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Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the
capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and the
seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...
of
Sacramento County Sacramento County () is a county 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. Sacrament ...
. Located at the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
and
American River The American River is a List of rivers of California, river in California that runs from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento. Via the Sacramento River, it ...
s in
Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
's
Sacramento Valley The Sacramento Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River. It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California ...
, Sacramento's 2020 population of 524,943 makes it the fourth-most populous city in Northern California, the sixth-most populous in the state, the ninth-most populous state capital, and the 35th most populous city in the United States. Sacramento is the seat of the
California Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
and the
governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
. Sacramento is also the cultural and economic core of the Greater Sacramento area, which at the 2020 census had a population of 2,680,831, the fourth-largest
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
in California. Before the arrival of the Spanish, the area was inhabited by the
Nisenan The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. According to a ...
,
Maidu The Maidu are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather River, Feather and American River, American ...
, and other
indigenous peoples of California Indigenous peoples of California, commonly known as Indigenous Californians or Native Californians, are a diverse group of nations and peoples that are indigenous to the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and afte ...
. In 1808, Spanish cavalryman
Gabriel Moraga Gabriel Moraga (1765 – June 14, 1823) was a Sonoran-born Californio soldier, administrator, and explorer. As an explorer in Alta California, Gabriel Moraga found and gave names to a number of rivers in the Central Valley. Gabriel's son Joaqu ...
surveyed and named the ''Río del Santísimo Sacramento'' (Sacramento River), after the
Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...
. In 1839,
Juan Bautista Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) usually known as Juan Bautista Alvarado, was a Californio politician that served as governor of Alta California from 1837 to 1842. Prior to his term as governor, Al ...
, Mexican governor of
Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...
, granted the responsibility of colonizing the Sacramento Valley to
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
-born Mexican citizen
John Augustus Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Swiss immigrant who became a Mexican and later an American citizen, known for establishing Sutter's Fort in th ...
, who subsequently established
Sutter's Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican ''Alta California'' province. Established in 1839, the site of the fort was originally part of a utopian colonial project called New Helvetia (''New Switzerland'') ...
and the settlement at the ''Rancho Nueva Helvetia.'' Following the American
Conquest of California The Conquest of California, also known as the Conquest of Alta California or the California Campaign, was a military campaign during the Mexican–American War carried out by the United States in Alta California (modern-day California), then part ...
and the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the waterfront developed by Sutter began to be developed and incorporated in 1850 as the City of Sacramento. In 1852, the city offered its county courthouse to the state of California to house the state legislature, resulting in the city becoming the permanent state capital in 1854 and ushering in the construction of a new state capitol building which was finished in 1874. Sacramento is the fastest-growing major city in California, owing to its status as a notable political center on the West Coast and as a major educational hub, home of
California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...
and
UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
. Similarly, Sacramento is a major center for the California
healthcare industry The healthcare industry (also called the medical industry or health economy) is an aggregation and integration of sectors within the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, ...
, as the seat of
Sutter Health Sutter Health is a not-for-profit integrated health delivery system headquartered in Sacramento, California. It operates 24 acute care hospitals and over 200 clinics in Northern California. Sutter Hospital Association was founded in 1921 as a ...
,
UC Davis Medical Center UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) is part of UC Davis Health and a major academic health center located in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by the University of California as part of its University of California, Davis campus. The ...
, and the
UC Davis School of Medicine The University of California Davis School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of California, Davis. While the parent institution is located in Davis, California, the medical school is in Sacramento, California. History Founded in ...
. In 2013, the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau stated that the city receives 15.3 million visitors per year, and is home to
the California Museum The California Museum is the List of U.S. state historical societies and museums, state history museum of the US state of California, located in its capital city of Sacramento and housed within the Secretary of State of California, Secretary of ...
,
Crocker Art Museum The Crocker Art Museum is the oldest art museum in the Western United States, located in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1885, the museum holds one of the premier collections of Californian art. The collection includes American works dating f ...
,
California State Railroad Museum The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the California State Parks system that interprets the role of railroads in the Western U.S. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 111 I Street, Sacramento, California. Featu ...
,
California State Capitol Museum The California State Capitol Museum consists of a museum in and grounds around the California State Capitol in Sacramento, California, United States. The building has been the home of the California State Legislature since 1869. The State Ca ...
, the
Sacramento Convention Center Complex The Sacramento Convention Center Complex is a complex of entertainment venues and a convention center located in downtown Sacramento, California. The complex consists of the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (formerly Community Center Theat ...
, and
Old Sacramento State Historic Park 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 Histori ...
.


History


Pre-Columbian period

Nisenan The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. According to a ...
(Southern
Maidu The Maidu are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather River, Feather and American River, American ...
),
Modoc Modoc may refer to: Ethnic groups *Modoc people, a Native American/First Nations people ** Modoc language ** Modoc Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Modoc * Modoc War, the last armed resistance of the Modoc people in 1873 *The "Modocs", ri ...
, and Plains Miwok American Indians have lived in the area for perhaps thousands of years. Until the settlers arrived who would eventually make Sacramento their home, these tribes left little evidence of their existence. Their diet was dominated by
acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...
s taken from the plentiful oak trees in the region and by fruits, bulbs, seeds, and roots gathered throughout the year.


Spanish period

In 1808, the Spanish explorer
Gabriel Moraga Gabriel Moraga (1765 – June 14, 1823) was a Sonoran-born Californio soldier, administrator, and explorer. As an explorer in Alta California, Gabriel Moraga found and gave names to a number of rivers in the Central Valley. Gabriel's son Joaqu ...
encountered and named the
Sacramento Valley The Sacramento Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River. It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California ...
and the Sacramento River. A Spanish writer with the Moraga expedition wrote:
Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths. The air was like
champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
, and (''the Spaniards)'' drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them. "¡Es como el sagrado sacramento! (It's like the Blessed Sacrament.)"
The valley and the river were then christened after the "Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ," referring to the Catholic
sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...
of the
Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
.


Mexican period

John Sutter Sr. first arrived in the area on August 13, 1839, at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers with a Mexican land grant of . The next year, he and his party established Sutter's Fort, a massive adobe structure with walls high and thick. Representing Mexico, Sutter Sr. called his colony New
Helvetia Helvetia () is a national personification of Switzerland, officially , the Swiss Confederation. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing clothing, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Flag of Switzerland, Swiss flag, and commo ...
, a Swiss-inspired name, and was the political authority and dispenser of justice in the new settlement. Soon, the colony began to grow as more and more pioneers headed west. Within just a few short years, Sutter Sr. had become a grand success, owning a orchard and a herd of 13,000 cattle. Fort Sutter became a regular stop for the increasing number of immigrants coming through the valley. In 1847, Sutter Sr. received 2,000 fruit trees, which started the agriculture industry in the Sacramento Valley. Later that year, Sutter Sr. hired James Marshall to build a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
so he could continue to expand his empire, but unbeknownst to many, Sutter Sr.'s "empire" had been built on thin margins of credit.


American period

In 1848, when James W. Marshall discovered gold at
Sutter's Mill Sutter's Mill was a water-powered sawmill on the bank of the South Fork American River in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California. It was named after its owner John Sutter. A worker constructing the mill, James W. Marshall, found go ...
in Coloma (some northeast of the fort), numerous gold-seekers came to the area, increasing the population. In August 1848, Sutter Sr.'s son, John Sutter Jr., arrived to assist his father in reducing his
debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...
. The Sutters struggled to contain the effects of thousands of new gold miners and prospectors in the area, many of whom squatted on unwatched portions of the vast Sutter lands or stole various unattended Sutter properties or belongings. For Sutter, his employee's discovery of gold in the area turned out to be a bane. By December 1848, John Sutter Jr., in association with
Samuel Brannan Samuel S. Brannan (March 2, 1819 – May 5, 1889) was an American settler, businessman, journalist, and prominent Mormon who founded the '' California Star'', the first newspaper in San Francisco, California. He is also considered the first to ...
, began laying out the City of Sacramento, south of his father's settlement of New Helvetia. This venture was undertaken against the wishes of Sutter Sr., but the father, being deeply in debt, was unable to stop it. For commercial reasons, the new city was named "Sacramento City" after the
Sacramento River The Sacramento River () 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–San Joaquin River D ...
. Sutter Jr. and Brannan had
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
Captain William H. Warner assigned to draft the official layout of the city, which included 26 lettered and 31 numbered streets (today's grid from C St. to Broadway and from Front St. to Alhambra Blvd.) Relations between Sutter and his son became embittered after Sacramento became an overnight commercial success. (Sutter's Fort, Mill, and the town of Sutterville, all founded by John Sutter Sr., eventually failed). Residents of Sacramento adopted a
city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...
in 1849, which was recognized by the state legislature in 1850. Sacramento is the oldest incorporated city in California, incorporated on February 27, 1850. On January 10, 1850, a flood occurred that devastated the city. The rushing waters uprooted homes and drowned livestock. The city was almost destroyed. Due to the efforts of Hardin Bigelow, Sacramento's first elected mayor, the construction of the city's first levee was completed in early 1852 (the city became known as "The Levee City"). However, a month after it was completed, it was breached during the first major storm of the season and the city flooded again. A new levee was built for $50,000, but it also broke, causing more flooding of the city. Between October and December 1850, Sacramento was hit with a cholera epidemic that killed 1,000 residents, including Mayor Bigelow and 17 of the city's 40 physicians. Up to 80 percent of the populace left town. On November 2, 1852, a fire known as the Great Conflagration burned more than 80 percent of the structures in the city. It is estimated that the total damage was around six million dollars. Within a month 761 structures were re-built, many of them in brick. In spite of all these hardships the new city's location just downstream from the
Mother Lode Mother lode is a principal vein or zone of gold or silver ore. The term is also used colloquially to refer to the real or imaginary origin of something valuable or in great abundance. Term The term probably came from a literal translation of ...
in the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
proved irresistible, and it grew rapidly during the early 1850s, attracting a population of 10,000. The
Great Flood of 1862 The Great Flood of 1862 was the largest flood in the recorded history of California, Oregon, and Nevada, inundating the western United States and portions of British Columbia and Mexico. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains and snows tha ...
from December 1861 to January 1862 caused the worst flooding in Sacramento's history. In 1861, Governor
Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of Calif ...
, who was inaugurated in early January 1862, traveled to his inauguration in a rowboat. The
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, with the support of Governor
John Bigler John Bigler (January 8, 1805November 29, 1871) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he served as the third governor of California from 1852 to 1856 and was the first California governor to ...
, moved to Sacramento in 1854. The capital of California under Spanish (and, subsequently, Mexican) rule had been
Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...
, where, in 1849, the first Constitutional Convention and state elections were held. The convention decided San Jose would be the new state's capital. From California's statehood beginning September 9, 1850 through 1851, the legislature met in San Jose. It moved to Vallejo in 1852 and
Benicia Benicia ( , ) is a city in Solano County, California, located on the north bank of the Carquinez Strait in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. ...
in 1853, before ending up in Sacramento in 1854. During the 1850s the city was consolidated with the County of Sacramento. In the Sacramento Constitutional Convention of 1879, Sacramento was named the permanent state capital. The
Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...
-style
California State Capitol The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senat ...
, similar to the national Capitol, was started in 1860 and completed in 1874. In 1861, the legislative session was moved to the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco for one session because of the massive flooding in Sacramento. From 1862 to 1868, part of the Leland Stanford Mansion was used for the governor's offices during Stanford's tenure as the Governor; and the legislature met in the Sacramento County Courthouse. The legislative chambers were first occupied in 1869, while construction continued around them. With its new status and strategic location, Sacramento quickly prospered. It was designated as the western terminus of the
Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. During its 18 months of opera ...
. Later it became a terminus of the
First transcontinental railroad America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
, which began construction in Sacramento in 1863 and was financed by " The Big Four"— Mark Hopkins,
Charles Crocker Charles Crocker (September 16, 1822 – August 14, 1888) was an American railroad executive who was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and took ...
,
Collis P. Huntington Collis Potter Huntington (October 22, 1821 – August 13, 1900) was an American industrialist and railway magnate. He was one of the Big Four of western railroading (along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) who invested ...
, and
Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of Calif ...
. Both the American and especially Sacramento rivers were key elements in the economic success of the city. Sacramento effectively controlled commerce on these rivers, and public works projects were funded through taxes levied on goods unloaded from boats and loaded onto rail cars in the historic Sacramento Rail Yards. From 1862 until the mid-1870s, Sacramento raised the level of its downtown by building reinforced brick walls on its downtown streets and filling the resulting street walls with dirt. The previous first floors of buildings became
basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...
s, with open space between the street and the building, previously the
sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English, South African English), or footpath (Hiberno-English, Irish English, Indian English, Australian English, New Zealand English) is a path along the side of a road. Usually constr ...
, now at the basement level. Over the years, many of these underground spaces have been filled or destroyed by subsequent development. However, it is still possible to view portions of the " Sacramento Underground".


