Sacramento County was one of the original counties of California, which were created in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county was named after theSacramento River, which forms its western border. The river was named by Spanishcavalry officerGabriel Moraga for theSantisimo Sacramento (Most Holy Sacrament), referring to the CatholicEucharist.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 994 square miles (2,570 km2), of which 965 square miles (2,500 km2) is land and 29 square miles (75 km2) (3.0%) is water.[9] Most of the county is at an elevation close to sea level, with some areas below sea level. The highest point in the county isCarpenter Hill at 828 feet (252 m), in the southeast part ofFolsom. Major watercourses in the county include theAmerican River,Sacramento River,Cosumnes River, a tributary of theMokelumne River, andDry Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River.
Sacramento County, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the census[33] of 2000, there were 1,223,499 people, 453,602 households, and 297,562 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,267 inhabitants per square mile (489/km2). There were 474,814 housing units at an average density of 492 per square mile (190/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 64.0%White, 10.6%Black orAfrican American, 1.09%Native American, 13.5%Asian, 0.6%Pacific Islander, 7.5% fromother races, and 5.8% from two or more races. 19.3% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 10.2% were ofGerman, 7.0% English, 6.7%Irish and 5.1% American ancestry according toCensus 2000. 75.7% spoke only English at home; 10.0% spoke Spanish, 1.5%Hmong, 1.4% Chinese orMandarin, 1.3%Vietnamese, 1.2%Tagalog and 1.2%Russian.
There were 453,602 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the county, 27.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.5% was from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 female residents aged 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,816, and the median income for a family was $50,717. Males had a median income of $39,482 versus $31,569 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,142. About 10.3% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.
Under its foundational Charter, the five-member electedSacramento County Board of Supervisors (BOS) is the county legislature. The board operates in a legislative, executive, andquasi-judicial capacity. The current members are:
Phil Serna, District 1
Patrick Kennedy, District 2
Rich Desmond, District 3
Rosario Rodriguez, District 4
Pat Hume, District 5
The Sacramento County Code is thecodified law of Sacramento County in the form oflocal ordinances passed by the Board of Supervisors.
TheSacramento County Sheriff provides court protection and jail management for the entire county. It provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of the county. Incorporated municipalities within the county that have their own municipal police departments or contract with the Sacramento County sheriff for their policing are: Elk Grove, 170,000, municipal department; Citrus Heights, 88,000, municipal department; Folsom, 78,000, municipal department; Isleton, sheriff contract; Rancho Cordova, 73,000, sheriff contract; Galt, population 26,000, municipal department.
Other law enforcement agencies in the county include the Sacramento County Park Rangers that service the County Parks, Twin Rivers Unified School District Police servicing police services for Twin Rivers School District, and the Fulton-El Camino Park District Police Department servicing Recreation and Park Districts.
The Fulton-El Camino Park District Police operating under the Fulton-El Camino Recreation and Park District was disbanded as of November 26, 2024, following an alleged mismanagement of government funds, ethical and moral dilemmas by Emily Ballus (General Manager) and Beth Johnson (Interim Chief of Police). ABC10 conducted an investigation regarding misappropriation of funds.[35][36]
Sacramento County was politically competitive in most presidential elections between 1976 and 2004, but now votes significantly in favor of theDemocratic candidates. Candidates from the Democratic Party have carried the county in the past eight presidential elections, and have won a majority of the county's votes five times during that timespan. The city ofSacramento is strongly Democratic, while rural areas are stronglyRepublican; suburban areas are more divided. This pattern is also present in congressional and state legislative elections. The last Republican presidential candidate to win a majority in the county wasGeorge H. W. Bush in1988. However, it has voted to the right of California at large since1992.
United States presidential election results for Sacramento County, California[40]
In gubernatorial elections, Sacramento County is typically a bellwether, having voted for the winner every time since 1962 with the exception of 1970 and 2002.
According to theCalifornia Secretary of State, as of October 22, 2012, Sacramento County has 698,899 registered voters, out of 944,243 eligible (74%). Of those, 306,960 (44%) are registered Democrats, 225,688 (32%) are registeredRepublicans, and 134,677 (19%) havedeclined to state a political party.[42]
The Sacramento County Department of Transportation (SACDOT)[47] maintains approximately 2200 miles of roadway within the unincorporated area. The roads range from six lane thoroughfares to rural roads.[48]
In February 1851, the county was divided into eightcivil townships: the seven marked by asterisks below, plus Sacramento township. In July of that year, American township was divided off from Sacramento township. In 1856, the Board of Supervisors realigned the divisions into the 14 civil townships below, plus the city of Sacramento.[49]
^abcdefghijklmnoU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
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