Demographics and Facts

Sacramento County encompasses approximately 994-square miles in the middle of the 400-mile long Central Valley, which is California's prime agricultural region. The County is bordered by Contra Costa and San Joaquin Counties on the south, Amador and El Dorado Counties on the east, Placer and Sutter Counties on the north, and Yolo and Solano Counties on the west.

Sacramento County extends from the low delta lands between the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers north to about ten miles beyond the State Capitol and east to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The southernmost portion of Sacramento County has direct access to the San Francisco Bay.

The California Department of Finance has released their January 1, 2024 Estimates.

The CA DoF is estimating a drop in population for Sacramento County since the 2020 Census, from 1,604,745  down to 1,585,055.

  Census Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan
  2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Sacramento          520,252 518,536 518,333 521,871 526,327 527,979
Elk Grove 176,349 176,784 177,020 178,189 180,599 182,842
Folsom              82,908 83,116 84,677 86,104 88,996 92,577
Citrus Heights 87,721 87,294 86,435 86,533 86,655 86,280
Rancho Cordova 79,144 79,712 80,554 81,851 82,837 85,451
Galt                25,469 25,392 25,131 25,540 25,738 26,092
Isleton             795 787 776 771 769 764
Unincorporated 612,417 609,541 604,746 602,817 604,360 602,760
Sacramento County   1,585,055   1,581,162   1,577,672   1,583,676   1,596,281   1,604,7  

The US Census Bureau (US-CB) also makes annual population estimates (based in July of each year)

And actually the Census Bureau estimates are tracking much higher than the CA-DoF estimates.

The Census Bureau estimated the County’s population at 1,611,231 as of last summer- July, 2024.

Here’s a comparison of the two estimate series.

Date CA-DoF US-CB
April, 2020       1,585,055     1,585,055
July, 2020       1,586,727
January, 2021       1,581,162  
July, 2021       1,588,824
January, 2022       1,577,672  
July, 2022       1,588,743
January, 2023       1,583,676  
July, 2023       1,594,506
January, 2024       1,596,281  
July, 2024       1,611,231
January, 2025       1,604,745  

 

So averaging these two sources, and projecting it out to the current month- May, 2025, the population for Sacramento County is currently probably somewhere between 1,610,000 and 1,620,000.

​Included in Sacramento County are seven incorporated cities. Varying from quaint to cosmopolitan, each of these cities contributes a rich and unique dimension to the whole of Sacramento County and its communities. Our growing economy and educated workforce are part of one of the most livable and diverse regions in America and is the core cultural and economic center in the region. The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau estimated Sacramento County’s total population as more than 1.4 million. With more than a half million residents living in unincorporated Sacramento County, it makes our unincorporated county population the fifth largest in the state. Read more on California's Total State Population​​.

Unique Information

Greater Sacramento has been cited as one of the five "most livable" regions in America in 2004, and the city was cited by TIME magazine as America's Most Diverse City in 2002. Clean Edge ranked the Sacramento region number six in the nation for clean technology.

The greater Sacramento Area, including Arden-Arcade and Roseville, was also ranked number seven in the 2013 American Fitness Index.

Sacramento County’s Sacramento International Airport (SMF) has also received recognition.   According to Airports Council International, SMF was ranked number four for best customer service in 2012.​ 

Community/Area Facts:

  • 30 parks with 6 million trees and 4 public golf courses
  • Sacramento River - longest river within California, flowing south for 447 miles
  • American River - in 1848, gold was found, which lead to the Gold Rush
  • Leading agricultural crops - wine grapes, milk, poultry, pears, nursery stock​
  • The area of the County is 944 square miles 

Weather/Climate:

  • Average temperature
    • maximum : 73.6 F 
    • minimum : 49 F
    • ​Average rainfall : 19.6 inches​

 Transportation:

  • 36.87 miles of light rail system
  • 3 mainline railroad tracks
  • 10.9 million passengers passed through Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
  • 2017 J.D. Power Airport Satisfaction Rankings: SMF #1 among medium airports
  • 870,000 short tons of cargo shipped annually 

Public Facilities:

  • 19 major public & private colleges & universities
    • California State University, Sacramento - major local university and one of the 23 campuses in the California State University system
    • University of California, Davis is located nearby (west of the capital) and one of the 10 campuses in the University of California system
  • 16 public school districts
  • 15 major art and historical museums
  • 26 public libraries
  • 10 hospitals 

Population:

  • 1,458 persons per square-mile
  • 69.6 percent of eligible voters are registered to vote​​