Modern era

The city's current charter was adopted by voters in 1920. As a
charter city Home rule in the United States relates to the authority of a constituent part of a U.S. state to exercise powers of governance (i.e., whether such powers must be specifically delegated to it by the state—typically by legislative action—or a ...
, Sacramento is exempt from many laws and regulations passed by the
state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...
. The city has expanded continuously over the years. The 1964 merger of the City of
North Sacramento North Sacramento is a community that is part of the city of Sacramento, California, United States. It was a city from its incorporation in 1924 until it was merged (in a bitter election decided by 6 votes) in 1964 into the City of Sacramento. In ...
with Sacramento substantially increased its population, and large annexations of the Natomas area eventually led to significant population growth throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Sacramento County (along with a portion of adjacent
Placer County Placer County ( ; ''Placer'', Spanish language, Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was ...
) is served by a customer-owned electric utility, the
Sacramento Municipal Utility District The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is a community-owned electric utility serving Sacramento County and parts of Placer County. It is one of the ten largest publicly owned utilities in the United States, generating the bulk of its po ...
(SMUD). Sacramento voters approved the creation of SMUD in 1923. In April 1946, after 12 years of litigation, a judge ordered
Pacific Gas & Electric The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered at Kaiser Center, in Oakland, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 million households in the norther ...
to transfer the title of Sacramento's electric distribution system to SMUD. Today SMUD is the sixth-largest public electric utility in the U.S. and is a leader in innovative programs and services, including the development of clean fuel resources, such as
solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...
. The year following the creation of SMUD, 1924, brought several events in Sacramento:
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...
executive
Verne McGeorge Verne may refer to: People Surname *Jules Verne (1828–1905), French early science-fiction writer * Adela Verne (1877–1952), English pianist and minor composer *Kaaren Verne (1918–1967), German actress *Larry Verne (1936–20 ...
established
McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on ...
, American
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
Weinstock & Lubin opened a new store at 12th and K street, the US$2 million
Senator Hotel The Senator Hotel (officially Hotel Senator) (1924–1979) was a nine-story, 400-room Italian Renaissance-style hotel in Sacramento, California located at 12th and L streets across from the California State Capitol building that served as a nex ...
was opened, Sacramento's drinking water became filtered and treated drinking water, and Sacramento boxer Georgie Lee fought
Francisco Guilledo Francisco Villaruel Guilledo (August 1, 1901 – July 14, 1925), commonly known as Pancho Villa, was a Filipino professional boxer. Villa, who stood only 5 feet and 1 inch (154 cm) tall and never weighed more than 114 pounds (5 ...
, a Filipino professional
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...
known as Pancho Villa, at L Street Auditorium on March 21. Early in World War II, the Sacramento Assembly Center (also known as the Walerga Assembly Center) was established to house Japanese Americans forcibly "evacuated" from the West Coast under
Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a President of the United States, United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. "This order authorized the fo ...
. The camp was one of fifteen temporary detention facilities where over 110,000
Japanese Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...
, two-thirds of them U.S. citizens, were held while construction on the more permanent
War Relocation Authority The War Relocation Authority (WRA) was a United States government agency established to handle the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It also operated the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York, which was t ...
camps was completed. The assembly center was built on the site of a former migrant labor camp, and inmates began arriving from Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties on May 6, 1942. It closed after only 52 days, on June 26, and the population of 4,739 was transferred to the
Tule Lake Tule Lake ( ) is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon. Geography Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River. The ele ...
concentration camp. The site was then turned over to the Army Signal Corps and dedicated as
Camp Kohler Camp Kohler was located in the northeast corner of unincorporated Sacramento County, California, United States, until it was destroyed by a fire in 1947. Initially a camp for migrant farm workers, it became the Sacramento Assembly Center a tempo ...
. After the war and the end of the incarceration program, returning Japanese Americans were often unable to find housing and so 234 families temporarily lived at the former assembly center. Camp Kohler was destroyed by a fire in December 1947, and the assembly center site is now part of the Foothill Farms-North Highlands subdivision. The Sacramento-Yolo Port District was created in 1947, and the ground was broken on the Port of Sacramento in 1949. On June 29, 1963, with 5,000 spectators waiting to welcome her, the Motor Vessel ''Taipei Victory'' arrived. The Nationalist Chinese flagship docked at the
Port of Sacramento The Port of Sacramento, now known as the Port of West Sacramento, is an inland port in West Sacramento, California, in the Sacramento metropolitan area. It is northeast of San Francisco, and is centered in the California Central Valley, one of t ...
, being the first ocean-going vessel in Sacramento since the steamship ''Harpoon'' in 1934. In 1967,
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
became the last
Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
to live permanently in the city. The 1980s and 1990s saw the closure of several local military bases:
McClellan Air Force Base McClellan Air Force Base (1935–2001) is a former United States Air Force base in California, located in the North Highlands, California, North Highlands area of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County, northeast of Sacramento, Califo ...
,
Mather Air Force Base Mather Air Force Base (Mather AFB) was a United States Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993 pursuant to a post-Cold War BRAC decision. It was located east of Sacramento, on the south side of U.S. Route 50 in Sacramento County, Californ ...
, and Sacramento Army Depot. In 1980, there was another flood. Despite military base closures and the decline of agricultural food processing, Sacramento has continued to experience population growth in recent years. Primary sources of population growth are an influx of residents from the nearby
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
, as well as immigration from Asia and Latin America. In 1985, Hugh Scrutton, a 38-year-old Sacramento, California, computer store owner, was killed by a nail-and-splinter-loaded bomb placed in the parking lot of his store. In 1996, his death was attributed to the Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski. After acquiring the majority stake in the
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
, the team's new owner,
Vivek Ranadivé Vivek Yeshwant Ranadivé ( ; born 7 October 1957) is an Indian-American business executive, engineer, author, speaker and philanthropist.D'Agostino, RyanThe Man Who Knows Everything ''Esquire''. 19 January 2012. Ranadivé is the founder and for ...
, with the help of the city, agreed to build a new arena in the downtown area. With a final estimated cost of $558.2 million, Sacramento's
Golden 1 Center Golden 1 Center is an indoor arena in downtown Sacramento, California, United States. It sits partially on the site of the former Downtown Plaza shopping center. The publicly owned arena is part of a business and entertainment district called ...
opened on September 30, 2016.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city covers . 97.81% of it is land, and 2.19% of it is water. Depth to groundwater is typically about . Much of the land to the west of the city (in
Yolo County Yolo County (; Wintun: ''Yo-loy''), officially the County of Yolo, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Yolo County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood ...
) is permanently reserved for a vast flood control basin (the
Yolo Bypass The Yolo Bypass is one of the two flood bypasses in California's Sacramento Valley located in Yolo and Solano Counties. Through a system of weirs, the bypass diverts floodwaters from the Sacramento River away from the state's capital city of Sa ...
), due to the city's historical vulnerability to floods. As a result, the contiguous urban area sprawls only west of downtown (as
West Sacramento, California West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento, California, Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento County, California, Sacramento a ...
) but northeast and east, into the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
foothills, and to the south into valley farmland. The city is at the confluence of the
Sacramento River The Sacramento River () 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–San Joaquin River D ...
and the
American River The American River is a List of rivers of California, river in California that runs from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento. Via the Sacramento River, it ...
and has a deep-water port connected to the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
by a channel 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 Central California and Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that ...
. It is the shipping and rail center for the
Sacramento Valley The Sacramento Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River. It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California ...
.


