,418,7881,585,055 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census

The 2010 United States census reported that Sacramento County had a population of 1,418,788. The racial makeup of Sacramento County was 815,151 White, 200,228 African American, 14,308 Native American, 203,211 Asian, 13,858 Pacific Islander, 131,691 from other races, and 93,511 from two or more races. There were 306,196 Hispanic or Latino residents of any race. Sacramento County has the largest population of Fijian Americans.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,223,499 people, 453,602 households, and 297,562 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 474,814 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 64.0% White, 10.6% Black or African American, 1.09% Native American, 13.5% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 7.5% from other races, and 5.8% from two or more races. 19.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 10.2% were of German, 7.0% English, 6.7% Irish and 5.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 75.7% spoke only English at home; 10.0% spoke Spanish, 1.5% Hmong, 1.4% Chinese or Mandarin, 1.3% Vietnamese, 1.2% Tagalog and 1.2% Russian.
There were 453,602 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the county, 27.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.5% was from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 female residents aged 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,816, and the median income for a family was $50,717. Males had a median income of $39,482 versus $31,569 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,142. About 10.3% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government and policing

Government

The Government of Sacramento County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Sacramento. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the Government of Sacramento County, while municipalities such as the city of Sacramento and Folsom provide additional, often non-essential services.
It is composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices including the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Assessor, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the County Executive Officer. In addition, several entities of the government of California have jurisdiction conterminous with Sacramento County, such as the Sacramento County Superior Court.
Under its foundational Charter, the five-member elected Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is the county legislature. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial capacity. The current members are:
  • Phil Serna, District 1
  • Patrick Kennedy, District 2
  • Rich Desmond, District 3
  • Rosario Rodriguez, District 4
  • Pat Hume, District 5
The Sacramento County Code is the codified law of Sacramento County in the form of local ordinances passed by the Board of Supervisors.

Policing

The Sacramento County Sheriff provides court protection and jail management for the entire county. It provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of the county. Incorporated municipalities within the county that have their own municipal police departments or contract with the Sacramento County sheriff for their policing are: Elk Grove, 170,000, municipal department; Citrus Heights, 88,000, municipal department; Folsom, 78,000, municipal department; Isleton, sheriff contract; Rancho Cordova, 73,000, sheriff contract; Galt, population 26,000, municipal department.
Other law enforcement agencies in the county include the Sacramento County Park Rangers that service the County Parks, Twin Rivers Unified School District Police servicing police services for Twin Rivers School District, and the Fulton-El Camino Park District Police Department servicing Recreation and Park Districts.
The Fulton-El Camino Park District Police operating under the Fulton-El Camino Recreation and Park District was disbanded as of November 26, 2024, following an alleged mismanagement of government funds, ethical and moral dilemmas by Emily Ballus and Beth Johnson. ABC10 conducted an investigation regarding misappropriation of funds.

Politics

Voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

CityPopulationRegistered voters
DemocraticRepublicanD-R spreadOtherNo party preference
Citrus Heights87,03659.3%33.7%37.1%-3.4%9.7%19.6%
Elk Grove177,22164.2%45.7%24.6%+20.9%6.9%22.8%
Folsom82,14065.9%35.6%34.1%+1.5%7.9%22.5%
Galt25,66560.4%33.3%38.6%-5.3%8.4%19.7%
Isleton64960.4%40.0%27.3%+12.7%10.7%21.9%
Rancho Cordova80,65656.7%40.8%28.5%+12.3%8.4%22.3%
Sacramento524,80254.8%54.3%16.0%+38.3%7.4%22.3%

Overview

Sacramento County was politically competitive in most presidential elections between 1976 and 2004, but now votes significantly in favor of the Democratic candidates. Candidates from the Democratic Party have carried the county in the past eight presidential elections, and have won a majority of the county's votes five times during that timespan. The city of Sacramento is strongly Democratic, while rural areas are strongly Republican; suburban areas are more divided. This pattern is also present in congressional and state legislative elections. The last Republican presidential candidate to win a majority in the county was George H. W. Bush in 1988.
In gubernatorial elections, Sacramento County is typically a bellwether, having voted for the winner every time since 1962 with the exception of 1970 and 2002.
YearRepublicanDemocratic
202242.5% 202,93357.5% 274,680
201841.2% 212,01058.8% 302,696
201437.7% 122,34262.3% 202,416
201038.5% 162,36956.7% 239,599
200660.5% 218,88934.2% 123,685
200246.6% 147,45640.8% 129,143
199839.7% 142,97057.4% 206,870
199454.8% 196,22940.9% 146,423
199050.3% 167,98244.7% 149,215
198668.1% 207,08630.1% 91,660
198252.4% 171,17644.7% 146,167
197834.7% 88,44554.9% 139,821
197445.9% 104,59551.6% 117,711
197046.0% 105,52352.5% 120,365
196650.9% 109,80149.1% 105,861
196237.7% 71,78860.7% 115,462

