The Greater Sacramento area refers to a
metropolitan region in
Northern California comprising either the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
defined Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade
metropolitan statistical area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
or the larger Sacramento–Roseville
combined statistical area
Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...
, the latter of which consists of seven counties, namely
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
,
Yolo,
Placer,
El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king ...
,
Sutter,
Yuba, and
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
counties.
Straddling the
Central Valley and
Sierra Nevada regions of California, Greater Sacramento is anchored by the
state capital of Sacramento, the political center of California. Greater Sacramento also contains sites of natural beauty including
Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America and numerous ski and nature resorts. It is also located in one of the world's most important agricultural areas. The region's eastern counties are located in
Gold Country, site of the
California Gold Rush.
Since the late 20th century, it has been one of the fastest growing urban regions in the United States as Sacramento continues to emerge as a distinct metropolitan area. In the 1990s, the metro area experienced a growth of just over 20%, with subsequent growth remaining above 10% per decade. In the 2020 Census, the metropolitan region had a population of 2,680,831.
Regional composition
The Greater Sacramento area is composed of seven counties, two metropolitan statistical areas and one
micropolitan area. The following counties are located in the Greater Sacramento area:
*
El Dorado County, California
*
Nevada County, California
Nevada County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the Truckee-Grass Valley, CA Micropoli ...
*
Placer County, California
Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn.
Placer County is included in the G ...
*
Sacramento County, California
Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 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 t ...
*
Sutter County, California
*
Yolo County, California
*
Yuba County, California
El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties compose the Sacramento–Roseville-Folsom, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sutter and Yuba counties compose the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area, known as the
Yuba–Sutter area. Nevada County composes the Truckee–Grass Valley Micropolitan Area.
Overview
Greater Sacramento straddles two key regions of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada mountains and is overlapped by the cultural influences of three areas, the
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
,
Eastern California and
Northern California. An increasing phenomenon taking shape in Greater Sacramento is growth of
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
as Sacramento and its metropolitan area continue to expand. The growth is due in part to first, higher costs of living in the Bay Area which have caused commuters to move as far as Yolo and Sacramento counties and more recently, growth and rising living costs in the core of Sacramento, building up more areas in the surrounding counties for commuters. Local and state governments are trying to prevent destruction of forests and open land and curbing the spread before Sacramento faces an urban sprawl crisis as the
Greater Los Angeles Area
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino ...
has.
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
is the largest city in the metropolitan area, home to approximately 500,000 people, making it the sixth-largest city in California and the 35th largest in the United States. It has been the state capital of California since 1851 and has played an important role in the history of California. When gold was discovered in nearby
Sutter's Mill in
Coloma, Sacramento became a boom town luring in migrants making their way from
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
to the gold fields of the Sierras. Although it did not become the financial and cultural center of Northern California, titles that were given to San Francisco, Sacramento became the largest transportation hub of not only Northern California, but also the West Coast following the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Sacramento today continues to be one of the largest rail hubs in North America, and its
rail station is one of the busiest in the United States. In 2002, Time Magazine featured an article recognizing Sacramento as the most diverse and integrated city in America. Government (state and federal) jobs are still the largest sector of employment in the city and the city council does considerable effort to keep state agencies from moving outside the city limits. The remainder of
Sacramento County is suburban in general with most of the working population commuting to
Downtown Sacramento
Downtown Sacramento is the central business district of the city of Sacramento. Downtown is generally defined as the area south of the American River, east of the Sacramento River, north of Broadway, and west of 16th Street. The central business ...
and with a smaller proportion commuting all the way to the Bay Area.
Yolo County is a mixture of an agricultural area and
commuter region, with most of its working population commuting either to the Bay Area or Sacramento for work. It is home to the
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...
, campus, the northernmost UC campus and only UC campus in the Greater Sacramento region.