Trees

Sacramento has long been known as the "City of Trees" owing to its abundant
urban forest Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...
. The city has more trees per capita than any other city in the world. The first recorded use of the term was in 1855, and it was popular by the early 20th century. It was not always so: it was at first called the "City of Plains" because of the lack of trees, but soon afterward there were cottonwood trees planted, and
eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
varieties were imported to dry out
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
land. Later,
locust tree Locust tree can mean: * Any of a number of tree species in the genera ''Gleditsia'' or ''Robinia'', including: ** Honey locust (''Gleditsia triacanthos''), a leguminous tree with pods having a sweet, edible pulp ** Black locust (''Robinia pseudoa ...
s, and
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...
s were planted along streets, then
elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...
s, then
palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...
s, then
fruit tree A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans. All trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the te ...
s in the late 1910s. It was the first US city to be designated a City of Trees by the
Arbor Day Foundation The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communitie ...
in 1978. In the early 21st century, the tree cover is well above that of the average tree cover of other major cities in the United States and the rest of the world, with the main species being the
London plane The London plane, or sometimes hybrid plane, ''Platanus'' × ''hispanica'', is a tree in the genus ''Platanus''. It is often known by the Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Platanus'' × ''acerifolia'', a later name. It is a Hybrid (biology ...
. Other species are being introduced to increase diversity and to help cope with the effects of
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
on vegetation in the future. Treepedia, a project run by
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
using
Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...
' street-view data to calculate tree coverage in cities, ranked Sacramento the greenest city of 15 studied in the US, and third globally, after
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. A prominent
water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
bore the slogan "City of Trees" until 2017 when it was repainted with the words "America's Farm-to-Fork Capital" (referring to the farm-to-fork movement, which promotes the consumption of locally-grown food). After 4,000 displeased citizens signed a petition protesting the change, officials agreed to include both slogans on the water tower.


Cityscape


City neighborhoods

The city groups most of its neighborhoods into four areas: * Area One:
Alkali Flat A dry lake bed, also known as a playa (), is a basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body, which disappears when evaporation processes exceed recharge. If the floor of a dry lake is covered by deposits of alkalin ...
, Boulevard Park, Campus Commons,
Sacramento State California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...
, Dos Rios Triangle, Downtown, East Sacramento, Mansion Flats, Marshall School, Midtown, New Era Park, McKinley Village,
Newton Booth Newton Booth (December 30, 1825July 14, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and politician who served as the 11th governor of California from 1871 to 1875 and as U.S. Senator from California from 1875 to 1881. He was the only member of the Anti-Mo ...
,
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 Histori ...
, Poverty Ridge, Richards, Richmond Grove, River Park, Elmhurst, Sierra Oaks,
Southside Park Southside Park is, at , one of the largest parks in the City of Atlanta. It is located along Jonesboro Road in the southern part of the city just north of the Perimeter (I-285). Although it once ranked as the city's largest park, the new Wests ...
. * Area Two: Airport, Carleton Tract, Freeport Manor, Golf Course Terrace, Greenhaven, Curtis Park, Hollywood Park,
Land Park Land Park is a neighborhood in the city of Sacramento. Land Park consists of mainly single-family dwellings in the area between Interstate 5 to the west, Broadway to the north, Sutterville Road to the south and Freeport Blvd to the east. Willia ...
, Little Pocket, Mangan Park, Meadowview, Parkway,
Pocket A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag o ...
,
Sacramento City College Sacramento City College (SCC) is a public community college in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community ...
, 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 The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...
, Fruitridge Manor, Glen Elder, Glenbrook, Granite Regional Park, Industrial Park, Lawrence Park, Med Center, North City Farms, Oak Park,
Packard Bell Packard Bell is a personal computer hardware brand which originated as Packard Bell Electronics, Inc., an independent American computer company. Packard Bell Electronics was founded in Los Angeles in 1986 by Israeli-American investors who bough ...
, South City Farms,
Southeast Village Southeast Village is a neighborhood located in Southeast Sacramento. Its boundaries are Lemon Hill Ave to the north, 65th St. Expy to the west, 53rd Ave to the south, along with Logan St and 75th St to the east. Features Elder Creek Road is ...
, Tahoe Park, Tahoe Park East, Tahoe Park South, Tallac Village, Vintage Park, Churchill Downs, and Woodbine. * Area Four:
Ben Ali Ben Ali may refer to: People * Ben Ali (businessman) (1927–2009), founder of the restaurant Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington, DC, USA * Habib Ben Ali (1941–1996), Tunisian criminal * Ibrahim Ben Ali (1756–1800), soldier and physician who was ...
, Del Paso Heights, Gardenland, Hagginwood, McClellan Heights West, Natomas (north, south, west),
North Sacramento North Sacramento is a community that is part of the city of Sacramento, California, United States. It was a city from its incorporation in 1924 until it was merged (in a bitter election decided by 6 votes) in 1964 into the City of Sacramento. In ...
, Northgate, Robla, Swanston Estates, Terrace Manor, Valley View Acres, and Woodlake. Additional prominent regions and neighborhoods in the region include American River Parkway, Arden-Arcade, Arden Fair, Cal Expo, Capital Avenue, Coffing, College Glen, College Greens, Cordova, Creekside, East Fruitridge, Elder Creek, Elkhorn, Elvas, Erikson Industrial Park, Excelsior Sunrise, Foothill Farms, Franklin, Frates Ranch, Gateway Center, Gateway West, Glenwood Meadows, Hansen Park, Heritage Park, Johnson Business Park, Johnson Heights, Mayhew, Metro Center, Mills, 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, Rosemont, Sierra Oaks, Sports Complex, Strawberry Manor, Sundance Lake, Swanston Palms, Town and Country Village, Upper Land Park, Village 5, Village 7, Village 12, Village 14, Village Green, Walerga, Walsh Station, West Del Paso Heights, Westlake, Willowcreek, Wills Acres, Winn Park, Woodside, and Youngs Heights.


Notable areas


=Capitol Mall

= Capitol Mall connects West Sacramento and Downtown Sacramento. Some notable landmarks on this road include the Tower Bridge, Old Sacramento, and the California State Capitol Building. Capitol Mall is considered to be the business district of the city. Skyscrapers such as the
Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to: * Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California * Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California * Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California * Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California * Wells Fargo C ...
and
U.S. Bank Tower U.S. Bank Tower, known locally as the Library Tower and formerly as the First Interstate Bank World Center, is a skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles, California. It is, by structural height, the third-tallest building in California, the sec ...
, two of the tallest buildings in the city, are located on Capitol Mall and are home to several major companies. The street is also home to major festivals such as the annual Farm to Fork Festival. Sacramento's historic
Japantown is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or , the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little ...
once occupied much of today's Capitol Mall, spanning 4th street from K to P streets. The area suffered from the forced
eviction Eviction is the removal of a Tenement (law), tenant from leasehold estate, rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosure, foreclosed by a mortgagee (often ...
of its Japanese residents during WW2 and never recovered, resulting in the remaining properties taken through eminent domain to create the grand promenade of today's
Capitol Mall The Capitol Mall or Capitol Mall Boulevard is a major street and landscaped parkway in the state capital city of Sacramento, California, United States. Formerly known as ''M Street'', it connects the city of West Sacramento, California, West Sac ...
. The Nisei Memorial Hall at 4th and Q remains the last remaining property associated with Sacramento's former Japantown.


=Downtown Commons

= One of the newest districts in the city is
Downtown Commons Downtown Commons (or DOCO), formerly known as Sacramento Downtown Plaza, Westfield (Shoppingtown) Downtown Plaza and Downtown Plaza, is a two-level outdoor mixed-use entertainment and shopping complex operated by JMA Ventures, LLC, located along ...
. Formerly home to the Downtown Plaza shopping mall, the district opened in 2016 along with
Golden 1 Center Golden 1 Center is an indoor arena in downtown Sacramento, California, United States. It sits partially on the site of the former Downtown Plaza shopping center. The publicly owned arena is part of a business and entertainment district called ...
. Downtown Commons, otherwise known as DOCO, is home to the Sawyer, a 16-story skyscraper with a 250-room hotel and 45 condominiums, a Macy's anchor store, an IMAX theater, and retail space with a variety of restaurants and shops.


=Downtown Sacramento

= Downtown Sacramento is home to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center and Theater, Sacramento City Hall, the
Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Public Library is a public library system in Sacramento, California. With nearly 2 million items, it is the fourth largest library system in California. History Founding The Sacramento Library Association was established in October ...
, and K Street, a historic street home to apartments, retail, and historical buildings. In addition, Downtown Sacramento is home to several hotels including the Citizen Hotel, housed in one of the first skyscrapers built in the city.


=East Sacramento

= East Sacramento is a neighborhood in between Midtown and Sacramento State. This neighborhood is well known for being home to McKinley Park and Rose Garden and the Fabulous Forties, home to some of the most expensive, largest, and architecturally unique homes in the city. East Sacramento was home to
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
during his term as Governor of California and this neighborhood was prominently featured in Greta Gerwig's film Lady Bird.


=Historic Chinatown

= The
Opium Wars The Opium Wars () were two conflicts waged between China and Western powers during the mid-19th century. The First Opium War was fought from 1839 to 1842 between China and Britain. It was triggered by the Chinese government's campaign to ...
of the 1840s and 1850s, along with the California gold rush, brought many Chinese people to California. Most arrived at San Francisco, which was then the largest city in California and known as "Daai Fau" (). Some eventually came to Sacramento, then the second-largest city in California and consequently called "Yee Fow" (). Today the city is known as "" () by mainland Chinese and as "" ''Sāgāmíhndouh'' and ''Shājiāmiǎnduó'' by Cantonese speakers and Taiwanese respectively.Sacramento's
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
was on "I" Street from Second to Sixth Streets, called the
China Slough China Slough (also called: Sutter Slough, China Lake, Sutter Lake, Sacramento Chinatown, Sacramento Chinadom, Old Sacramento Chinatown, Yee Fow), is historical site in Sacramento, California. The site of the former China Slough is California Hist ...
. At the time, this area of "I" Street was considered a health hazard because, lying within a levee zone, it was lower than other parts of the city, which were situated on higher land. Throughout Sacramento's Chinatown history, there were fires, acts of discrimination, and prejudicial legislation such as the
Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a United States Code, United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for travelers an ...
that was not repealed until 1943. The mysterious fires were thought to be set off by those who resented the Chinese working class. Ordinances on what was viable building material were set into place to try to get the Chinese to move out. Newspapers such as
The Sacramento Union ''The Sacramento Union'' was a daily newspaper founded in 1851 in Sacramento, California. It was the oldest daily newspaper west of the Mississippi River before it closed its doors after 143 years in January 1994, no longer able to compete with ' ...
wrote stories at the time that portrayed the Chinese in an unfavorable light to inspire ethnic discrimination and drive the Chinese away. While most of Sacramento's Chinatown has now been razed, a small Chinatown mall remains as well as a museum dedicated to the history of Sacramento's Chinatown.