In the House of Representatives, all of 6th congressional district">California's 6th State Senate district">6th congressional district and portions of its 3rd congressional district|3rd], and 7th congressional district|7th] districts are in the county.
In the State Assembly, all of the State Assembly district|7th] and 8th State Assembly district|8th] districts and parts of the 6th, 9th State Assembly district|9th], and 11th State Assembly district|11th] districts are in the county.
In the State Senate, parts of the 1st State Senate district|1st], 3rd, 4th State Senate district|4th], 6th, and 8th districts are in the county.
According to the California Secretary of State, as of October 22, 2012, Sacramento County has 698,899 registered voters, out of 944,243 eligible. Of those, 306,960 are registered Democrats, 225,688 are registered Republicans, and 134,677 have declined to state a political party.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Education

Colleges and universities

; Public universities
; Community colleges
; Private, not for profit
; Private, for profit

K-12 education

School districts include:
K-12:
Secondary:
Elementary:

Transportation

Public Transportation

, also known as Sacramento RT, provides public transit throughout the county. It operates bus services, as well as light rail services on the Blue, Green, and Gold lines. In addition, the Yolobus provides Sacramento County with service connecting to destinations in neighboring Yolo County, such as Davis. SacRT and Yolobus both provide bus services connecting Sacramento with Sacramento International Airport.
Amtrak and its Amtrak California subsidiary operate passenger rail service from the Sacramento Valley station. This station is served by the Coast Starlight, the California Zephyr, the Capitol Corridor, and the Gold Runner, which link the region with destinations across California and the United States.

Major highways

  • *

Airports

is a major, full-service airport with passenger flights. It is owned by the County of Sacramento. The county also owns Mather Airport">Mather, Sacramento County, California">Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento Executive Airport, both of which are general aviation airports. Sacramento McClellan Airport, formerly McClellan Air Force Base, is a privately owned airport between North Highlands and Rio Linda. There are also privately owned public use airports located in Elk Grove and Rio Linda.

Public roadways

The Sacramento County Department of Transportation maintains approximately 2200 miles of roadway within the unincorporated area. The roads range from six lane thoroughfares to rural roads.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated community

Former townships

In February 1851, the county was divided into eight civil townships: the seven marked by asterisks below, plus Sacramento township. In July of that year, American township was divided off from Sacramento township. In 1856, the Board of Supervisors realigned the divisions into the 14 civil townships below, plus the city of Sacramento.
  • Alabama
  • American
  • Brighton*
  • Center*
  • Cosumnes*
  • Dry Creek
  • Franklin
  • Georgiana
  • Granite
  • Lee
  • Mississippi*
  • Natoma*
  • San Joaquin*
  • Sutter*

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Sacramento County.
† county seat
RankCity/town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1† 'Sacramento City524,943
2Elk GroveCity176,124
3Arden-ArcadeCDP94,659
4Citrus HeightsCity87,583
5FolsomCity80,454
6CarmichaelCDP79,793
7Rancho CordovaCity79,332
8FlorinCDP52,388
9North HighlandsCDP49,327
10AntelopeCDP48,733
11VineyardCDP43,935
12Foothill FarmsCDP35,834
13OrangevaleCDP35,569
14Fair OaksCDP32,514
15GaltCity25,383
16RosemontCDP23,510
17ParkwayCDP15,962
18Rio LindaCDP15,944
19Lemon HillCDP14,496
20La RivieraCDP11,252
21Gold RiverCDP7,844
22Fruitridge PocketCDP6,102
23WiltonCDP5,958
24Rancho MurietaCDP5,903
25ElvertaCDP5,435
26MatherCDP4,698
27Walnut GroveCDP1,452
28ClayCDP1,252
29HeraldCDP1,160
30McClellan ParkCDP926
31IsletonCity794
32CourtlandCDP326
33HoodCDP244
34FranklinCDP167
35Freeport'CDP58