El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king ...
and
Placer Counties form the remainder of the inner core of Greater Sacramento and are composed of the Sierra foothills and mountains. The western areas of the counties are composed of commuter suburbs to Sacramento while the eastern areas border Lake Tahoe and are home to numerous ski resorts and towns such as
South Lake Tahoe, site of the
Heavenly Mountain Resort, which are popular in winter months and nature camps and resorts in summer months. Placer County has been an important mining area not only for gold, but also other minerals and granite. It is also the site of
Squaw Valley, which hosted the
1960 Winter Olympics, which has been up to date, the only
Winter Olympic Games to be held in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and the
US West Coast
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
and the smallest city to host an Olympics.
The
Yuba–Sutter area consists of
Yuba and
Sutter counties and is a primarily agricultural area, although the southern area is more suburban in character. It is home to
Sunsweet Growers, which owns the world's largest dried fruit plant in
Yuba City.
Nevada County, like El Dorado and Placer Counties, borders Lake Tahoe and contains numerous ski resorts such as the
Boreal Mountain Resort
Boreal Mountain California is a ski area in Soda Springs, near the Lake Tahoe area of California. It has six chairlifts and two surface lifts, and offers the only night skiing in Tahoe, until 8 pm. It is owned by Powdr Corporation.
Located o ...
, but is more rural than the former two counties and is an important gold mining area. The
Donner Memorial State Park
Donner Memorial State Park is a state park of California, US, preserving the site of the Donner Camp, where members of the ill-fated Donner Party were trapped by weather during the winter of 1846–1847. Caught without shelter or adequate s ...
is located in the county, where the ill-fated
Donner Party was trapped in winter storms in 1846–47 while attempting to make it to California on a poorly organized trip.
Douglas County, Nevada was recently briefly added to the Sacramento Combined Statistical Area. As Greater Sacramento continues to grow beyond its inner region, Western Nevada continues to be influenced by Sacramento and California and their cultures. However, Douglas County has since been removed again from the Sacramento CSA, and transferred to the Reno-Carson City-Fernley, NV CSA.
Geography and climate
Geography
The western half of Greater Sacramento is centered on the Central Valley, one of the most vital agricultural areas in the country. The Sierra Nevada and its foothills compose the eastern portion of the region. Yolo County contains a large flood control basin. The
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento� ...
and the
American River are major rivers that form a
deepwater port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
connected to the
San Francisco Bay by a channel through the
Sacramento River Delta. Coniferous and oak-dominated woodland are prevalent in the Sierra Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area.
Climate
Sacramento and the valley area have a
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen ''Csa''), characterized by damp to wet, cool winters and hot, dry summers. The wet season is generally October through April. Summer heat is often moderated by a sea breeze known as the "delta breeze" which comes through the
Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta
The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, or California Delta, is an expansive inland river delta and estuary in Northern California. The Delta is formed at the western edge of the Central Valley by the confluence of the Sacramento and Sa ...
from the
San Francisco Bay. January is the coolest month for the entire region with an average maximum of 41.0 °F (5.0 °C) and an average minimum of 15.1 °F (-9.4 °C) in Lake Tahoe.
The eastern portion of Greater Sacramento experiences a more varied climate with 90 °F (32.2 °C) temperatures in August to below freezing temperatures in winter. In higher elevations, freezing temperatures have been recorded every month. In the winter, below freezing temperatures are common in Sacramento and lower valley elevations although snowfall is scarce and usually melts on ground contact with significant snowfall occurring roughly every 3–5 years. However, blizzard conditions in winter storms can be common in the higher elevations.
Communities
Incorporated places
* Places with more than 400,000 inhabitants
**
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
* Places with 100,000 to 200,000 inhabitants
**
Elk Grove
**
Roseville
* Places with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants
**
Citrus Heights
Citrus Heights is a city in Sacramento County, California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 87,583, up from 83,301 at the 2010 U.S. Census.
History
Citrus Heights voters approved the measure to incorporate the City on No ...