=Newton Booth Historic District

= The Newton Booth Historic District, named for
Newton Booth Newton Booth (December 30, 1825July 14, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and politician who served as the 11th governor of California from 1871 to 1875 and as U.S. Senator from California from 1875 to 1881. He was the only member of the Anti-Mo ...
, is located on the southeast corner of Sacramento's original 1848 street grid.


=Old Sacramento

= The oldest part of the town besides
Sutter's Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican ''Alta California'' province. Established in 1839, the site of the fort was originally part of a utopian colonial project called New Helvetia (''New Switzerland'') ...
is
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 Histori ...
, which consists of cobbled streets and many historic buildings, several from the 1850s and 1860s. Buildings have been preserved, restored, or reconstructed, and the district is now a substantial tourist attraction, with rides on steam-powered historic trains and horse-drawn carriages.


=Poverty Ridge Historic District

= The Poverty Ridge Historic District is within Sacramento's original 1848 street grid and bounded to the west by 21st Street, to the north by S Street, to the east by 23rd Street, to the south by W Street and U.S. Route 50, and includes the block bounded by 20th Street, 21st Street, S Street, and T Street. The Poverty Ridge Historic District was considered to be Sacramento's wealthiest neighborhood from 1868 to 1947.


Climate

Sacramento has a
hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Csa''), characterized by hot, long, dry summers and cool winters with a decent amount of rainfall. Most of the annual precipitation generally occurs from November to April, though there may be a day or two of light rainfall in May or October. The normal annual mean temperature is , with the monthly daily average temperature ranging from in December to in July. Summer heat is sometimes 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 Central California and Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that ...
from the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
, and temperatures cool down sharply at night. The foggiest months are December and January.
Tule fog ''Schoenoplectus acutus'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Scirpus acutus, Schoenoplectus lacustris, Scirpus lacustris'' subsp. ''acutus''), called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant specie ...
can be extremely dense, lowering visibility to less than and making driving conditions extremely hazardous. Chilling tule fog events have been known to last for several consecutive days or weeks. During Tule fog events, temperatures do not exceed . Snowfall is rare in Sacramento, which is only
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
. In the downtown area, only three significant snow accumulations have occurred since 1900, the last one being in 1976. During especially cold winter and spring storms, intense showers do occasionally produce a significant amount of hail, which can create hazardous driving conditions. Snowfall in the city often melts upon ground contact, with traceable amounts occurring in some years. Significant annual snow accumulations occur in the foothills east of the city, which had brief and traceable amounts of snowfall in January 2002, December 2009, and February 2011. The greatest snowfall ever recorded in Sacramento was on January 5, 1888. On average, there are 76 days with a high of +, and 14 days with a high of +; On the other extreme, there are 8.5 days where the temperature remains below , and 15 freezing nights per year. Official temperature extremes range from on December 22, 1990, to on September 6, 2022; a station around east-southeast of the city dipped to on December 11, 1932. The average annual precipitation is . On average, precipitation falls on 58 days each year in Sacramento, and nearly all of this falls during the winter months. Average January rainfall is , and measurable precipitation is rare during the summer months. In February 1992, Sacramento had 16 consecutive days of rain, resulting in an accumulation of for the period. On rare occasions, monsoonal moisture surges from the Desert Southwest can bring upper-level moisture to the Sacramento region, leading to increased summer cloudiness, humidity, and even light showers and thunderstorms. Monsoon clouds do occur, usually during late June through early September. Sacramento is the second most flood-susceptible city in the United States after New Orleans. Sacramento has been noted as being the sunniest location on the planet for four months of the year, from June through September. It holds the distinction as the sunniest month, in terms of the percentage of possible sunshine, of anywhere in the world; July in Sacramento averages 14 hours and 12 minutes of sunshine per day, amounting to approximately 98% of possible sunshine. Since 2010, statewide
droughts in California The historical and ongoing droughts in California result from various complex meteorological phenomena, some of which are not fully understood by scientists. Drought is generally defined as "a deficiency of precipitation over an extended perio ...
have further strained Sacramento's
water security The aim of water security is to maximize the benefits of water for humans and ecosystems. The second aim is to limit the risks of destructive impacts of water to an acceptable level. These risks include too much water (flood), too little water (d ...
.


Demographics

In 2002, the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University conducted for ''Time'' magazine named Sacramento "America's Most Diverse City". The U.S. Census Bureau also groups Sacramento with other U.S. cities having a "high diversity" rating of the diversity index. Moreover, Sacramento is one of the most well-integrated U.S. cities, having a relatively high level of ethnic and racial heterogeneity within its neighborhoods. Chinese people are the largest Asian ethnic group in Sacramento, followed by Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Hmong and Japanese.


2020


2010

The 2010 United States Census reported Sacramento had a population of 466,488. The population density was . There were 138,165 Hispanic or Latino residents of any race (26.9%); 22.6% of the population was of Mexican heritage, 0.7% Puerto Rican, 0.5% Salvadoran, 0.2% Guatemalan, and 0.2% Nicaraguan.
Non-Hispanic Whites Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
were 34.5% of the population in 2010, down from 71.4% in 1970. The Census reported 458,174 people (98.2% of the population) lived in households, 4,268 (0.9%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4,046 (0.9%) were institutionalized. The recent housing crash has not impacted these numbers. There were 174,624 households, out of which 57,870 (33.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 65,556 (37.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 27,640 (15.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 10,534 (6.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 13,234 (7.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2,498 (1.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 53,342 households (30.5%) were made up of individuals, and 14,926 (8.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62. There were 103,730
families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(59.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.37. The age distribution of the city was as follows: 116,121 people (24.9%) were under the age of 18, 52,438 people (11.2%) aged 18 to 24, 139,093 people (29.8%) aged 25 to 44, 109,416 people (23.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 49,420 people (10.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. There were 190,911 housing units at an average density of , of which 86,271 (49.4%) were owner-occupied, and 88,353 (50.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.3%. 231,593 people (49.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 226,581 people (48.6%) lived in rental housing units. Sacramento has one of the highest
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
populations per capita, ranking seventh among major American cities, and third in California behind San Francisco and slightly behind Oakland, with roughly 10% of the city's total population identifying themselves as gay, lesbian, transgender, or bisexual. Lavender Heights is a hub for LGBTQ activities in the city and is a centrally located district in
Midtown Sacramento Midtown Sacramento (commonly known as Midtown) is a historical district and neighborhood just east of Downtown Sacramento. Officially, Midtown's borders are R Street on the South, J Street on the North, 16th Street on the West and 30th Street ...
centered within and around K & 20th streets.


Economy

The
Sacramento metropolitan area The Greater Sacramento area is a metropolitan region in Northern California comprising either the U.S. Census Bureau defined Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade metropolitan statistical area or the larger Sacramento–Roseville combined sta ...
is the fifth largest in California after the
Los Angeles metropolitan area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...
, the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
, the
Inland Empire The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...
, and the
San Diego metropolitan area San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...
, and is the 27th largest in the United States. Sacramento's economy has historically been dominated by the state and federal government and is currently home to more than 120,000 public sector employees. However, in recent years Sacramento has seen a diversification in its local economy, with gains being made in healthcare, manufacturing, and technology.
Adventist Health Adventist Health is a Seventh-day Adventist nonprofit organization headquartered in Roseville, California, that operates facilities in 3 states across the Western United States. History In the 1960s, the General Conference transferred owner ...
,
Aerojet Rocketdyne Aerojet Rocketdyne is a subsidiary of American Arms industry, defense company L3Harris that manufactures rocket, Hypersonic flight, hypersonic, and electric propulsive systems for space, defense, civil and commercial applications. Aerojet traces ...
,
Blue Diamond Growers Blue Diamond Growers is an agricultural cooperative and agricultural marketing organization, marketing organization that specializes in California almonds. Founded in 1910 as the California Almond Growers' Exchange, the organization claims to be ...
, Golden 1 Credit Union,
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc, headquartered in San Diego, California, is an American technology company with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military electronics. Customers include the U.S. federal government, foreign gove ...
,
Nugget Markets Nugget Markets is an American family-owned upscale supermarket chain operating within the Greater Sacramento, greater Sacramento metropolitan area as well as in Marin County, California, Marin and Sonoma County, California, Sonoma counties in Nor ...
, Powerschool,
Raley's Supermarkets Raley's Supermarkets is an independent, family-owned American grocery and retail technology company headquartered in West Sacramento, California. Raley's was founded in 1935 by Thomas P. Raley in Placerville, California. The Raley's Companies br ...
, Solidigm,
Sutter Health Sutter Health is a not-for-profit integrated health delivery system headquartered in Sacramento, California. It operates 24 acute care hospitals and over 200 clinics in Northern California. Sutter Hospital Association was founded in 1921 as a ...
, Teichert,
The McClatchy Company McClatchy Media Company, or simply McClatchy and MCC, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law. Originally based in Sacramento, California, United States, and known as The McClatchy Company, it b ...
, and
VSP Vision Care Vision Service Plan, doing business as VSP Vision Care, is a vision care health insurance company operating in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It is structured as a doctor-governed organization and operates t ...
are notable companies based in Sacramento and the surrounding metropolitan area. Other major companies that have operations in Sacramento include
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
,
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
,
Centene Centene Corporation is an American for-profit healthcare company based in St. Louis, Missouri, which is an intermediary for government-sponsored and privately insured healthcare programs. Centene ranked No. 25 on the 2023 Fortune 500. History ...
,
Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...
,
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
,
Oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...
, and
Siemens Mobility Siemens Mobility GmbH is a division of Siemens. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens Mobility has four core business units: Mobility Management, dedicated to rail technology and intelligent traffic systems, Railway Electrification, ...
. The
Port of Sacramento The Port of Sacramento, now known as the Port of West Sacramento, is an inland port in West Sacramento, California, in the Sacramento metropolitan area. It is northeast of San Francisco, and is centered in the California Central Valley, one of t ...
has been plagued with operating losses in recent years and faces bankruptcy. This severe loss in business is due to the heavy competition from the
Port of Stockton The Port of Stockton is a major deepwater port on the Stockton Ship Channel of the Pacific Ocean and an inland port located more than seventy nautical miles from the ocean, in Stockton, California on the Stockton Channel and San Joaquin Rive ...
, which has a larger facility and a deeper channel. As of 2006, the city of
West Sacramento West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. The population was 53,915 at the 2 ...
took responsibility for the Port of Sacramento. During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
era, the Port of Sacramento was the major terminus in the supply route for all military parts, hardware, and other cargo going to Southeast Asia.


