Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat of Sacramento County and is located where the Sacramento and American Rivers meet in the Sacramento Valley. With a population of 524,943 people in 2020, it is the fourth-largest city in Northern California, the sixth-largest in the state, and the 35th-largest in the United States.

Before Spanish explorers arrived, the area was home to the Nisenan, Maidu, and other indigenous peoples of California. In 1808, Gabriel Moraga named the river after the Blessed Sacrament. Later, John Augustus Sutter, a Swiss-born settler, built Sutter's Fort and started a settlement. After California became part of the United States, Sacramento grew and was chosen as the state’s capital in 1854.

Today, Sacramento is important as the home of the California Legislature and the governor of California. It is also a center for healthcare, with places like Sutter Health, UC Davis Medical Center, and the UC Davis School of Medicine. The city attracts many visitors each year and has many museums and historic sites, such as the California Museum, Crocker Art Museum, California State Railroad Museum, and Old Sacramento State Historic Park.

History

Main article: History of Sacramento, California

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Sacramento, California.

Pre-Columbian period

Nisenan (Southern Maidu), Modoc, and Plains Miwok American Indians have lived in the area for perhaps thousands of years. These tribes left little evidence of their existence, but they ate acorns from oak trees and gathered fruits, bulbs, seeds, and roots.

Spanish period

In 1808, the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga encountered and named the Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento River. He and his group were amazed by the beauty of the place, calling it after a special part of their religion.

Mexican period

John Sutter Sr. arrived in the area in 1839 with a large land grant from Mexico. He built Sutter's Fort, which grew into a small settlement. Sutter became very successful, owning land, animals, and even a mill. His son later helped create the city of Sacramento.

American period

In 1848, gold was discovered nearby, bringing many people to the area. This led to the founding of Sacramento City. The city faced many challenges, including floods and fires, but continued to grow.

The California State Legislature moved to Sacramento in 1854, making it the state capital. A grand building, the California State Capitol, was built to house the government.

With its strong location, Sacramento became an important place for trade and travel. Rivers and railroads helped the city grow, and people continued to move there.

Modern era

See also: Urban redevelopment in Sacramento, California

Sacramento grew in the 1900s and 1960s by adding nearby areas. Today, it is a busy city with many important buildings and services.

Geography

Sacramento covers a big area—100.1 square miles (259 km²). Most of it is land, with just a small part being water.

The city sits where the Sacramento and American Rivers meet. It has a deep-water port that links to the San Francisco Bay through a channel. Sacramento is known for having lots of trees. It was once called the "City of Plains" because it didn’t have many trees, but now it has more trees than any other city in the world! The city was the first in the United States to be named a City of Trees by a special group called the Arbor Day Foundation in 1978.

Sacramento used to organize its neighborhoods into four groups, but by 2011, they were:

• Area One: Alkali Flat, Boulevard Park, Campus Commons, Sacramento State, Dos Rios Triangle, Downtown, East Sacramento, Mansion Flats, Marshall School, Midtown, New Era Park, McKinley Village, Newton Booth, Old Sacramento, Poverty Ridge, Richards, Richmond Grove, River Park, Elmhurst, Sierra Oaks, Southside Park.
• Area Two: Airport, Carleton Tract, Freeport Manor, Golf Course Terrace, Greenhaven Hollywood Park, Land Park, Little Pocket, Mangan Park, Meadowview, Parkway, Pocket, Sacramento City College, South Land Park, Valley Hi / North Laguna, Z’Berg Park.
• Area Three: Alhambra Triangle, Avondale, Brentwood, Carleton Tract, Colonial Heights, Colonial Manor, Curtis Park, Elmhurst, Fairgrounds, Florin, Fruitridge Manor, Glen Elder, Glenbrook, Granite Regional Park, Industrial Park, Lawrence Park, Med Center, North City Farms, Oak Park, Packard Bell, South City Farms, Southeast Village, Tahoe Park, Tahoe Park East, Tahoe Park South, Tallac Village, Vintage Park, Churchill Downs, and Woodbine.
• Area Four: Ben Ali, Del Paso Heights, Gardenland, Hagginwood, McClellan Heights West, Natomas (north, south, west), North Sacramento, Northgate, Robla, Swanston Estates, Terrace Manor, Valley View Acres, and Woodlake.