**
Davis
Davis may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Davis (Antarctica)
* Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago)
* Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land
Canada
* Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community
* Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
**
Folsom Folsom may refer to:
People
* Folsom (surname)
Places in the United States
* Folsom, Perry County, Alabama
* Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama
* Folsom, California
* Folsom, Georgia
* Folsom, Louisiana
* Folsom, Missouri
* Folsom, New Jerse ...
**
Rancho Cordova
**
Rocklin
**
West Sacramento
**
Woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
**
Yuba City
* Places with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants
**
Auburn
**
Galt
**
Grass Valley
**
Lincoln
**
Marysville
**
Placerville
**
South Lake Tahoe
**
Truckee
* Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants
**
Colfax
**
Isleton
**
Live Oak
**
Loomis
**
Nevada City
**
Wheatland
**
Winters
Census-designated places
*
Alta Sierra
*
Antelope
*
Arden-Arcade
*
Beale Air Force Base
*
Challenge–Brownsville
*
Cameron Park
*
Carmichael
*
Diamond Springs
*
Dollar Point
*
El Dorado Hills
El Dorado Hills (''El Dorado'', Spanish for "The Golden") is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in El Dorado County, California. Located in the Greater Sacramento region of Northern California, it had a population was 50,547 at ...
*
Elverta
*
Esparto
*
Fair Oaks
*
Florin
*
Foothill Farms
*
Foresthill
*
Fruitridge Pocket
*
Georgetown
*
Gold River
*
Granite Bay
*
Kings Beach
*
La Riviera
*
Lake of the Pines
Lake of the Pines is a census-designated place (CDP) and a gated residential community in Nevada County, California, United States. The population was 3,917 at the 2010 census.
History
Lake of the Pines was laid out by property developers in t ...
*
Lake Wildwood
*
Lemon Hill
*
Linda
*
Loma Rica
*
Meadow Vista
*
North Auburn
*
North Highlands
*
Olivehurst
Olivehurst (formerly, Denniston) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 13,656 at the 2010 census, up from 11,061 at the 2000 census. Olivehurst is located south-southeast of Marysville.
...
*
Orangevale
*
Parkway
*
Penn Valley
*
Plumas Lake
Plumas (Spanish for "feathers") may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Plumas, Manitoba
** Plumas station
Mexico
* Santiago Ihuitlán Plumas
United States
*Plumas County, California
*Plumas National Forest
Plumas National Forest is a 1,146,000- acre (4 ...
*
Pollock Pines
*
Rancho Murieta
*
Rio Linda
*
Rosemont
*
Shingle Springs
*
South Yuba City
*
Sunnyside–Tahoe City
*
Sutter
*
Tahoe Vista
*
Tierra Buena
*
Vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...
*
Walnut Grove
*
Wilton
Demographics
As of the 2020
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
, there were 2,397,382 people residing within the MSA. The racial makeup was 52.5% White, 7.0% Black, 1.1% American Indian, 14.9% Asian, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 10.4% Other and 13.2% Two or More Races. 22.2% identified as Hispanic or Latino.
The median income for a household in the MSA in 2000 was $48,401, and the median income for a family was $57,112. Males had a median income of $43,572 versus $31,889 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the MSA was $23,508.
Transportation
Owing to its central location between the
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
and Nevada border, Greater Sacramento is a key transportation hub into Northern California. While the region doesn't have an extensive public transportation system as the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Sacramento has had an earlier history of public mass transit and is served by a vast freeway system as well as some light rail.
Freeways and highways
Sacramento is served by numerous highways. Five highways merge in the ''Capital City Corridor'', serving the immediate downtown Sacramento area. The major freeways of the Greater Sacramento area are
Interstate 80,
US Route 50,
Interstate 5, and
State Route 99, which serve the northern Tahoe area, southern Tahoe area, and valley areas, respectively, as well as forming the Capital City Corridor along with
Interstate 80 Business. Outside downtown Sacramento, there is only one principal route that serves its respective area and there are smaller state routes as well. Freeways and highways in the Greater Sacramento areas include:
*
Interstate 5
*
Interstate 80
*
Interstate 505
Interstate 505 (I-505) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. It is a spur auxiliary route of I-5 that runs from near Dunnigan south to I-80 in Vacaville. I-505 is primarily a ru ...