Top employers

As of 2023, the top employers in the County of Sacramento were:


Culture


Museums

Sacramento is home to 32 museums, including several major museums. The
Crocker Art Museum The Crocker Art Museum is the oldest art museum in the Western United States, located in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1885, the museum holds one of the premier collections of Californian art. The collection includes American works dating f ...
is the oldest public
art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...
west of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. In 2010, the museum completed an expansion that tripled the museum's floor space to more than 145,000 square feet of exhibit space. Also of interest is the
Governor's Mansion State Historic Park The California Governor's Mansion is the official residence of the governor of California, located in Sacramento, the capital of California. Built in 1877, the estate was purchased by the State of California in 1903 and has served as the executi ...
, a large Victorian Mansion that was home to 14 of California's Governors. The Leland Stanford Mansion, which was completely restored in 2006, serves as the State's official address for diplomatic and business receptions. Guided public tours are available.
The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts The California Museum is the List of U.S. state historical societies and museums, state history museum of the US state of California, located in its capital city of Sacramento and housed within the Secretary of State of California, Secretary of ...
, home of the
California Hall of Fame The California Hall of Fame is an institution created in 2006 by Maria Shriver to honor important Californians. The award was designed by Californian artists Robert Graham (sculptor), Robert Graham. The hall is located in The California Museum i ...
, is a cultural destination. The
California State Capitol The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senat ...
is home to the
California State Capitol Museum The California State Capitol Museum consists of a museum in and grounds around the California State Capitol in Sacramento, California, United States. The building has been the home of the California State Legislature since 1869. The State Ca ...
and offers free tours of the capitol's historic chambers and assembly rooms as well as a museum that is home to several historical artifacts. The
California State Railroad Museum The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the California State Parks system that interprets the role of railroads in the Western U.S. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 111 I Street, Sacramento, California. Featu ...
in Old Sacramento has historical exhibits and live steam locomotives that patrons may ride. The California Automobile Museum, just south of Old Sacramento, displays the automotive history and vehicles from 1880 to 2006 and is the oldest non-profit automotive museum in the West.
McClellan Air Force Base McClellan Air Force Base (1935–2001) is a former United States Air Force base in California, located in the North Highlands, California, North Highlands area of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County, northeast of Sacramento, Califo ...
is home to the
Aerospace Museum of California The Aerospace Museum of California is a private non-profit aviation museum located in McClellan, California, outside of Sacramento, California, on the grounds of the former McClellan Air Force Base. History Founded as the Air Force Logistics Mus ...
where more than 40 civilian and military aircraft and 50 historical jet engines are displayed to the public. In addition, the Sacramento History Museum, in the heart of Old Sacramento, focuses on the history of Sacramento from the region's pre-gold rush history through the present day. In 2021, the Museum of Science and Curiosity (MOSAC) opened in the restored historic power station building of Matsui Waterfront Park. There is a Museum Day held in Sacramento every year when 26 museums in the greater Sacramento area offer free admission. The 2009 Sacramento Museum Day brought out more than 80,000 people, the largest number the event has gathered. Sacramento Museum Day is held every year on the first Saturday of February.


Performing arts

The Sacramento Ballet,
Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra The Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera is one of the Sacramento region’s leading performing arts organizations and is the professional symphony orchestra and opera in the Sacramento region. The nonprofit organization as it is now was established ...
, and the Sacramento Opera perform at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (formerly known as the Community Center Theater). There are several major theater venues in Sacramento. The
Sacramento Convention Center Complex The Sacramento Convention Center Complex is a complex of entertainment venues and a convention center located in downtown Sacramento, California. The complex consists of the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (formerly Community Center Theat ...
governs both the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center and Memorial Auditorium. The H Street Theatre Complex consists of the
Wells Fargo Pavilion The UC Davis Health Pavilion is a theatre venue, located in Sacramento, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to th ...
, built in 2003 atop the old Music Circus tent foundations, the McClatchy Mainstage, and the Pollock Stage, originally built as a television studio and renovated at the same time the Pavilion was built. These smaller venues seat 300 and 90, offering a more intimate presentation than the 2300-seat Pavilion. The Eagle Theatre in Old Sacramento is a reconstruction of the oldest permanent theater in California and hosts several performances year-round. The newest venue in the city, the Sophia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts, consists of the 365-seat Sutter Theatre for Children and the Mainstage, seating 250. Professional theatre is represented in Sacramento by several companies.
Broadway Sacramento Broadway Sacramento (formerly California Musical Theatre) is the largest nonprofit arts organization (primarily producing musical theatre) in the state of California and the city of Sacramento's oldest professional performing arts company. Its su ...
and its locally produced
summer stock theatre In American theater, summer stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock t ...
,
Broadway at Music Circus Broadway Sacramento (formerly California Musical Theatre) is the largest nonprofit arts organization (primarily producing musical theatre) in the state of California and the city of Sacramento's oldest professional performing arts company. Its su ...
, lures many directors, performers, and artists from New York and Los Angeles to work alongside a large local staff at the
Wells Fargo Pavilion The UC Davis Health Pavilion is a theatre venue, located in Sacramento, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to th ...
. During the fall, winter, and spring seasons Broadway Sacramento brings bus and truck tours to the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center. Resident at the H Street Theatre Complex for the remainder of the year (from September to May), the Sacramento Theatre Company prepares to celebrate its 75th season, beginning in the Fall of 2019. In addition to a traditional regional theatre fare of classical plays and musicals, the Sacramento Theatre Company has a large School of the Arts with a variety of opportunities for arts education. The
B Street Theatre B Street Theatre is a 501(c) organization, 501c3 non-profit theater located in Sacramento, California. It was founded by actor Timothy Busfield in 1986 as Theatre for Children, Inc., the company's first focus was a touring theatre company for chil ...
, having completed its 2018 move into the new Sophia Tsokopoulos Center for the Arts, continues its pursuit of producing smaller and more intimate professional works for families and children. Rounding out the professional companies is Capital Stage, which performed aboard the Delta King until the end of the 2010–2011 season and soon took up residence at its venue along the J-Street corridor. The Sacramento area has one of the largest collections of community theatres in California. Some of these include the Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre and Playwrights Workshop, Davis Musical Theatre Co., El Dorado Musical Theatre, Runaway Stage Productions, River City Theatre Company, Flying Monkey Productions, The Actor's Theatre, KOLT Run Productions, Kookaburra Productions, Big Idea Theatre, Celebration Arts, Lambda Player, Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento, Synergy Stage and the historic Eagle Theatre. The
Sacramento Shakespeare Festival The Sacramento Shakespeare Festival is an annual Shakespeare festival produced by City Theatre at Sacramento City College in Sacramento, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Co ...
provides entertainment under the stars every summer in William Land Park. Many of these theatres compete annually for the Elly Awards overseen by The Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance or SARTA.


Visual arts

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission is an organization that was established as the Sacramento
arts council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...
in 1977 to provide several arts programs for the city. These include Art in Public Places, Arts Education, Grants, and Cultural Programs, Poet Laureate Programs, Arts Stabilization Programs and Other Resources, and opportunities. Sacramento Second Saturday Art Walk is a program of local art galleries that stay open into the late evenings every second Saturday of each month. Sacramento is also home to the Wide Open Walls Festival where artists from across the world have added more than 140 murals across the city since the festival's inception in 2016. Sacramento is home to one of California's oldest Latino cultural centers, the Latino Center of Art and Culture The Latino Center of Art and Culture was founded in the early '70s by activist Chicano students to combat racism and instill pride in the Chicano community. Known as La Raza Galeria it was home to artists like Ricardo Favela, José Montoya, and Esteban Villa who formed the Chicano artist collective, the Royal Chicano Air Force. The center is a community hub offering support to emerging Latino artists and producing live programming.


