Sacramento County, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sacramento County
County
Images, from top down, left to right: California State Capitol, Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park, Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Sutter's Fort
Flag Seal
Location in the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Sacramento Valley
Metro area	Greater Sacramento
Incorporated	February 18, 1850
Named for	The capital city of Sacramento, which is named for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
County seat (and largest city)	Sacramento
Government
• Type	Council–CEO
• Body	Board of Supervisors
Area
• Total	994 sq mi (2,570 km2)
• Land	965 sq mi (2,500 km2)
• Water	29 sq mi (80 km2)
Highest elevation	831 ft (253 m)
Population  (April 1, 2020)
• Total	1,585,055
• Density	1,594.6/sq mi (615.69/km2)
Gross Domestic Product
• Total	US$98.990 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Congressional districts	3rd, 6th, 7th

Sacramento County (ⁱ/ˌsækrəˈmɛntoʊ/) 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 the central county of the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. The county covers about 994 square miles (2,570 km²) 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 ten miles (16 km) 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.

Alexander Hamilton Willard, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is buried in the old Franklin Cemetery.

Geography

Sacramento

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 994 square miles (2,570 km²), of which 965 square miles (2,500 km²) is land and 29 square miles (75 km²) (3.0%) 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 828 feet (252 m), 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

2020 census

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

Ethnic origins in Sacramento County

2011

Places by population, ethnicity, and income

2010

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 (57.5%) White, 200,228 (15.4%) African American, 14,308 (1.0%) Native American, 203,211 (14.3%) Asian, 13,858 (1.0%) Pacific Islander, 131,691 (9.3%) from other races, and 93,511 (6.6%) from two or more races. There were 306,196 Hispanic or Latino residents of any race (21.6%).

2000

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 1,267 inhabitants per square mile (489/km²). There were 474,814 housing units at an average density of 492 per square mile (190/km²). 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.

Education

Colleges and universities

Public universities

• California State University Sacramento
• UC Davis Extension
  • UC Davis School of Medicine
  • UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing

Community colleges

• Los Rios Community College District
  • American River College
  • Cosumnes River College
  • Folsom Lake College
  • Sacramento City College
• Sierra College

Private, not for profit

• University of the Pacific in Sacramento
• National University Sacramento Regional Campus
• University of San Francisco Regional Campus
• University of Southern California Extension
• Western Seminary
• Epic Bible College

Private, for profit

• Alliant International University
• California Northstate University College of Pharmacy
• Chamberlain University Rancho Cordova
• DeVry University
• Lincoln Law School of Sacramento
• MTI College
• Professional School of Psychology
• San Joaquin Valley College
• The Art Institute of California – Sacramento, a branch of The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles
• Universal Technical Institute
• University of Phoenix Sacramento Valley

K-12 education

School districts include:

K-12:

Secondary:

• Galt Joint Union High School District
• Roseville Joint Union High School District

Elementary:

Transportation

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. Sacramento RT 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 San Joaquins, which link the region with destinations across California and the United States.

Major highways

• I-5
• I-80
• I-80 Bus.
• US 50
• SR 12
• SR 16
• SR 84
• SR 99
• SR 104
• SR 160
• SR 220
• SR 275

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

Elk Grove

Folsom Lake

Cities

• Citrus Heights
• Elk Grove
• Folsom
• Galt
• Isleton
• Rancho Cordova
• Sacramento (county seat)

Census-designated places

Unincorporated community

• Locke

Former townships

The 14 civil townships, 1885

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.

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Sacramento County.

† county seat

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Sacramento para niños