*
U.S. Route 50
*
U.S. Route 395
U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...
*
Interstate 80 Business
*
California State Route 12
*
California State Route 16
*
California State Route 20
*
California State Route 28
*
California State Route 45
State Route 45 (SR 45) is a state highway in the U.S. State of California that travels in a north–south direction in the Sacramento Valley from Route 113 in Knights Landing to Route 32 in Hamilton City.
Route description
The route beg ...
*
California State Route 49
*
California State Route 65
*
California State Route 70
State Route 70 (SR 70) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting SR 99 north of Sacramento with U.S. Route 395 (US 395) near Beckwourth Pass (lowest in the Sierra Nevada) via the Feather River Canyon. Through the Feather ...
*
California State Route 89
*
California State Route 99
*
California State Route 104
State Route 104 (SR 104) is a west–east state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from the Central Valley to the Sierra Foothills. It connects State Route 99 near Galt to State Route 49 in Sutter Creek via the city of Ion ...
*
California State Route 113
State Route 113 (SR 113) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from around in the Sacramento Valley west of Rio Vista at State Route 12 to State Route 99 south of Yuba City. It serves as one of two imp ...
*
California State Route 128
State Route 128 (SR 128) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting the Mendocino coast to the Sacramento Valley, through the state's Wine Country. It runs from State Route 1 near Albion to Interstate 505 in Winters.
Route ...
*
California State Route 160
*
California State Route 174
State Route 174 (SR 174) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. The two-lane 13-mile (21 km) highway in the western Sierra Nevada, added to the state highway system in 1933, connects Interstate 80 in Colfax with SR 20/ SR 49 i ...
*
California State Route 193
State Route 193 (SR 193) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs through Placer and El Dorado counties. It begins as an east–west arterial road running from Lincoln to Newcastle, just west of Auburn. Then after con ...
*
California State Route 220
State Route 220 (SR 220) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, defined to run between State Route 84 and State Route 160 on Ryer Island in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. At the eastern end of Ryer Island, the road cros ...
*
California State Route 244
*
California State Route 267
*
Nevada State Route 28
*
Nevada State Route 88
State Route 88 (SR 88) is a north–south state highway in the Carson Valley in western Douglas County, Nevada, United States. It runs from the California state line along ''Woodfords Road'' to U.S. Route 395 in Minden. Prior to 1957, th ...
*
Nevada State Route 206
*
Nevada State Route 207
State Route 207 (SR 207) is a state highway in western Douglas County, Nevada, United States. Commonly known as the Kingsbury Grade, it is one of three Nevada highways that connect the western edge of the state to the Lake Tahoe region thr ...
*
Nevada State Route 208
State Route 208 (SR 208) is a state highway in Douglas and Lyon counties in Nevada, United States. It connects U.S. Route 395 (US 395) north of Topaz Lake to U.S. Route 95 Alternate in Yerington. The road serves as the primary transportation ...
*
Nevada State Route 756
*
Nevada State Route 757
State Route 757 (SR 757) is a state highway in Douglas County, Nevada. Formerly a part of State Route 19, the route connects the Genoa area to the Johnson Lane area.
Route description
State Route 757 begins on Muller Lane at a junction with ...
*
Nevada State Route 759
Rail
Sacramento is the largest rail hub west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
and was the first terminus of the
First transcontinental railroad before it extended to
Oakland. The
Sacramento Valley Station is the largest train station in the region, near
Old Sacramento
Old Sacramento State Historic Park occupies around one third of the property within the Old Sacramento Historic District of Sacramento, California. The Old Sacramento Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District. The Historic ...
, and is connected by the
Coast Starlight,
California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...
