Greater Sacramento Sacramento–Roseville
Metropolitan area
Sacramento, California in October 2008
Map of Sacramento–Roseville, CACSA   Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CAMSA   Yuba City, CA MSA   Truckee–Grass Valley, CAμSA   City of Sacramento   City of Roseville
Country	United States
State	California
Principal cities	Sacramento –Elk Grove –West Sacramento –Davis –Arden-Arcade –Roseville –Yuba City –South Lake Tahoe
Area
• Metro	21,429.20 sq mi (55,501.37 km2)
Elevation	0–10,886 ft (0–3,318 m)
Population  (2020)[1]
• Urban	1,723,634 (28th)
• Metro	2,397,382
• Metro density	111.8746/sq mi (43.19501/km2)
• MSA	(26th)
• CSA	2,680,831
	Urban = 2010
GDP [2]
• MSA	$160.542 billion (2021)
Time zone	UTC−8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)

TheGreater Sacramento area is ametropolitan region inNorthern California comprising either theU.S. Census Bureau definedSacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcademetropolitan statistical area or the largerSacramento–Rosevillecombined statistical area, the latter of which consists of seven counties, namelySacramento,Yolo,Placer,El Dorado,Sutter,Yuba, andNevada counties.

Straddling theCentral Valley andSierra Nevada regions of California, Greater Sacramento is anchored by thestate capital of Sacramento, the political center of California. Greater Sacramento also contains sites of natural beauty includingLake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America and numerous ski and nature resorts. It is also located in one of the world's most important agricultural areas. The region's eastern counties are located inGold Country, site of theCalifornia Gold Rush.

Since the late 20th century, it has been one of the fastest growing urban regions in the United States as Sacramento continues to emerge as a distinct metropolitan area.^[3] In the 1990s, the metro area experienced a growth of just over 20%, with subsequent growth remaining above 10% per decade.^[4] In the 2020 Census, the metropolitan region had a population of 2,680,831.^[5]

The Greater Sacramento area is composed of seven counties, two metropolitan statistical areas and onemicropolitan area. The following counties are located in the Greater Sacramento area:

• El Dorado County, California
• Nevada County, California
• Placer County, California
• Sacramento County, California
• Sutter County, California
• Yolo County, California
• Yuba County, California

El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties comprise the Sacramento–Roseville-Folsom, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sutter and Yuba counties comprise the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area, known as theYuba–Sutter area. Nevada County comprises the Truckee–Grass Valley Micropolitan Area.

Greater Sacramento straddles two key regions ofCalifornia, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada mountains and is overlapped by the cultural influences of three areas, theBay Area,Eastern California andNorthern California. An increasing phenomenon taking shape in Greater Sacramento is growth ofurban sprawl as Sacramento and its metropolitan area continue to expand. The growth is due in part to first, higher costs of living in the Bay Area which have caused commuters to move as far as Yolo and Sacramento counties and more recently, growth and rising living costs in the core of Sacramento, building up more areas in the surrounding counties for commuters. Local and state governments are trying to prevent destruction of forests and open land and curbing the spread before Sacramento faces an urban sprawl crisis as theGreater Los Angeles Area has.^[6]

Sacramento is the most populous city in the metropolitan area, home to approximately 526,000 people, making it thesixth-most populous city in California and the35th most populous in the United States. It has been the state capital of California since 1851 and has played an important role in the history of California. When gold was discovered in nearbySutter's Mill inColoma, Sacramento became a boom town luring in migrants making their way fromSan Francisco to the gold fields of the Sierras. Although it did not become the financial and cultural center of Northern California, titles that were given to San Francisco, Sacramento became the largest transportation hub of not only Northern California, but also the West Coast following the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Sacramento today continues to be one of the largest rail hubs in North America, and itsrail station is one of the busiest in the United States. In 2002, Time Magazine featured an article recognizing Sacramento as the most diverse and integrated city in America.^[7] Government (state and federal) jobs are still the largest sector of employment in the city and the city council does considerable effort to keep state agencies from moving outside the city limits.^[8] The remainder ofSacramento County is suburban in general with most of the working population commuting toDowntown Sacramento and with a smaller proportion commuting all the way to the Bay Area.

Yolo County is a mixture of an agricultural area andcommuter region, with most of its working population commuting either to the Bay Area or Sacramento for work. It is home to theUniversity of California, Davis, campus, the northernmost UC campus and only UC campus in the Greater Sacramento region.