Music

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchising, franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when ...
was started and based in Sacramento until its closing. *a "I was born and raised in Sacramento, California, which most people don't know is where
Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
started and was based until the end." – ¶ 4.
Classical music is widely available. The
Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra The Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera is one of the Sacramento region’s leading performing arts organizations and is the professional symphony orchestra and opera in the Sacramento region. The nonprofit organization as it is now was established ...
, the Sacramento Baroque Soloists, the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra, the
Sacramento Youth Symphony The Sacramento Youth Symphony (SYS) was founded in 1956 as a 55-member youth orchestra, associated with the Sacramento Symphony Association. The Sacramento Symphony has since ceased operations and the Sacramento Youth Symphony became incorporated a ...
, the Sacramento Master Singers, the Sacramento Children's Chorus, and the Camellia Symphony each present a full season of concerts. Each year, the city hosts the Sammies, the Sacramento Music Awards. Sacramento also has a reputation as a center for
Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...
jazz, because of the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee which was held every
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...
weekend until 2017. Events and performances are held in multiple locations throughout the city. Each year thousands of jazz fans from all over the world visit for this one weekend. A growing number of rock,
hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
, and
metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
bands hail from the Sacramento area, including Tesla, AS IS,
Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and tu ...
,
Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...
,
Will Haven Will Haven is an American metal band from Sacramento, California. Formed in 1995, the group released albums through several labels and toured with acts such as Deftones and Soulfly before going on hiatus in 2002. They regrouped in 2005 and ha ...
,
Trash Talk Trash talk is a form of spoken insult usually found in sports events, although it is not exclusive to sports or similarly characterized events. It is often used to intimidate the opposition and/or make them less confident in their ability to wi ...
,
Dance Gavin Dance Dance Gavin Dance is an American Rock music, rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2005. It consists of lead guitarist Will Swan (musician), Will Swan, drummer Matthew Mingus, harsh vocalist Jon Mess, and lead vocalist and rhythm gui ...
,
A Lot Like Birds A Lot Like Birds (often abbreviated as ALLB) are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2009 in Sacramento, California. Before their breakup in 2018, ALLB had released four albums: an independent debut ''Plan B'' (2009), and three LPs under E ...
, Far,
CAKE Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...
, !!!,
Oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), commonly known as oleander or rosebay, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the genus ...
and
Steel Breeze Steel Breeze is an American rock group that had a US hit with the song "You Don't Want Me Anymore" in 1982. This was followed by their single "Dreamin' is Easy" the following year. Career Taking their name from a phrase in Pink Floyd's song, "Sh ...
; plus some other famous musicians like record producer and recording artist
Charlie Peacock Charles William Ashworth (born August 10, 1956), known professionally as Charlie Peacock, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and author. His albums include ''Love Press Ex-Curio'', ''Arc of the Circle'' and ''No Man's L ...
, Duane Leinan, Bob Stubbs of
Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. It consists of Mike Ness (vocals, guitar), Jonny Wickersham (guitar), Brent Harding (bass), David Hidalgo Jr. (drums), and David Kalish (keyboards). Emerg ...
, and Craig Chaquico of
Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight RIAA certification, gold or Music rec ...
. Sacramento is home to several music festivals throughout the year. Since 2012, Sacramento hosts the four-day
Aftershock Festival The Aftershock Festival is a hard rock and heavy metal festival in Sacramento, California, started in 2012. History In 2019, the festival expanded to three days, and in 2021 Aftershock expanded to four days, October 7 to 10. In 2022, Aftersho ...
at Discovery Park where acclaimed bands such as
Evanescence Evanescence is an American Rock music, rock band founded in 1994 by singer and keyboardist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody in Little Rock, Arkansas. After releasing independent extended play, EPs and a Origin (Evanescence demo album), demo ...
,
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
, and
Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
perform for up to 160,000 visitors. Other notable music festivals include the country-based GoldenSky Festival and the soul and R&B-based Sol Blume festival. Scottish pop band Middle of the Road sang kindly of Sacramento in their 1972 European hit song "
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
".
Experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...
groups such as
Hella ''Hella'' is an American English slang term originating in and often associated with San Francisco's East Bay area in Northern California, possibly specifically emerging in the 1970s African-American vernacular of Oakland. It is used as an i ...
,
Death Grips Death Grips is an American experimental hip-hop band formed in 2010 in Sacramento, California. The group consists of producers Zach Hill (drums), Andy Morin (keyboard), and vocalist Stefan Burnett, also known as MC Ride. Though he is not the ...
, and
Tera Melos Tera Melos is an American math rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2004. They incorporate many styles of rock, ambient electronics and unconventional song structures. They are currently a three-piece, consisting of founding member ...
also come out of Sacramento. Rappers
C-Bo Shawn Thomas (born January 14, 1972), better known by his stage name C-Bo, is an American rapper from Sacramento, California. Known for his extensive legal troubles, he was the first notable rapper to be jailed due to his lyrical content in 1998. ...
,
Marvaless Marva Jean Cooks II (born August 28, 1975), known professionally as Marvaless, is an American rapper from Sacramento, California. Career In 1992, a year after finishing high school, Cooks got together with C-Bo to record her debut album, '' Gh ...
, Lunasicc,
Mozzy Timothy Cornell Patterson (born June 24, 1987), known professionally as Mozzy, is an American rapper and convicted felon from Sacramento, California. He signed with Yo Gotti's record label Collective Music Group (CMG), an imprint of Interscope ...
,
Hobo Johnson Frank Lopes Jr. (born December 22, 1994), known professionally as Hobo Johnson, is an American vocalist and frontman of the band Hobo Johnson & the LoveMakers. Hobo Johnson also delivers lyrics in the form of rap and spoken word to create his r ...
, and
Chuuwee Dionte Hunter, better known by his stage name Chuuwee (born September 7, 1990) is an American hip hop artist from Sacramento, California. Chuuwee spent many years of his life moving around as a child. He lived in nearly every neighborhood of Sac ...
are among those native to the area.


Film

Sacramento is home to the Sacramento French Film Festival, a cultural event held every year in July that features U.S. premieres of French films and classic masterpieces of French cinema, and the Sacramento Japanese Film Festival, also held in July. In addition, Sacramento is home to the Trash Film Orgy, a summer film festival celebrating the absurd, B-movies, horror, monster, and exploitation films. Founded in 2007, the Sacramento Horror Film Festival showcases feature-length and short films as well as live musical and theatrical performances in the horror and macabre genres. Of note, Sacramento has been home to various actors, including
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...
, who resided in the Riverlake community of
Pocket-Greenhaven Pocket-Greenhaven (also known as The Pocket) is a suburban community within the city of Sacramento, California, 5 miles south of downtown Sacramento. It is bordered by Interstate 5 on the east and a semi-circular "pocket" bend in the Sacramen ...
with his then-wife Nicole Mitchell Murphy, a fashion model and Sacramento native. It is also the home of director
Greta Gerwig Greta Celeste Gerwig ( ; born August 4, 1983) is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. Initially known for working on various mumblecore films, she has since expanded from acting in and co-writing independent films to directing ...
, whose solo directorial debut ''Lady Bird'' is set in Sacramento.


Cuisine

In 2012, Sacramento started the marketing campaign as "America's Farm-to-Fork Capital" due to Sacramento's many restaurants that source their food from the numerous surrounding farms. The city has an annual Farm-to-Fork festival that showcases various grocers, restaurants, and growers in the industry. In 2012, one of the city's farm-to-fork restaurants The Kitchen was nominated for Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. Sacramento is home to well-known cookbook authors, Biba Caggiano of Biba's Restaurant and Mai Pham of Lemongrass and Star Ginger. Sacramento is also known for its alcoholic beverage culture, with keystone events that include
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 ...
's Grape and Gourmet, Sacramento Beer Week, and Sacramento Cocktail Week. Its growing beer scene is evident, with over 60 microbreweries in the region as of 2017. Numerous beer festivals around the region highlight both local and visitor beers. In addition to festivals in Elk Grove, Davis, Roseville, Placerville, and Woodland, Sacramento hosts the annual California Beer Craft Summit, an exposition dedicated to the art of brewing. The summit also hosts the largest beer festival on the West Coast, featuring over 160 breweries in downtown Sacramento. Sacramento's contemporary culture is also reflected in its coffee. An "underrated coffee city", Sacramento has above-average marks for local coffee.


Sports

Sacramento is home of the
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
. The Kings came to Sacramento from Kansas City in 1985. On January 21, 2013, a controlling interest in the Sacramento Kings was sold to hedge fund manager
Chris Hansen Christopher Edward Hansen (born September 13, 1959) is an American television presenter, journalist, and YouTube personality. During his tenure as a correspondent for ''Dateline NBC'', he hosted the program's segment ''To Catch a Predator'' (20 ...
, who intended to move the franchise to Seattle for the 2013–2014 NBA season and rename the team the
Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...
. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, himself a former NBA basketball player, fought the move, forming an ownership group led by Vivek Ranadive to keep the Kings in Sacramento. On May 16, 2013, the NBA Board of Governors voted 22–8 to keep the Kings in Sacramento.
Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...
of
USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...
began play to in April 2014 at Hughes Stadium before a sellout crowd of 20,231, setting a USL Pro regular-season single-game attendance record. They now play in Papa Murphy's Park. Republic FC won the
USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...
championship in their first season. In October 2019, Republic FC's Major League Soccer expansion bid was approved; the team was expected to begin MLS play in the 2022 season, until being delayed by COVID-19 to the 2023 season. However, as of February 26, 2021, the bid is on indefinite hiatus. In 2000, AAA minor league baseball returned to Sacramento with the Sacramento River Cats, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants and formerly an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The River Cats play at Sutter Health Park, in West Sacramento. The Athletics (baseball), Athletics of Major League Baseball, as part of their relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas, will temporarily play at Sutter Health Park from 2025 to 2027 (with an option for 2028), until their new stadium in Las Vegas is completed. The Sacramento State Hornets football, Sacramento State Hornets of the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) play at Hornet Stadium (Sacramento), Hornet Stadium as part of the Big Sky Conference. Since 1954, the Hornets have won seven conference titles and have participated in four playoff appearances and two bowl games. Sacramento is the former home of two professional basketball teams. The Sacramento Heatwave of the American Basketball Association (21st century), American Basketball Association previously played in the Sacramento area until 2013. Sacramento was also formerly home to the now-defunct Sacramento Monarchs of the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA. The Monarchs were one of the eight founding members of the WNBA in 1997 and won the WNBA Championship in 2005, but folded in November 2009. Sacramento has frequently hosted the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship as well as the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. The California International Marathon (est. 1983) attracts a field of international elite runners who vie for a share of the $50,000 prize purse. The fast course is popular for runners seeking to achieve a Boston Marathon qualifying time and fitness runners.


Parks and recreation

Sacramento boasts an extensive park system consisting of over of parkland and recreation centers. In its 2013 ParkScore ranking, Trust for Public Land, The Trust for Public Land reported Sacramento was tied with San Francisco and Boston for having the third-best park system among the 50 most populous U.S. cities. ParkScore ranks city park systems by a formula that analyzes the city's median park size, park acres as percent of city area, the percent of residents within a half-mile of a park, spending of park services per resident, and the number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents. The city features a collection of smaller parks in the downtown district, including Crocker Park, Roosevelt Park, Fremont Park, and Southside Park, and is home to basketball courts, playgrounds, and year-round farmers markets and local events. In addition, Cesar Chavez Plaza is home to concerts in the summertime and is a well-known rallying spot for gatherings. In addition, surrounding the
California State Capitol The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senat ...
is Capitol Park (Sacramento), Capitol Park, a park consisting of more than 200 types of trees and 155 memorials. The most recent park constructed in Sacramento is the Hanami Line at Robert Matsui Waterfront Park, which is home to a line of Cherry blossom, Cherry Blossoms surrounding the park. Popular parks outside the central core include American River Parkway which spans 23 miles along the American River, William McKinley Park and Memorial Rose Garden, and William Land Park. William Land Park is home to several key attractions in the city. The Sacramento Zoo spans and is home to more than 400 native and endangered animals around the world. The park is also home to Funderland, a small amusement park open from February to November consisting of 9 rides, and Fairytale Town, which sees more than 250,000 visitors each year. Once a year a fire dancing exhibition known as The Fire Spectacular is held in the park amphitheater. Groups from across Sacramento come to compete for the title of "Obsidian Fire". Jim Souza, the lead organizer of the event, came under controversy after local Homeowner association, H.O.A members reported hooded individuals wearing black fire emblems strolling around the park. He denied having any connections and announced the event is still planned for fall 2024 of this year. Sacramento is a hotbed for high school rugby. Jesuit High School (Sacramento), Jesuit High School is the recent defending national champion (winning five times in total). Their arch-rival school Christian Brothers came in second nationwide. Burbank, Del Campo, and Vacaville have also placed well in the national competition over the years. The Sacramento Valley High School Rugby Conference hosts the largest and arguably deepest preseason youth and high school rugby tournament in America. The California State Fair is held in Sacramento each year at the end of the summer, ending on Labor Day. In 2010, the State Fair moved to July. More than one million people attended this fair in 2001. The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail that runs between Old Sacramento and Folsom Lake grants access to the American River Parkway, a natural area that includes more than of undeveloped land. It attracts cyclists and equestrians from across the state. Among other recreational options in Sacramento is Discovery Park, a park studded with stands of mature trees and grasslands. This park is situated where the American River flows into the Sacramento River. There are several casinos and card rooms in the city scattered throughout the Sacramento area. Since 1991, Capitol Casino has been open in downtown Sacramento and is home to several card games. Other notable casinos in the area include Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Cache Creek Casino Resort, Red Hawk Casino Resort, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain, Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort, and Sky River Casino in Elk Grove. In amateur sports, Sacramento claims many prominent Olympians such as Mark Spitz, Debbie Meyer (6-time gold medalist in US swimming), Mike Burton (swimmer), Mike Burton, Summer Sanders (gold medalist in swimming, and trained in childhood by Debbie Meyer), Jeff Float (all swimming), and Billy Mills (track). Coach Sherm Chavoor founded Arden Hills Swim Club just east of the city and trained Burton, Spitz, and others.


