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 statistical area, the latter of which consists of seven counties, namely Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, El Dorado, Sutter, Yuba, and Nevada counties.
Straddling the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada regions of California, Greater Sacramento is anchored by the state capital of Sacramento, the political center of California. Greater Sacramento also contains sites of natural beauty including Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America and numerous ski and nature resorts. It is also located in one of the world's most important agricultural areas. The region's eastern counties are located in Gold Country, site of the California Gold Rush.
Since the late 20th century, it has been one of the fastest growing urban regions in the United States as Sacramento continues to emerge as a distinct metropolitan area.Luery, Mike. 3 takeaways from Sacramento's population jump, KCRA, 1 May 2019. In the 1990s, the metro area experienced a growth of just over 20%, with subsequent growth remaining above 10% per decade. In the 2020 Census, the metropolitan region had a population of 2,680,831.
Regional composition The Greater Sacramento area is composed of seven counties, two metropolitan statistical areas and one micropolitan area. The following counties are located in the Greater Sacramento area: El Dorado County, California Nevada County, California Placer County, California Sacramento County, California Sutter County, California Yolo County, California Yuba County, California
El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties comprise the Sacramento–Roseville-Folsom, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sutter and Yuba counties comprise the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area, known as the Yuba–Sutter area. Nevada County comprises the Truckee–Grass Valley Micropolitan Area.
Overview
Greater Sacramento straddles two key regions of California, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada mountains and is overlapped by the cultural influences of three areas, the Bay Area, Eastern California and Northern California. An increasing phenomenon taking shape in Greater Sacramento is growth of urban sprawl as Sacramento and its metropolitan area continue to expand. The growth is due in part to first, higher costs of living in the Bay Area which have caused commuters to move as far as Yolo and Sacramento counties and more recently, growth and rising living costs in the core of Sacramento, building up more areas in the surrounding counties for commuters. Local and state governments are trying to prevent destruction of forests and open land and curbing the spread before Sacramento faces an urban sprawl crisis as the Greater Los Angeles Area has.
Sacramento is the most populous city in the metropolitan area, home to approximately 526,000 people, making it the sixth-most populous city in California and the 35th most populous in the United States. It has been the state capital of California since 1851 and has played an important role in the history of California. When gold was discovered in nearby Sutter's Mill in Coloma, Sacramento became a boom town luring in migrants making their way from San Francisco to the gold fields of the Sierras. Although it did not become the financial and cultural center of Northern California, titles that were given to San Francisco, Sacramento became the largest transportation hub of not only Northern California, but also the West Coast following the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Sacramento today continues to be one of the largest rail hubs in North America, and its rail station is one of the busiest in the United States. In 2002, Time Magazine featured an article recognizing Sacramento as the most diverse and integrated city in America. Government (state and federal) jobs are still the largest sector of employment in the city and the city council does considerable effort to keep state agencies from moving outside the city limits. The remainder of Sacramento County is suburban in general with most of the working population commuting to Downtown Sacramento and with a smaller proportion commuting all the way to the Bay Area.
Yolo County is a mixture of an agricultural area and commuter region, with most of its working population commuting either to the Bay Area or Sacramento for work. It is home to the University of California, Davis, campus, the northernmost UC campus and only UC campus in the Greater Sacramento region.
El Dorado and Placer Counties form the remainder of the inner core of Greater Sacramento and are composed of the Sierra Nevada foothills and mountains. The western areas of the counties are composed of commuter suburbs, with Roseville in Placer County being Sacramento's most populous edge city. The Sierra foothills mostly contain residential acreage properties and small farms. The easternmost areas border Lake Tahoe and are home to numerous ski resorts and towns such as South Lake Tahoe, site of the Heavenly Mountain Resort, which are popular in winter months and nature camps and resorts in summer months. Placer County has been an important mining area not only for gold, but also other minerals and granite. It is also the site of Squaw Valley, which hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, which has been up to date, the only Winter Olympic Games to be held in California and the US West Coast and the smallest city to host an Olympics.
The Yuba–Sutter area consists of Yuba and Sutter counties and is a primarily agricultural area, although the southern area is more suburban in character. It is home to Sunsweet Growers, which owns the world's largest dried fruit plant in Yuba City. Nevada County, like El Dorado and Placer Counties, borders Lake Tahoe and contains numerous ski resorts such as the Boreal Mountain Resort, but is more rural than the former two counties and is an important gold mining area. The Donner Memorial State Park is located in the county, where the ill-fated Donner Party was trapped in winter storms in 1846–47 while attempting to make it to California on a poorly organized trip.