Other neighborhoods in the city include Cal Expo, Capital Avenue, College/Glen, Creekside, Elder Creek, Erikson Industrial Park, Gateway Center, Gateway West, Glenwood Meadows, Hansen Park, Heritage Park, Johnson Business Park, Johnson Heights, Metro Center, Natomas Corporate Center, Natomas Creek, Natomas Crossing, Natomas Park, Newton Booth, Noralto, Northpointe, Norwood, Oak Knoll, Old North Sacramento, Parker Homes, Point West, Raley Industrial Park, Regency Park, Richardson Village, Richmond Grove, Sierra Oaks, Sports Complex, Strawberry Manor, Sundance Lake, Upper Land Park, Village 5, Village 7, Village 12, Village 14, Village Green, West Del Paso Heights, Westlake, Willowcreek, Wills Acres, Winn Park, and Youngs Heights.

Capitol Mall links West Sacramento and Downtown Sacramento. It includes important places like the Tower Bridge, Old Sacramento, and the California State Capitol Building. Skyscrapers such as the Wells Fargo Center and U.S. Bank Tower are here, and it’s where many big companies have offices. Festivals like the Farm to Fork Festival also happen here.

Downtown Commons is a new area that opened in 2016. It used to be a shopping mall but now has a tall building with a hotel, shops, and restaurants.

Downtown Sacramento has the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center and Theater, Sacramento City Hall, the Sacramento Public Library, and K Street, which has old buildings and shops. There are also several hotels, including the Citizen Hotel.

East Sacramento is known for its big, beautiful homes and was where Ronald Reagan lived when he was Governor of California.

Sacramento’s Chinatown used to be on “I” Street. It had fires and faced unfair treatment, but a small part of it remains today along with a museum about its history.

Old Sacramento is the oldest part of the city besides Sutter’s Fort. It has old buildings, cobbled streets, and places to ride historic trains and carriages.

Lavender Heights is an area important to Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ community, with shops, restaurants, and community centers.

The Poverty Ridge Historic District was one of Sacramento’s wealthiest neighborhoods from 1868 to 1947.

Sacramento has warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Most rain comes between November and April. The city is usually sunny, especially from June to September. Snow is very rare, but it can snow in the hills east of the city. Heavy fog, called tule fog, can sometimes make driving tricky.

Sacramento can be very hot in the summer, with temperatures sometimes reaching 100°F (38°C) or more. The city has had very hot days, like 116°F (46.7°C) on September 6, 2022. The coldest it has ever been is 18°F (-7.8°C) on December 22, 1990.

The average amount of rain each year is about 18 inches (461 mm), but it can vary a lot—from as little as 5.81 inches (148 mm) in 2013 to as much as 33.44 inches (849 mm) in 1983.

Sacramento is often very sunny. In July, it averages 14 hours and 12 minutes of sunshine each day—that’s about 98% of possible sunshine! The city is one of the sunniest places on Earth during the summer months.

Because of long-term droughts in California since 2010, Sacramento’s water supply has become more challenging to manage.

Demographics

Sacramento is known for its rich mix of people from many backgrounds. In 2020, the city had a population of 524,943. Many different groups live there, including White, African American, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, and people from many other races. Some families speak Spanish at home, and there are also many people from Asian countries living in Sacramento.

2020

The 2020 census showed that most people in Sacramento lived in homes with families. Many households had children, and many were led by married couples. The city had many places to live, and about half were owned by the people living there, while the other half were rented.

2010

In 2010, Sacramento had a population of 466,488. The city had many different groups of people, and many spoke Spanish at home. The city also had a notable group of people who identified as part of the LGBTQ community, making it a welcoming place for everyone.

Economy

Sacramento is an important city in California. Its area is the fifth largest in the state and the 27th largest in the United States.