Government

Sacramento is both the capital city of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. As such, it hosts both the Government of California, Californian government and the county administration, alongside the city government.


City government

The government of Sacramento, California, Government of Sacramento operates as a
charter city Home rule in the United States relates to the authority of a constituent part of a U.S. state to exercise powers of governance (i.e., whether such powers must be specifically delegated to it by the state—typically by legislative action—or a ...
(as opposed to a general law city) under the Charter of the City of Sacramento. The elected government is composed of the Sacramento City Council with 8 city council districts and the Mayor of Sacramento, which operates under a council-manager government. In addition, there are numerous departments and appointed officers such as the City Manager, Sacramento Police Department (SPD), the Sacramento Fire Department (SFD), City Clerk, City Attorney, and City Treasurer. As of 2024, the mayor is Kevin McCarty and the council members are Angelique Ashby, Allen Warren, Jeff Harris, Steve Hansen, Jay Schenirer, Rich Jennings, and Larry Carr. The City of Sacramento is part of
Sacramento County Sacramento County () is a county 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. Sacrament ...
, for which the government of Sacramento County, California, government of Sacramento County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Sacramento.


California government

As the capital city of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, Sacramento is home to the government of California. The California State Capitol is the seat of the
governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
and the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, and the city is home to numerous List of California state agencies, California state agencies. The Supreme Court of California is headquartered in San Francisco but maintains one of its two branch offices in Sacramento, where it shares a courtroom with the California Courts of Appeal, Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District. File:Stanleymosklibraryandcourtsbldg.jpg, Supreme Court of California File:Sacramento Federal Court Building - Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse (25379475283) (cropped).jpg, Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse, Matsui Federal Courthouse File:Cal EPA Building (cropped).jpg, California Environmental Protection Agency, California EPA File:California Department of Health Care Services 4.jpg, California Department of Health Care Services File:300 Capitol Mall Sacramento.jpg, California State Controller File:Californiaattorneygeneraloffice (cropped).jpg, Attorney General of California File:Jesse M. Unruh State Office Building.jpg, Jesse M. Unruh State Office Building, Unruh State Building


State and federal representation

In the California State Senate, Sacramento is in the California's 8th State Senatorial district, 8th Senate District. In the California State Assembly it is in the California's 6th State Assembly district, 6th Assembly District and California's 10th State Assembly district, 10th Assembly District. In the United States House of Representatives, Sacramento is split between two districts. The northern half is in . The southern half is in .


Education


Higher education

The Sacramento area hosts a wide variety of higher educational opportunities. There are two major public universities, many private institutions, community colleges, vocational schools, and the McGeorge School of Law. Sacramento is home to California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento State (California State University, Sacramento), founded as Sacramento State College in 1947. In 2004, enrollment was 22,555 undergraduates and 5,417 graduate students in the university's eight colleges. The university's mascot is the hornet, and the school colors are green and gold. The campus is along the American River Parkway a few miles east of downtown. The University of California has a campus, UC Davis, in nearby Davis, California, Davis and has a graduate center in downtown Sacramento. The UC Davis Graduate School of Management (GSM) is near the
UC Davis Medical Center UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) is part of UC Davis Health and a major academic health center located in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by the University of California as part of its University of California, Davis campus. The ...
off Stockton Boulevard near Highway 50. Many students, about 400 out of 517, at the UC Davis GSM are working professionals and are completing their MBA part-time. UC also maintains the University of California Sacramento Center (UCCS) for undergraduate and graduate studies. The
UC Davis School of Medicine The University of California Davis School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of California, Davis. While the parent institution is located in Davis, California, the medical school is in Sacramento, California. History Founded in ...
is at the
UC Davis Medical Center UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) is part of UC Davis Health and a major academic health center located in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by the University of California as part of its University of California, Davis campus. The ...
between the neighborhoods of Elmhurst, Tahoe Park, and Oak Park. The Los Rios Community College District consists of several Community college, two-year colleges in the Sacramento area—American River College, Cosumnes River College,
Sacramento City College Sacramento City College (SCC) is a public community college in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community ...
, and Folsom Lake College, plus a large number of outreach centers for those colleges. Sierra College is on the outskirts of Sacramento in Rocklin. The University of the Pacific (United States), University of the Pacific has its Sacramento Campus in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento. The campus has long included
McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on ...
and in 2015 was expanded to become a comprehensive graduate and professional campus, including programs in analytics, business, education, health sciences, and public policy. The National University (California), National University Sacramento regional campus offers bachelor's and master's degrees in business, education, health-care and teaching credential programs. The University of San Francisco has one of its four regional campuses in Sacramento. At the undergraduate level, they offer degrees in Applied Economics, Information Systems, Organizational Behavior and Leadership, and Public Administration. At the graduate level, Master's programs are offered in Information Security and Assurance, Information Systems, Organization Development, Project Management, Public Administration, Nonprofit Administration, and Counseling. The private University of Southern California has an extension in downtown Sacramento, called the State Capital Center. The campus, taught by main campus professors, Sacramento-based professors, and practitioners in the State Capitol and state agencies, offers Master of Public Administration, Masters of Public Policy, and Master of Public Health degrees. Epic Bible College and the Professional School of Psychology are also based in Sacramento. Western Seminary has one of its four campuses in Sacramento, which opened on the campus of Arcade Church in 1991. Western is an evangelical, Christian graduate school that provides theological training for students who hope to serve in a variety of ministry roles including pastors, marriage and family therapists, educators, missionaries, and lay leadership. The Sacramento campus offers four master's degrees and a variety of other graduate-level programs. A satellite campus of Alliant International University offers graduate and undergraduate programs of study. The Art Institute of California – Sacramento was established in 2007 and is a branch of The Art Institute of California – Los Angeles. The school is focused on educating students in the field of commercial arts. The school offers both a Bachelor of Science and an Associate of Science degree, as well as diplomas in some areas of study. Some majors the school offers are Digital Film-making & Video Production, Culinary Management, Graphic Design, and Game Art & Design. The school has since been closed. On J Street, there is the Lincoln Law School of Sacramento, a private, evening-only law school program with a strong legal presence in the region. The Universal Technical Institute (UTI) is in Sacramento; it offers automotive programs in auto mechanics, auto body, and diesel.


Primary and secondary education

The Sacramento area is served by various public school districts. They are: the Sacramento City Unified School District, Natomas Unified School District, San Juan Unified School District, Twin Rivers Unified School District, Elk Grove Unified School District, and Robla Elementary School District; secondary students in grades 7–12 in the Robla area are assigned to Twin Rivers USD.
Text list
/ref> As of 2009, the area's schools employed 9,600 elementary school teachers (not including special education teachers), and 7,410 middle school teachers (not including special education or vocational teachers). Almost all areas south of the American River are served by the Sacramento City Unified School District. The only exceptions are the Valley Hi/North Laguna and Florin areas served by the Elk Grove Unified School District. Areas north of the American River are served by the remaining school districts. This area was not originally part of the City of Sacramento and as such is not served by Sacramento City Unified School District. North Sacramento outside of Natomas and Robla (for K-8) is served by the Twin Rivers Unified School District. The Robla area is served by the Robla School District for K-8 and by Twin Rivers for 9–12. The Natomas region is served by the Natomas Unified School District. The Campus Commons area and the small portions of the Sierra Oaks neighborhood that fall into the city of Sacramento are served by the San Juan Unified School District. While Roman Catholic institutions still dominate the independent school scene in the Sacramento area, in 1964, Sacramento Country Day School opened and offered Sacramento citizens an independent school affiliated with the California Association of Independent Schools. SCDS has grown to its present-day status as a learning community for students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Additionally, the suburb of Fair Oaks, California, Fair Oaks hosts the expansive riverside campus of the Sacramento Waldorf School, a Waldorf Education, Steiner school adjacent to the Rudolf Steiner College, and the largest Waldorf school in North America. Sacramento Waldorf School educates students from pre-K through 12th grade on a secluded, pastoral site that incorporates a large, functioning biodynamic agriculture, biodynamic farm. Shalom School is the only Jewish day school in Sacramento; however, Brookefield School on property owned by Congregation B'nai Israel provides extracurricular Jewish education. Capital Christian School is a preschool–12th grade private Christian school. There is a small Bible college on campus offering associate degrees in Bible studies or theology. Sacramento Adventist Academy is another Christian school in Greater Sacramento. This is a preschool–12 institution, as well. There is one Islamic school in Sacramento, Masjid Annur, founded in 1988.


Public libraries

The
Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Public Library is a public library system in Sacramento, California. With nearly 2 million items, it is the fourth largest library system in California. History Founding The Sacramento Library Association was established in October ...
system has 28 branches in the greater area.