Douglas County, Nevada was recently briefly added to the Sacramento Combined Statistical Area. As Greater Sacramento continues to grow beyond its inner region, Western Nevada continues to be influenced by Sacramento and California and their cultures. However, Douglas County has since been removed again from the Sacramento CSA, and transferred to the Reno-Carson City-Fernley, NV CSA.
Geography and climate
Geography
The western half of Greater Sacramento is centered on the Central Valley, one of the most vital agricultural areas in the country. The Sierra Nevada and its foothills compose the eastern portion of the region. Yolo County contains a large flood control basin. The Sacramento River and the American River are major rivers that form a deepwater port connected to the San Francisco Bay by a channel through the Sacramento River Delta. Coniferous and oak-dominated woodland are prevalent in the Sierra Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area.
Climate Sacramento and the valley area have a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa), characterized by damp to wet, cool winters and hot, dry summers. The wet season is generally October through April. Summer heat is often moderated by a sea breeze known as the "delta breeze" which comes through the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta from the San Francisco Bay. January is the coolest month for the entire region with an average maximum of 41.0 °F (5.0 °C) and an average minimum of 15.1 °F (-9.4 °C) in Lake Tahoe.
The eastern portion of Greater Sacramento experiences a more varied climate with 90 °F (32.2 °C) temperatures in August to below freezing temperatures in winter. In higher elevations, freezing temperatures have been recorded every month. In the winter, below freezing temperatures are common in Sacramento and lower valley elevations although snowfall is scarce and usually melts on ground contact with significant snowfall occurring roughly every 3–5 years. However, blizzard conditions in winter storms can be common in the higher elevations. (1903-2007 climate data) (30-year climate data)
Communities
Incorporated places
Places with more than 500,000 inhabitants Sacramento Places with 100,000 to 200,000 inhabitants Elk Grove Roseville Places with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants Citrus Heights Davis Folsom Rancho Cordova Rocklin West Sacramento Woodland Yuba City
Places with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants Auburn Galt Grass Valley Lincoln Marysville Placerville South Lake Tahoe Truckee Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants Colfax Isleton Live Oak Loomis Nevada City Wheatland Winters
Census-designated places
Alta Sierra Antelope Arden-Arcade Beale Air Force Base Challenge–Brownsville Cameron Park Carmichael Diamond Springs Dollar Point El Dorado Hills Elverta Esparto Fair Oaks Florin Foothill Farms Foresthill Fruitridge Pocket Georgetown Gold River Granite Bay Kings Beach La Riviera Lake of the Pines
Lake Wildwood Lemon Hill Linda Loma Rica Meadow Vista North Auburn North Highlands Olivehurst Orangevale Parkway Penn Valley Plumas Lake Pollock Pines Rancho Murieta Rio Linda Rosemont Shingle Springs South Yuba City Sunnyside–Tahoe City Sutter Tahoe Vista Tierra Buena Vineyard Walnut Grove Wilton
Demographics
As of the 2020 census, there were 2,397,382 people residing within the MSA. The racial makeup was 52.5% White, 7.0% Black, 1.1% American Indian, 14.9% Asian, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 10.4% Other and 13.2% Two or More Races. 22.2% identified as Hispanic or Latino.
The median income for a household in the MSA in 2000 was $48,401, and the median income for a family was $57,112. Males had a median income of $43,572 versus $31,889 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $23,508. County2025 Estimate2020 CensusChangeAreaDensitySacramento County Placer County Yolo County El Dorado County Total
Transportation
Owing to its central location between the Bay Area and Nevada border, Greater Sacramento is a key transportation hub into Northern California. While the region doesn't have as extensive a public transportation system as the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Sacramento has had an earlier history of public mass transit and is served by a vast freeway system as well as some light rail.
Freeways and highways Sacramento is served by numerous highways. Five highways merge in the Capital City Corridor, serving the immediate downtown Sacramento area. The major freeways of the Greater Sacramento area are Interstate 80, US Route 50, Interstate 5, and State Route 99, which serve the northern Tahoe area, southern Tahoe area, and valley areas, respectively, as well as forming the Capital City Corridor along with Interstate 80 Business. Outside downtown Sacramento, there is only one principal route that serves its respective area and there are smaller state routes as well. Freeways and highways in the Greater Sacramento areas include:
Interstate 5 Interstate 80 Interstate 505 U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 395 Interstate 80 Business California State Route 12 California State Route 16 California State Route 20 California State Route 28 California State Route 45
California State Route 49 California State Route 65 California State Route 70 California State Route 89 California State Route 99 California State Route 104 California State Route 113 California State Route 128 California State Route 160 California State Route 174 California State Route 193
California State Route 220 California State Route 244 California State Route 267
Rail