The city’s jobs have mostly come from government work, but now there are also jobs in healthcare, making things, and technology. Some well-known companies in or near Sacramento include Adventist Health, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Diamond Growers, Golden 1 Credit Union, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Nugget Markets, Powerschool, Raley's Supermarkets, Solidigm, Sutter Health, Teichert, The McClatchy Company, and VSP Vision Care. Big companies like Amazon, Apple, Centene, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Oracle, and Siemens Mobility also have offices there.

The Port of Sacramento has had money problems and now West Sacramento helps run it. Long ago, during the Vietnam War, the port was very busy sending supplies for the war.

As of 2024, Sacramento’s average income was $65,104 and the jobless rate was 5.3%.

Culture

Museums

Sacramento has many museums, including some big ones. The Crocker Art Museum is the oldest public art museum west of the Mississippi River. In 2010, the museum grew bigger, tripling its space to over 145,000 square feet.

Other museums include the Governor's Mansion State Historic Park, a big Victorian home where 14 California Governors lived. The Leland Stanford Mansion, restored in 2006, is used for important events and has tours. The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts features the California Hall of Fame. The California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento shows trains and lets visitors ride on old steam engines. The California Automobile Museum displays cars from 1880 to 2006. The Aerospace Museum of California at McClellan Air Force Base shows airplanes and jet engines. The Sacramento History Museum tells the city's story from before the gold rush until today. In 2021, the Museum of Science and Curiosity opened in a historic building by the water.

Every year in February, many museums in Sacramento offer free entry on Museum Day.

Performing arts

Sacramento has many places for music and theater. The Sacramento Ballet, Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sacramento Opera perform at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center.

The city has several theaters. The Sacramento Convention Center Complex includes the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center and Memorial Auditorium. The H Street Theatre Complex has the Wells Fargo Pavilion, McClatchy Mainstage, and Pollock Stage. The Eagle Theatre in Old Sacramento is one of California's oldest theaters. The Sophia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts has the Sutter Theatre for Children and a bigger mainstage.

Many theater groups perform in Sacramento, such as Broadway Sacramento, Broadway at Music Circus, and the Sacramento Theatre Company. Community theaters like the Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre and Playwrights Workshop also exist. The Sacramento Shakespeare Festival happens every summer in a park.

Visual arts

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission helps support arts programs in the city. The Sacramento Second Saturday Art Walk lets people visit galleries late into the night every second Saturday.

The Wide Open Walls Festival brings artists from around the world to paint murals in the city. Sacramento also has a Latino cultural center that supports artists and offers programs.

Music

Sacramento has many music groups, including the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sacramento Youth Symphony. The city holds the Sammies music awards and is known for Dixieland jazz because of the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee.

The area has many rock, hardcore, and metal bands, like Tesla and Deftones. Sacramento hosts music festivals such as the Aftershock Festival, GoldenSky Festival, and Sol Blume festival.

Film

Sacramento has film festivals like the Sacramento French Film Festival and the Sacramento Japanese Film Festival. The Trash Film Orgy celebrates unusual and fun movies. Some famous actors and directors, like Eddie Murphy and Greta Gerwig, have lived in Sacramento.

Cuisine

Sacramento calls itself "America's Farm-to-Fork Capital" because many restaurants use food from nearby farms. The city has big farmers' markets, like the Central Sacramento Sunday Certified Farmers' Market and the Midtown Farmers' Market.

Sacramento also enjoys beer and hosts events like Sacramento Beer Week and the California Beer Craft Summit. The city is also known for its coffee.

Sports

Main article: Sports in Sacramento, California

Sacramento is home to the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association. The team moved there from Kansas City in 1985. In 2013, there was a plan to move the Kings to Seattle, but the city kept them by forming a new ownership group.

The Sacramento Republic FC started playing in 2014 and quickly became champions of their league. They are working towards joining a bigger soccer league.

In 2000, Sacramento got a minor league baseball team called the Sacramento River Cats. They play in West Sacramento. In the future, a major league team from Oakland will play here temporarily while their new stadium is built.

The Sacramento State Hornets play college football and have had many successes since 1954.