Media


Magazines

*''Comstock's magazine'' *''Government Technology Magazine'' *''Sacramento Magazine'' (defunct) *''Sactown Magazine''


Newspapers

; Top two newspapers *''The Sacramento Bee'', the primary newspaper, was founded in 1857 by James McClatchy. ''The Sacramento Bee'' is the flagship paper of
The McClatchy Company McClatchy Media Company, or simply McClatchy and MCC, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law. Originally based in Sacramento, California, United States, and known as The McClatchy Company, it b ...
, the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States. The ''Sacramento Bee'' has won five Pulitzer Prizes in its history and numerous other awards, including many for its progressive public service campaigns promoting free speech (the ''Bee'' often criticized government policy, and uncovered many scandals hurting Californians), anti-racism (the ''Bee'' supported the Union during the American Civil War and later publicly denounced the Ku Klux Klan), worker's rights (the ''Bee'' has a strong history of supporting unionization), and environmental protection (leading numerous tree-planting campaigns and fighting against environmental destruction in the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
). * The ''Sacramento Union'', the ''Sacramento Bee''s rival, started publishing six years earlier, in 1851; it closed its doors in 1994, with an attempted revival lasting from 2005 to 2009. Writer and journalist Mark Twain wrote for the ''Union'' in 1866. ;Other newspapers *''Sacramento Business Journal'' *''Sacramento News & Review'' *''The Sacramento Observer''


Television

* List of television stations in Sacramento, California


Transportation

A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Sacramento the 24th most walkable of the fifty largest U.S. cities.


Roads

Sacramento is a control city and the region is served by several highways and freeways. Interstate 80 (California), Interstate 80 (I-80) is the major east–west route, connecting Sacramento with San Francisco in the west, and Reno, Nevada, Reno in the east. Interstate 80 Business (Sacramento, California), Business 80 (the Capital City Freeway) splits from I-80 in
West Sacramento West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. The population was 53,915 at the 2 ...
, runs through Sacramento, and then rejoins its parent in the northwest portion of the city. U.S. Route 50 (California), U.S. Highway 50 also begins its eastern journey in West Sacramento, Concurrency (road), co-signed with Business 80, but then splits off and heads toward South Lake Tahoe, California, South Lake Tahoe as the El Dorado Freeway. A sign at the eastern terminus of US 50 in Ocean City, Maryland, gives the distance to Sacramento as . Interstate 5 (California), Interstate 5 (I-5) runs through Sacramento, heads north up to Redding, California, Redding, and then heads south near the western edge of the California Central Valley towards Los Angeles. California State Route 99, California State Highway 99 runs through Sacramento, heading closer to the eastern edge of the Central Valley, connecting to Marysville, California, Marysville and Yuba City, California, Yuba City in the north, and Fresno and Bakersfield in the south. California State Route 160, California State Highway 160 approaches the city after running along the
Sacramento River The Sacramento River () 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–San Joaquin River D ...
from Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County in the south and then becomes a major city street in Downtown Sacramento before turning into the North Sacramento Freeway, going over the
American River The American River is a List of rivers of California, river in California that runs from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento. Via the Sacramento River, it ...
to Business 80. Some Sacramento neighborhoods, such as Downtown Sacramento and
Midtown Sacramento Midtown Sacramento (commonly known as Midtown) is a historical district and neighborhood just east of Downtown Sacramento. Officially, Midtown's borders are R Street on the South, J Street on the North, 16th Street on the West and 30th Street ...
are very bicycle friendly as are many other communities in the region. As a result of litigation, Sacramento has undertaken to make all city facilities and sidewalks wheelchair accessible. In an effort to preserve its urban neighborhoods, Sacramento has constructed Traffic calming, traffic-calming measures in many areas.


Rail service

Amtrak provides passenger rail service to the city of Sacramento. The Sacramento Valley Rail Station is on the corner of 5th and I streets near the historic Old Town Sacramento and underwent extensive renovations in 2007. The station serves as a SacRT light rail terminus. Amtrak California operates the ''Capitol Corridor (Amtrak), Capitol Corridor'', a multiple-frequency service providing service from the capital city to its northeastern suburbs and the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
. Sacramento is the northern terminus of the Amtrak California ''San Joaquins'' route which provides direct multiple-frequency passenger rail service to California's Central Valley as far as Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield; Amtrak Thruway connections are available from the trains at Bakersfield to Southern California and Southern Nevada. An additional service under this banner is expected to be routed through Midtown in 2026. Sacramento is a stop along Amtrak's ''Coast Starlight'' route which provides scenic service to Seattle via Klamath Falls, Oregon, Klamath Falls and Portland, Oregon, Portland to the north and Los Angeles via San Luis Obispo, California, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara to the south. Amtrak's ''California Zephyr'' serves Sacramento daily and provides service to the east serving Reno, Nevada, Reno, Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake, Denver, Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Chicago, and intermediate cities. Sacramento Valley Station provides numerous Amtrak Thruway routes. One route serves the cities of Marysville, California, Marysville, Oroville, California, Oroville, Chico, California, Chico, Corning, California, Corning, Red Bluff, California, Red Bluff, and Redding, California, Redding with additional service to Yreka, California, Yreka and even Medford, Oregon. A second serves the cities of Roseville, California, Roseville, Rocklin, California, Rocklin, Auburn, California, Auburn, Colfax, California, Colfax, Truckee, California, Truckee, Reno, and Sparks, Nevada, Sparks. The third and final Amtrak Thruway route serves Placerville, California, Placerville, Lake Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, Stateline Casinos, and Carson City, Nevada. Each of these routes provides multiple frequencies each day. Sacramento has the second busiest Amtrak station in California and the seventh busiest in the country. Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail service is expected to be routed through Sacramento in 2026. This service will utilize the Union Pacific's Sacramento Subdivision, the route of the original ''California Zephyr'', where additional passenger capacity is available. Sacramento is expected to serve as the northern terminus of the California High-Speed Rail system.


Airport

Sacramento International Airport is a public airport northwest of downtown Sacramento, in Sacramento County, California. Southwest Airlines is the dominant passenger airline with more than 104 daily flights to 25 cities across the US. Other airlines include Delta Air Lines, Delta, United Airlines, United, Spirit Airlines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. The airport handles flights to and from various US destinations (including Hawaii) as well as Mexico, Canada and connecting flights to Europe, Asia, and South America, and served more than 13 million passengers in 2019. The airport is well known for the red aluminum rabbit titled "Leap" by Lawrence Argent in Terminal B. Sacramento McClellan Airport, McClellan Airfield is a privately owned, public-use airport that is mainly used for general aviation. It is located in the unincorporated area of McClellan Park, California, northeast of the central business district of Sacramento. The airport is on the former site of
McClellan Air Force Base McClellan Air Force Base (1935–2001) is a former United States Air Force base in California, located in the North Highlands, California, North Highlands area of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County, northeast of Sacramento, Califo ...
, and was transferred to Sacramento County in 2000. The airport is a public-use facility which operates as an uncontrolled airfield in what the FAA designates as Class "E" Airspace.


Transit

The city and its suburbs are served by Sacramento Regional Transit District, which ranks as List of United States Light Rail systems by ridership, the eleventh busiest in the United States. Sac RT is a bus and light-rail system, with 274 buses and 76 light-rail vehicles providing service for 58,200 daily passengers. The three light-rail lines (Blue, Gold, & Green) is a system with 54 stations. The Gold Line was extended east as far as the city of Folsom, California, Folsom, and more recently the Blue Line was extended south from Meadowview Rd to Cosumnes River College. Sacramento's light rail system goes to the Sacramento Valley Rail Station, Cosumnes River College (Sacramento RT), Cosumnes River College Station in south Sacramento, and north to Watt/I-80 where I-80 and Business 80 meeting. The light-rail Blue & Gold Lines have 15-minute weekday headways and 30-minute weekday evening and weekend/holiday headways; the Green Line has 30-minute weekday headways and no weekend service. Route 142 is an express bus line to/from Downtown Sacramento, downtown to Sacramento International Airport. There are expansion plans to extend the Green Line to the Sacramento International Airport, airport and the Blue Line to the City of Roseville, California, Roseville through the City of Citrus Heights, California, Citrus Heights. Yolobus provides bus service to
West Sacramento West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. The population was 53,915 at the 2 ...
and
Yolo County Yolo County (; Wintun: ''Yo-loy''), officially the County of Yolo, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Yolo County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood ...
. Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service to Portland, Reno, Los Angeles, and San Francisco from its new station along Richards Boulevard. Intercity bus service to San Francisco and Sparks, Nevada is offered by Megabus (North America), Megabus. Bicycling is an increasingly popular transportation mode in Sacramento, which enjoys a mild climate and flat terrain. Bicycling is especially common in the older neighborhoods of Sacramento's center, such as Alkali Flat, Midtown, McKinley Park, Land Park, and East Sacramento. Many employees who work downtown commute by bicycle from suburban communities on a dedicated bicycle path on the American River Parkway. Sacramento was designated as a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists in September 2006. The advocacy organization Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates co-sponsors the Sacramento Area Council of Governments' May is Bike Month campaign. Rideshare companies such as Lime (transportation company), Lime, Bird (transportation company), Bird, and Helbiz have introduced up to 4,000 electric-powered scooters and bikes in Downtown Sacramento for residents to rent as a faster and alternative way to get around the city. Sacramento ranks second worldwide in ride sharable, with ridership totaling 1 million riders in 8 months. There is a commuter bus service from Yolo County on Yolobus, from Solano County on Fairfield and Suisun Transit, FAST, on two bus lines from Yuba County, California, Yuba County's Yuba Sutter Transit, from Amador County, California, Amador Transit's Sacramento Line, on Placer County Transit's Auburn to Light Rail Line, and from San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County on several San Joaquin Regional Transit District, SMART bus lines.


Notable people


International relations

As of 2023, the City of Sacramento has 14 Sister city, sister cities. They are:


See also

*List of mayors of Sacramento, California *List of people from Sacramento, California *Northern California Megaregion *2001 Sacramento shootings


Explanatory notes


References


External links


Official websiteOfficial tourism website
from the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau *localwiki:sac, Sacramento Wiki {{Portal bar, United States , California , North America, Geography, Cities Sacramento, California, Incorporated cities and towns in California Cities in Sacramento County, California Cities in Sacramento metropolitan area County seats in California Geography of the Sacramento Valley Populated places on the Sacramento River Populated places established in 1839 Populated places established in 1850 1850 establishments in California Railway towns in California State capitals in the United States