El Dorado andPlacer Counties form the remainder of the inner core of Greater Sacramento and are composed of theSierra Nevada foothills and mountains. The western areas of the counties are composed of commuter suburbs, withRoseville in Placer County being Sacramento's most populousedge city. The Sierra foothills mostly contain residential acreage properties and small farms. The easternmost areas border Lake Tahoe and are home to numerous ski resorts and towns such asSouth Lake Tahoe, site of theHeavenly Mountain Resort, which are popular in winter months and nature camps and resorts in summer months. Placer County has been an important mining area not only for gold, but also other minerals and granite. It is also the site ofSquaw Valley, which hosted the1960 Winter Olympics, which has been up to date, the onlyWinter Olympic Games to be held inCalifornia and theUS West Coast and the smallest city to host an Olympics.

TheYuba–Sutter area consists ofYuba andSutter counties and is a primarily agricultural area, although the southern area is more suburban in character. It is home toSunsweet Growers, which owns the world's largest dried fruit plant inYuba City.Nevada County, like El Dorado and Placer Counties, borders Lake Tahoe and contains numerous ski resorts such as theBoreal Mountain Resort, but is more rural than the former two counties and is an important gold mining area. TheDonner Memorial State Park is located in the county, where the ill-fatedDonner Party was trapped in winter storms in 1846–47 while attempting to make it to California on a poorly organized trip.

Douglas County, Nevada was recently briefly added to the Sacramento Combined Statistical Area. As Greater Sacramento continues to grow beyond its inner region, Western Nevada continues to be influenced by Sacramento and California and their cultures.^[9] However, Douglas County has since been removed again from the Sacramento CSA, and transferred to the Reno-Carson City-Fernley, NV CSA.

The western half of Greater Sacramento is centered on the Central Valley, one of the most vital agricultural areas in the country. The Sierra Nevada and its foothills compose the eastern portion of the region. Yolo County contains a large flood control basin. TheSacramento River and theAmerican River are major rivers that form adeepwater port connected to theSan Francisco Bay by a channel through theSacramento River Delta. Coniferous and oak-dominated woodland are prevalent in the Sierra Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area.

Sacramento and the valley area have aMediterranean climate (KöppenCsa), characterized by damp to wet, cool winters and hot, dry summers. The wet season is generally October through April. Summer heat is often moderated by a sea breeze known as the "delta breeze" which comes through theSacramento–San Joaquin River Delta from theSan Francisco Bay.^[10] January is the coolest month for the entire region with an average maximum of 41.0 °F (5.0 °C) and an average minimum of 15.1 °F (-9.4 °C) in Lake Tahoe.

The eastern portion of Greater Sacramento experiences a more varied climate with 90 °F (32.2 °C) temperatures in August to below freezing temperatures in winter. In higher elevations, freezing temperatures have been recorded every month. In the winter, below freezing temperatures are common in Sacramento and lower valley elevations although snowfall is scarce and usually melts on ground contact with significant snowfall occurring roughly every 3–5 years. However, blizzard conditions in winter storms can be common in the higher elevations.^[11][12]

As of the 2020census, there were 2,397,382 people residing within the MSA. The racial makeup was 52.5% White, 7.0% Black, 1.1% American Indian, 14.9% Asian, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 10.4% Other and 13.2% Two or More Races. 22.2% identified as Hispanic or Latino.

The median income for a household in the MSA in 2000 was $48,401, and the median income for a family was $57,112. Males had a median income of $43,572 versus $31,889 for females. Theper capita income for the MSA was $23,508.

Owing to its central location between theBay Area and Nevada border, Greater Sacramento is a key transportation hub into Northern California. While the region doesn't have an extensive public transportation system as the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Sacramento has had an earlier history of public mass transit and is served by a vast freeway system as well as some light rail.