Sacramento has also hosted big track and field events and the California International Marathon, which offers prizes and is popular for training.

Parks and recreation

Sacramento has a wonderful park system covering over 5,000 acres. In 2013, it was tied with San Francisco and Boston for having one of the best park systems among the biggest cities in the United States. The city has many smaller parks in the downtown area, such as Crocker Park and Roosevelt Park, which include basketball courts, playgrounds, and farmers markets.

Popular parks include Cesar Chavez Plaza, which hosts summer concerts, and Capitol Park, which has many types of trees and memorials. William Land Park is home to the Sacramento Zoo, Funderland amusement park, and Fairytale Town. The American River Parkway is a long, beautiful area popular with cyclists and horse riders. The California State Fair is held in Sacramento each summer, attracting many visitors.

Government

Sacramento is the capital city of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is home to the Californian government, the county administration, and the city government.

The Government of Sacramento works as a charter city. It has a Sacramento City Council with 8 districts and a Mayor of Sacramento. There are also important departments like the Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento Fire Department.

As the capital, Sacramento also hosts the government of California. This includes the governor of California and the California State Legislature, along with many California state agencies.

Main article: Government of Sacramento

Main article: Government of California

Education

The Sacramento area offers many chances for students to learn. It is home to two big public universities, several private schools, community colleges, and vocational schools.

Sacramento State (California State University, Sacramento) was started in 1947 and has many students studying there. The University of California, Davis has a center in downtown Sacramento, and UC Davis Medical Center is also located there.

There are also many community colleges, like American River College and Sacramento City College. Other schools include University of the Pacific, which has a campus in Sacramento, and many more schools offering different kinds of programs.

The area has many public school districts, such as the Sacramento City Unified School District and Elk Grove Unified School District, serving students from elementary through high school. There are also private schools, like Sacramento Country Day School and the Sacramento Waldorf School, offering different educational approaches.

The Sacramento Public Library system has many branches where people can borrow books and learn.

Mass media

Further information: Mass media in Sacramento, California

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in the Sacramento metropolitan area

Sacramento is a city with many ways to get around. A study in 2021 found that it is the 49th easiest city in the United States for walking.

Roads

Sacramento has many roads and highways that connect it to other places. Interstate 80 is a major highway that goes east–west, linking Sacramento to San Francisco in the west and Reno in the east. Interstate 5 runs north to Redding and south to Los Angeles. Other important roads include California State Highway 99, which connects to Marysville and Yuba City in the north and Fresno and Bakersfield in the south.

Some parts of Sacramento, like Downtown Sacramento and Midtown Sacramento, are friendly for people who ride bicycles. The city works to make sure sidewalks and buildings are easy for people in wheelchairs to use.

Rail service

Amtrak offers train rides to many places from Sacramento. The Sacramento Valley Rail Station is a big station that has many trains stopping there. Trains go to places like the San Francisco Bay Area, Bakersfield, Seattle, Los Angeles, and even far-off cities like Chicago.

Airport

Sacramento International Airport is about 10 miles from downtown. Many airlines fly from there to cities across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and some places in Europe and Asia. The airport is famous for a big red rabbit sculpture called "Leap" in Terminal B.

Transit

The Sacramento Regional Transit District runs buses and light rail trains. There are three lines: Blue, Gold, and Green, covering many parts of the city. These trains stop at the Sacramento Valley Rail Station and go to places like Folsom and Cosumnes River College Station. There are also plans to extend the lines to the airport and other nearby cities.

Bicycling is becoming more popular in Sacramento because the weather is nice and the city is flat. Some neighborhoods, like Midtown and East Sacramento, are especially good for biking. There are also special paths for bikes along the American River Parkway. Many people use electric scooters and bikes that they can rent in downtown Sacramento.

Notable people

See also: List of people from Sacramento

Sacramento has been home to many famous people throughout history. Some of these individuals have made important contributions in fields like entertainment, sports, and public service. The city continues to be a place where inspiring stories begin.

International relations

Sacramento, California, has friendships with 14 cities around the world, called sister cities. These friendships help the cities learn from each other and work together.