Sacramento, California

"Sacramento" redirects here. For other uses, see Sacramento (disambiguation).

Sacramento
State capital city
City skyline and the waterfront
Downtown Sacramento and the Sacramento River
California State Capitol
California State Capitol
Crocker Art Museum
Crocker Art Museum
Old Sacramento
Old Sacramento
Tower Bridge and the Sacramento Riverfront
Tower Bridge
California Supreme Court
California Supreme Court
Flag of Sacramento
Flag
Official seal of Sacramento
Seal
Nicknames: 
"Sactown", "Sac", "City of Trees", "River City", "Camellia City"
Motto(s): 
Urbs Indomita
(Latin for 'Indomitable City')
Map
Map
Map
Map
Coordinates: 38°34′54″N 121°29′40″W / 38.58167°N 121.49444°W / 38.58167; -121.49444
Country United States
State California
CountySacramento
RegionSacramento Valley
CSASacramento-Roseville
MSASacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade
Laid outDecember 1848
IncorporatedFebruary 27, 1850[1]
Chartered1920[2]
Named forSacrament of the Holy Eucharist
Government
 • TypeCouncil–Manager[3]
 • BodySacramento City Council
 • MayorDarrell Steinberg (D)[4]
 • Vice MayorCaity Maple (D)
 • Mayor Pro TemKarina Talamantes (D)
 • City Council[4]
Council Members
  • Lisa Kaplan (D)
  • Shoun Thao (D)
  • Karina Talamantes (D)
  • Katie Valenzuela (D)
  • Caity Maple (D)
  • Eric Guerra (D)
  • Rick Jennings II (D)
  • Mai Vang (D)
Area
[5]
 • City
99.77 sq mi (258.41 km2)
 • Land97.68 sq mi (253.00 km2)
 • Water2.09 sq mi (5.41 km2)  2.19%
Elevation
[6]
26 ft (8 m)
Population
 (2020)[7]
 • City
524,943
 • Rank35th in the United States
6th in California
 • Density5,374.11/sq mi (2,074.87/km2)
 • Urban
1,946,618 (US: 25th)
 • Urban density4,163.2/sq mi (1,607.4/km2)
 • Metro
[8]
2,397,382 (US: 26th)
DemonymSacramentan
Time zoneUTC−08:00 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−07:00 (PDT)
ZIP Codes
94203–94209, 94211, 94229–94230, 94232, 94234–94237, 94239–94240, 94244–94245, 94247–94250, 94252, 94254, 94256–94259, 94261–94263, 94267–94269, 94271, 94273–94274, 94277–94280, 94282–94285, 94287–94291, 94293–94299, 95811–95838, 95840–95843, 95851–95853, 95860, 95864–95867, 95894, 95899
Area code916 and 279
FIPS code06-64000
GNIS feature IDs1659564, 2411751
Websitecityofsacramento.gov

Sacramento (/ˌsækrəˈmɛntoʊ/ SAK-rə-MEN-toh; Spanish: [sakɾaˈmento]; Spanish for 'sacrament') 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 population of 524,943[7] makes it the fourth-most populous city in Northern California, the sixth-most populous in the state, the ninth-most populous state capital,[9][10]and the 35th most populous in the United States. Sacramento is the seat of the California Legislature and the governor of California. 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,[8] the fourth-largest metropolitan area in California.[11]

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the area was inhabited by the Nisenan, Maidu, and other indigenous peoples of California. In 1808, Spanish cavalryman Gabriel Moraga surveyed and named the Río del Santísimo Sacramento (Sacramento River), after the Blessed Sacrament. In 1839, Juan Bautista Alvarado, Mexican governor of Alta California, granted the responsibility of colonizing the Sacramento Valley to Swiss-born Mexican citizen John Augustus Sutter, who subsequently established Sutter's Fort and the settlement at the Rancho Nueva Helvetia. Following the American Conquest of California 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.[12]

Sacramento is the fastest-growing major city in California,[13] 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 and UC Davis. Similarly, Sacramento is a major center for the California healthcare industry, as the seat of Sutter Health, UC Davis Medical Center, and the UC Davis School of Medicine. In 2013, the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau stated that the city receives 15.3 million visitors per year,[14] and is home to the California Museum, Crocker Art Museum, California State Railroad Museum, California State Capitol Museum, the Sacramento Convention Center Complex, and Old Sacramento State Historic Park. It was a global city, designated at the Gamma − level in 2020.[15]

  1. ^ "California Cities by Incorporation Date". California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on February 21, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  2. ^ "City Hall". City of Sacramento. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  3. ^ "City Hall". City of Sacramento. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Mayor & Council". City of Sacramento. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  5. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  6. ^ "Sacramento". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "QuickFacts: Sacramento city, California". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  9. ^ State of California, Department of Finance, E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State with Annual percent change – January 1, 2016, and 2017. Sacramento, California, May 2017.
  10. ^ "Top 50 U.S. Cities by Population and Rank". Infoplease. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  11. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2017". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Martinez, Jeremiah (September 18, 2022). "When and how did Sacramento become California's capital?". KTLA 5. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  13. ^ Caraccio, David. "Sacramento is fastest growing big city in California". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  14. ^ Darnell, Brandon (May 17, 2013). "Why does Tourism Matter in Sacramento?". Visit Sacramento. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  15. ^ "The World According to GaWC 2020". Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Network. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2023.