Sacramento, California

State capital city
	City of Sacramento
	Flag Seal
	Location within Sacramento County in California
	Coordinates: 38°34′54″N 121°29′40″W / 38.58167°N 121.49444°WCoordinates: 38°34′54″N 121°29′40″W / 38.58167°N 121.49444°W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Sacramento
Region	Sacramento Valley
CSA	Sacramento-Roseville
MSA	Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade
Incorporated	February 27, 1850; 174 years ago
Chartered	1920; 104 years ago
Named for	Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
Government
• Type	City Council
• Body	Sacramento City Council
• Mayor	Darrell Steinberg (D)
• City Council	Council Members
Area
• City	99.77 sq mi (258.41 km2)
• Land	97.68 sq mi (253.00 km2)
• Water	2.09 sq mi (5.41 km2) 2.19%
Elevation	30 ft (9 m)
Population (2020)
• City	524,943
• Rank	35th in the United States; 6th in California
• Density	5,374.11/sq mi (2,074.87/km2)
• Metro	2,397,382 (26th)
Time zone	UTC−8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	942xx, 958xx
Interstates
U.S. routes
State highways
Website	cityofsacramento.org

Sacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California. The governor and legislature of California are in Sacramento. About 520,000 people live in Sacramento. About 2,000,000 live in and around Sacramento.

Sacramento comes from Spanish and Portuguese for holy rite. A sacrament is a religious act that gives people divine grace (being liked or favored by God.)

Sacramento was started in 1848 by John Sutter. It was a very important place during the California Gold Rush. The Gold Rush was the time after gold was found in California. Many people came to California to find gold. They did this to make money. During the Gold Rush, Sacramento was where the railroad ended. It was also where the Pony Express stopped.

Sacramento is near where the American River meets the Sacramento River. This was important when Sacramento was founded. It meant that ships could bring things to Sacramento from the Pacific Ocean. Sacramento was a railroad town. This made Sacramento a port town. This made it a very important place for business.

The majority of Sacramento's foreign-born population are from Mexico, the Philippines, Vietnam, Ukraine and Laos.^[10]

The Sacramento River and the buildings in the background.

Old Town Sacramento

Demographics

2020 census

In the 2020 census, there were 524,923 people, 192,560 households, and 116,436 families living in Sacramento. The population density was 5,323.2 people per square mile (2,055.3/km²). There were 202,231 housing units. The breakdown by race was 34.8% White, 19.9% Asian, 13.2% Black, 1.4% Native American, 1.6% Pacific Islander, 15.3% from one other race, and 13.8% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos made up 28.8% of the people.

The median (middle) age was 35.4 years. The age breakdown was 22.3% under age 18, 64.0% from 18 to 65, and 13.8% over 65. The gender breakdown was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

Of the households, 30.7% had children under age 18, 37.9% had a married couple, 8.9% had an unmarried couple, 32.0% had a woman with no partner, 21.2% had a man with no partner, and 29.5% had one person living alone. The average household size was 2.64 people.^[11]^[12]

Sacramento, California Media

In 1839, John Augustus Sutter established Sutter's Fort, which he called Nueva Helvetia. In 1841, he was officially granted the land by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado.
Sacramento in 1849, when the city was an economic center of the California Gold Rush
Old Sacramento, the oldest quarter of the city, grew up along the Sacramento River in the mid-1800s.
An 1874 depiction of a Sacramento railway station by painter William Hahn
The California State Capitol, built between 1860 and 1874, shown here under construction in 1868
Built in 1935, Tower Bridge connects Sacramento to West Sacramento.
The Elks Tower was built in 1926 in an Italianate style.
The 1975 assassination attempt of President Gerald Ford in Capitol Park
Aerial view of Central Sacramento and the Sacramento River
Downtown Sacramento is the home of numerous corporate regional headquarters.