,
San Joaquins,
Capitol Corridor and
Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
routes. The
Sacramento Regional Transit District is the local transit agency for Sacramento County and operates three light rail routes, the
Blue Line,
Green Line, and
Gold Line, along of
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
that serve Sacramento and its immediate suburbs. Other train stations in the Greater Sacramento area are
Davis
Davis may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Davis (Antarctica)
* Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago)
* Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land
Canada
* Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community
* Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
,
Roseville,
Rocklin,
Auburn,
Colfax and
Truckee.
Air
The main airport servicing Greater Sacramento is the
Sacramento International Airport
Sacramento International Airport is located northwest of Downtown Sacramento in Sacramento County, California, United States and covers . It serves the Sacramento Metropolitan Area, and it is run by the Sacramento County Airport System. The ...
north of downtown while the
Sacramento Mather Airport
Sacramento Mather Airport (Mather Airport) is a public airport 11 miles east of Sacramento, in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is on the site of Mather Air Force Base, which closed in 1993 pursuant to BRAC action.
Facilities ...
,
Sacramento Executive Airport and
Minden–Tahoe Airport
Minden–Tahoe Airport is a general aviation airport serving the Carson Valley in Douglas County, Nevada, United States, including the towns of Minden, Gardnerville and Genoa, Nevada; and Lake Tahoe to the west. The airport is about five mil ...
s provide general aviation. The
Reno-Tahoe International Airport in
Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is th ...
provides more direct access to
Lake Tahoe than Sacramento International. For a wider range of destinations, residents must travel down to
San Francisco International Airport, the largest airport in Northern California and 10th largest in the United States.
Bus
Greater Sacramento is served by extensive bus systems that link the region to the Reno and Bay Area metropolitan areas. The
Sacramento Regional Transit District operates bus lines in Sacramento County and
Yolobus serves Yolo County while providing connections to downtown Sacramento and northern
Solano County in the Bay Area.
El Dorado Transit links El Dorado County with downtown Sacramento and the city's western suburbs.
Placer County Transit
Placer County Transit is the operator of mass transportation for western Placer County, California, excluding the city of Roseville, which has its own public transit system. In addition to six local routes, Placer County Transit also operates the ...
and
Roseville Transit link Sacramento with Placer County with the latter providing direct connection from Roseville to Sacramento. The
Yuba-Sutter Transit provides bus service in the Yuba–Sutter area and direct connection to downtown Sacramento on weekdays. Gold Country Stage and Tahoe Truckee Area Rapid Transit serve Nevada County and transfer service to Auburn to Sacramento is provided.
Greyhound,
Megabus Megabus may refer to:
* Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro.
* Megabus (North America), a low-cost bus service in the United States and Canada owned by Variant Equity Advisors.
* Megabús, a ...
,
Flixbus, and
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
provide long-distance bus lines to Greater Sacramento.
Higher education
Greater Sacramento's higher education system consists of the northernmost
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...
campus,
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...
, and the
California State University, Sacramento ("Sac State"), as well as several community colleges in the region.
Community colleges:
*
American River College
*
Cosumnes River College
Cosumnes River College is a public community college in Sacramento, California. It opened in 1970, taking its name from the Cosumnes River which flows just a few miles to the south. As of Spring 2017, enrollment was at 13,091 students at its mai ...
*
Folsom Lake College
Folsom Lake College (FLC) is a Public community college in Folsom, California. It is part of California Community Colleges system and the Los Rios Community College District. Folsom Lake College serves the community with classes offered at its ...
*
Lake Tahoe Community College
Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) is a public community college in South Lake Tahoe, California. It was established in 1975. At an altitude of , it is at the highest elevation of any college in the state.
History
Lake Tahoe Unified School ...
*
Sacramento City College
*
Sierra College
*
Woodland Community College
*
Yuba College
California State University:
*
California State University, Sacramento
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...
:
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UC Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institu ...