Sacramento is served by numerous highways. Five highways merge in theCapital City Corridor, serving the immediate downtown Sacramento area. The major freeways of the Greater Sacramento area areInterstate 80,US Route 50,Interstate 5, andState Route 99, which serve the northern Tahoe area, southern Tahoe area, and valley areas, respectively, as well as forming the Capital City Corridor along withInterstate 80 Business. Outside downtown Sacramento, there is only one principal route that serves its respective area and there are smaller state routes as well. Freeways and highways in the Greater Sacramento areas include:

Sacramento is the largest rail hub west of theMississippi River and was the first terminus of theFirst transcontinental railroad before it extended toOakland. TheSacramento Valley Station is the largest train station in the region, nearOld Sacramento, and is connected by theCoast Starlight,California Zephyr,Gold Runner,Capitol Corridor andAmtrak ThruwayAmtrak routes. TheSacramento Regional Transit District is the local transit agency for Sacramento County and operates three light rail routes, theBlue Line,Green Line, andGold Line, along 42.9 mi (69 km) ofright of way that serve Sacramento and its immediate suburbs. Other train stations in the Greater Sacramento area areDavis,Roseville,Rocklin,Auburn,Colfax andTruckee.

The main airport servicing Greater Sacramento is theSacramento International Airport north of downtown while theSacramento Mather Airport,Sacramento McClellan Airport,Sacramento Executive Airport andMinden–Tahoe Airports provide general aviation. TheReno-Tahoe International Airport inReno provides more direct access toLake Tahoe than Sacramento International. For a wider range of destinations, residents must travel down toSan Francisco International Airport, the largest airport in Northern California and 10th largest in the United States.

Greater Sacramento is served by extensive bus systems that link the region to the Reno and Bay Area metropolitan areas. TheSacramento Regional Transit District operates bus lines in Sacramento County andYolobus serves Yolo County while providing connections to downtown Sacramento and northernSolano County in the Bay Area.El Dorado Transit links El Dorado County with downtown Sacramento and the city's western suburbs.Placer County Transit andRoseville Transit link Sacramento with Placer County with the latter providing direct connection from Roseville to Sacramento. TheYuba-Sutter Transit provides bus service in the Yuba–Sutter area and direct connection to downtown Sacramento on weekdays. Gold Country Stage and Tahoe Truckee Area Rapid Transit serve Nevada County and transfer service to Auburn to Sacramento is provided.Greyhound,Megabus,Flixbus, andAmtrak provide long-distance bus lines to Greater Sacramento.

Greater Sacramento's higher education system consists of the northernmostUniversity of California campus,University of California, Davis, and theCalifornia State University, Sacramento ("Sac State"), as well as several community colleges in the region.

In addition to being home of the state capital of California, Greater Sacramento is considered a politically competitive area with no major political party having a majority over the region.^[17] Sacramento and Yolo counties have large Democratic pluralities and have had Democratic majorities since the2008 presidential election, attributed to the former county being mainly urban and the latter home to the strongly Democratic university town of Davis. El Dorado, Placer, Yuba, and Sutter counties are predominantlyRepublican while Nevada County, despite a history of being held by Republican candidates, reflects the metropolitan area's competitiveness with pluralities between the two major parties.

The only major professional sports team based in the Greater Sacramento area are theSacramento Kings, who play atGolden 1 Center in Downtown Sacramento. TheAthletics, who are relocating from Oakland toLas Vegas, will temporarily play atSutter Health Park from 2025 to 2027 (with an option for 2028) until their new stadium in Las Vegas is completed.

Prior to 2009, theSacramento Monarchs of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) were also based at the Sleep Train Arena (then known as ARCO Arena), and were one of the most successful WNBA teams until the team folded.^[18]

Greater Sacramento is the only metropolitan area in California to have ever hosted aWinter Olympic Games whenSquaw Valley hosted the1960 Winter Olympics, becoming the smallest city to ever host anOlympic Games, a title it still holds. Squaw Valley was the second Olympic games hosted in California and the only one not held inLos Angeles, where the1932 and1984 Summer Olympics were hosted and was the only Winter Olympics held west of the Mississippi River until the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City.

Greater Sacramento is also home to minor or secondary league sports teams.Sacramento Republic FC is asoccer team that plays in theUSL Championship atHeart Health Park, which is located on the grounds ofCal Expo. Anew stadium in downtown Sacramento is planned to be completed ahead of the club's move toMajor League Soccer (MLS).^[19]

TheSacramento River Cats are atriple-Abaseball team affiliated with theSan Francisco Giants. The team plays inWest Sacramento atSutter Health Park, which is located just across the Sacramento River from downtown Sacramento.

NCAADivision I College Sports

• Sacramento State Hornets
• UC Davis Aggies

• California census statistical areas
• Northern California
• San Francisco Bay Area

• Sacramento metropolitan area
• Metropolitan areas of California
• Geography of the Sacramento Valley
• Geography of the Central Valley (California)
• Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (United States)
• Northern California

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