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 (Most Holy Sacrament), referring to the Catholic Eucharist.
Geography
thumb|upright|left|Sacramento
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) 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
- Sutter County – northwest
- Placer County – north
- El Dorado County – northeast
- Amador County – east
- San Joaquin County – south
- Contra Costa County – southwest
- Solano County – west
- Yolo County – west
National protected areas
- Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
- California National Historic Trail
- Pony Express National Historic Trail
Demographics
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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.
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin: 1em 1em 1em 0;"
|+ Gubernatorial elections results
|-
! Year
! Republican
! Democratic
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2022
| style="text-align:center;" |42.5% 202,933
| style="text-align:center;" |57.5% 274,680
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2018
| style="text-align:center;" |41.2% 212,010
| style="text-align:center;" |58.8% 302,696
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2014
| style="text-align:center;" |37.7% 122,342
| style="text-align:center;" |62.3% 202,416
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2010
| style="text-align:center;" |38.5% 162,369
| style="text-align:center;" |56.7% 239,599
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2006
| style="text-align:center;" |60.5% 218,889
| style="text-align:center;" |34.2% 123,685
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2002
| style="text-align:center;" |46.6% 147,456
| style="text-align:center;" |40.8% 129,143
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1998
| style="text-align:center;" |39.7% 142,970
| style="text-align:center;" |57.4% 206,870
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1994
| style="text-align:center;" |54.8% 196,229
| style="text-align:center;" |40.9% 146,423
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1990
| style="text-align:center;" |50.3% 167,982
| style="text-align:center;" |44.7% 149,215
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1986
| style="text-align:center;" |68.1% 207,086
| style="text-align:center;" |30.1% 91,660
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1982
| style="text-align:center;" |52.4% 171,176
| style="text-align:center;" |44.7% 146,167
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1978
| style="text-align:center;" |34.7% 88,445
| style="text-align:center;" |54.9% 139,821
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1974
| style="text-align:center;" |45.9% 104,595
| style="text-align:center;" |51.6% 117,711
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1970
| style="text-align:center;" |46.0% 105,523
| style="text-align:center;" |52.5% 120,365
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1966
| style="text-align:center;" |50.9% 109,801
| style="text-align:center;" |49.1% 105,861
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1962
| style="text-align:center;" |37.7% 71,788
| style="text-align:center;" |60.7% 115,462
|}
In the House of Representatives, all of California's 6th congressional district and portions of its 3rd, and 7th districts are in the county.
In the State Assembly, all of the 7th and 8th districts and parts of the 6th, 9th, and 11th districts are in the county.
In the State Senate, parts of the 1st, 3rd, 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 (74%). Of those, 306,960 (44%) are registered Democrats, 225,688 (32%) are registered Republicans, and 134,677 (19%) 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.
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! colspan="3" | Population and crime rates
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Population
| colspan="2" | 1,408,480
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Violent crime
| 8,988 || 6.38
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Homicide
| 30,971 || 21.99
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Motor vehicle theft
! data-sort-type="number" | Violent crimes
K-12:
- Center Joint Unified School District
- Elk Grove Unified School District
- Folsom-Cordova Unified School District
- Natomas Unified School District
- River Delta Unified School District
- Sacramento City Unified School District
- San Juan Unified School District
- Twin Rivers Unified School District - Includes some areas for grades K-12, some for 7–12 only, and some for 9–12 only
Secondary:
- Galt Joint Union High School District
- Roseville Joint Union High School District
Elementary:
- Arcohe Union School District
- Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District
- Elverta Joint Elementary School District
- Galt Joint Union Elementary School District
- Robla Elementary School District
Transportation
thumb|225px|Pocket-Greenhaven
Public Transportation
Sacramento Regional Transit District, 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
Sacramento International Airport is a major, full-service airport with passenger flights. It is owned by the County of Sacramento. The county also owns Sacramento 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 (SACDOT) maintains approximately 2200 miles of roadway within the unincorporated area. The roads range from six lane thoroughfares to rural roads.
Communities
thumb|right|225px|Elk Grove
thumb|225px|Folsom Lake
Cities
- Citrus Heights
- Elk Grove
- Folsom
- Galt
- Isleton
- Rancho Cordova
- Sacramento (county seat)
Census-designated places
- Antelope
- Arden-Arcade
- Carmichael
- Clay
- Courtland
- Elverta
- Fair Oaks
- Florin
- Foothill Farms
- Franklin
- Freeport
- Fruitridge Pocket
- Gold River
- Herald
- Hood
- La Riviera
- Lemon Hill
- Mather
- McClellan Park
- North Highlands
- Orangevale
- Parkway
- Rancho Murieta
- Rio Linda
- Rosemont
- Vineyard
- Walnut Grove
- Wilton
Unincorporated community
- Locke
thumb|upright=1.1|The 14 civil townships, 1885
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
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!City/town/etc.
!Municipal type
!Population (2020 Census)
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 1
|† Sacramento (State Capital)
| City
| 524,943
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 2
|Elk Grove
| City
| 176,124
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 3
|Arden-Arcade
| CDP
| 94,659
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 4
|Citrus Heights
| City
| 87,583
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 5
|Folsom
| City
| 80,454
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 6
|Carmichael
| CDP
| 79,793
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 7
|Rancho Cordova
| City
| 79,332
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 8
|Florin
| CDP
| 52,388
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 9
|North Highlands
| CDP
| 49,327
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 10
|Antelope
| CDP
| 48,733
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 11
|Vineyard
| CDP
| 43,935
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 12
|Foothill Farms
| CDP
| 35,834
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 13
|Orangevale
| CDP
| 35,569
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 14
|Fair Oaks
| CDP
| 32,514
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 15
|Galt
| City
| 25,383
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 16
|Rosemont
| CDP
| 23,510
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 17
|Parkway
| CDP
| 15,962
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 18
|Rio Linda
| CDP
| 15,944
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 19
|Lemon Hill
| CDP
| 14,496
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 20
|La Riviera
| CDP
| 11,252
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 21
|Gold River
| CDP
| 7,844
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 22
|Fruitridge Pocket
| CDP
| 6,102
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 23
|Wilton
| CDP
| 5,958
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 24
|Rancho Murieta
| CDP
| 5,903
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 25
|Elverta
| CDP
| 5,435
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 26
|Mather
| CDP
| 4,698
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 27
|Walnut Grove
| CDP
| 1,452
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 28
|Clay
| CDP
| 1,252
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 29
|Herald
| CDP
| 1,160
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 30
|McClellan Park
| CDP
| 926
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 31
|Isleton
| City
| 794
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 32
|Courtland
| CDP
| 326
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 33
|Hood
| CDP
| 244
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 34
|Franklin
| CDP
| 167
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 35
|Freeport
| CDP
| 58
|}
See also
- History of Sacramento, California
- List of California Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County
- List of school districts in Sacramento County, California
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Sacramento County, California
- Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission
Notes
References
External links
- Sacramento County transit website
- Sacramento Metro Chamber – representing Sacramento County and surrounding counties