Private:
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Alliant International University
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The Art Institute of California – Sacramento
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Drexel University (Sacramento campus)
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International Academy of Design & Technology – Sacramento
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Lincoln Law School of Sacramento
Lincoln Law School of Sacramento is a private, for-profit law school in Sacramento, California. The school offers an evening-only, four-year juris doctor degree program.
Accreditation and bar passage rate
Lincoln Law School received approval ...
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McGeorge School of Law (part of University of the Pacific)
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National University
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University of Phoenix - Sacramento Valley Campus*
University of Sacramento
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University of the Pacific, Sacramento Campus
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William Jessup University
William Jessup University is a private Christian university in Rocklin, California, with an additional site in San Jose, California. The university had 1,743 students during the 2019–20 academic year, over 1650 being full-time equivalents. Foun ...
Politics
In addition to being home of the state capital of California, Greater Sacramento is considered a politically competitive area with no major political party having a majority over the region.
Sacramento and Yolo counties have large Democratic pluralities and have had Democratic majorities since the
2008 presidential election, attributed to the former county being mainly urban and the latter home to the strongly Democratic university town of Davis. El Dorado, Placer, Yuba, and Sutter counties are predominantly
Republican while Nevada County, despite a history of being held by Republican candidates, reflects the metropolitan area's competitiveness with pluralities between the two major parties.
Sports teams
Professional sports
The only major professional sports team based in the Greater Sacramento area are the
Sacramento Kings, who play at the Golden 1 Center in Downtown Sacramento.
Prior to 2009, the
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Mon ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Nati ...
(WNBA) were also based at the Sleep Train Arena (then known as ARCO Arena), and were one of the most successful WNBA teams until the team folded.
Greater Sacramento is the only metropolitan area in the
West Coast and in California to have ever hosted a
Winter Olympic Games when
Squaw Valley hosted the
1960 Winter Olympics, becoming the smallest city to ever host an
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
, a title it still holds. Squaw Valley was the second Olympic games hosted in California and the only one not held in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, where the
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...
and
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
were hosted and was the only Winter Olympics held west of the Mississippi River until the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internationa ...
in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
.
Minor league teams
Greater Sacramento is also home to minor or secondary league sports teams.
Sacramento Republic FC is a
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team that plays in the
USL Championship at
Papa Murphy's Park
Heart Health Park is a sports venue located on the grounds of Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The soccer-specific stadium has a capacity of 11,569 and includes a full-sized (120 x 80 yard) soccer field. Heart Health Park is the current hom ...
, which is located on the grounds of
Cal Expo
The California Exposition and State Fair (Cal Expo) is an independent state agency established by law in the California Food and Agriculture codes. Cal Expo is governed by an appointed 11-member Board of Directors and daily operations are managed ...
. A
new stadium in downtown Sacramento is planned to be completed ahead of the club's move to
Major League Soccer (MLS).
The
Sacramento River Cats
The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ye ...
are a
triple-A baseball team
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
affiliated with the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...
. The team plays in
West Sacramento at
Sutter Health Park
Sutter Health Park is the home ballpark of the Sacramento River Cats Minor League Baseball team, which is a member of the Pacific Coast League. Known as Raley Field from 2000 to 2019, the facility was built on the site of old warehouses and rail ...
, which is located just across the Sacramento River from downtown Sacramento.
;
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
Division I College Sports
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Sacramento State Hornets
The Sacramento State Hornets (also Sac State) represent California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, the capital city of the U.S. state of California, in intercollegiate athletics. The school fields 21 teams including men and women's b ...
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UC Davis Aggies
The UC Davis Aggies (also referred to as the Ags or Aggies) are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis.
Seventeen of the school's 25 intercollegiate sports - baseball, men's basketball, men's cross country, men's ...
See also
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California census statistical areas
The U.S. currently has 39 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated five combined statistical areas, 26 metropolitan statistical areas, and eight micropolitan ...
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Northern California
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San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...
References
{{Coord missing, Sacramento County, California
Metropolitan areas of California
Sac
Geography of the Central Valley (California)
Sac
Northern California