California's capital is easy to overlook, but Sacramento has a lot going for it. It sits where the American and Sacramento rivers meet, with a leafy grid of old trees, a gold rush past you can see in Old Sacramento, and a state railroad museum that kids and adults both enjoy. Midtown has the best restaurants and bars, and the farmers markets make the farm-to-fork slogan believable.
About 535,000 people live in the city, inside a metro area of nearly two and a half million. Living here costs a good deal more than the national average but noticeably less than the Bay Area, which is why many people move here from there. San Francisco and Lake Tahoe are each about an hour and a half or so away. Summers are very hot and smoky in a bad fire year, winters bring tule fog, and car break-ins and package theft are common. Some pockets near downtown have visible homelessness.
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- Known as
- River City; City of Trees; Farm-to-Fork Capital; Sac; Sacratomato
- Founded
- 1848 settled (Sutter's Fort 1839); 1850 incorporated
- Languages
- English; Spanish; Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin); Vietnamese; Hmong; Tagalog; Russian
- Airports
- Sacramento International (SMF), about 12 miles northwest of downtown; Sacramento Executive (SAC) for general aviation; nearest alternatives Oakland (OAK) about 80 miles, San Francisco (SFO) about 90 miles
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-22% for table service; bars $1-2 per drink or 15-20%; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-3 per bag; hair and spa services 15-20%; counter service optional
About this data
City and metro population from Census Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025; metro via everycityintheusa summarizing Census). Area, elevation, coordinates, founding and hotel and cost figures are approximate (recalled, not freshly verified except as noted). Home price from Redfin Aug 2026; rent from Redfin page with dated 2024 data. Crime is 2024 data from NeighborhoodScout. Websites verified to load Sept 2026
