Sacramento, California

**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.

### 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.

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Sacramento, California
- **settlement type**: List of capitals in the United States, State capital city
- **official name**: City of Sacramento
- **image flag**: Flag of Sacramento, California.svg
- **image seal**: Seal of Sacramento, California.png
- **nickname**: List of city nicknames in California, "Sactown", "Sac", "City of Trees","River City", "Camellia City", "America's Most Diverse City"
- **motto**:
()
- **image map**: Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
- **mapsize**: 250x200px
- **map caption**: Location within Sacramento County in California
- **pushpin map**: California#USA#North America
- **pushpin label**: Sacramento
- **pushpin map caption**: Location within the United States
- **pushpin relief**: yes
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: California
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in California, County
- **subdivision name2**: Sacramento County, California, Sacramento
---
- **subdivision type3**: List of regions of California, Region
- **subdivision name3**: Sacramento Valley
- **subdivision type4**: Combined Statistical Area, CSA
- **subdivision name4**: Sacramento metropolitan area, Sacramento-Roseville
- **subdivision type5**: Metropolitan statistical area, MSA
- **subdivision name5**: Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade
- **established title**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established title2**: Charter city, Chartered
- **named for**: Eucharist, Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
- **government type**: Council–manager government, City Council
- **governing body**: Sacramento City Council
- **leader title**: List of mayors of Sacramento, California, Mayor
- **leader name**: Kevin McCarty
- **leader party**: Democratic Party (United States), D
- **leader title1**: Sacramento City Council, City Council
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **total type**: City
- **area total sq mi**: 100.70
- **area land sq mi**: 98.61
- **area water sq mi**: 2.09
- **area total km2**: 260.81
- **area land km2**: 255.40
- **area water km2**: 5.41
- **area water percent**: 2.08
- **elevation ft**: 30
- **population total**: 524943
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **population rank**: List of United States cities by population, 35th in the United States
List of largest cities in California by population, 6th in California
- **population density sq mi**: 5323.4
- **population density km2**: 2055.4
- **population metro**: 2397382 (List of metropolitan statistical areas, 26th)
- **population demonym**: Sacramentan
- **timezone**: Pacific Time Zone, PST
- **utc offset**: −8
- **timezone dst**: Pacific Time Zone, PDT
- **utc offset dst**: −7
- **postal code type**: ZIP codes
- **postal code**: 942xx, 958xx
- **area code type**: North American Numbering Plan, Area code
- **area code**: Area codes 916 and 279, 916 and 279
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standards, FIPS code
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS feature IDs
- **blank1 info**: ,
- **blank name sec1**: Interstate Highway System, Interstates
- **blank info sec1**:
- **blank1 name sec1**: List of U.S. Highways in California, U.S. routes
- **blank1 info sec1**:
- **blank2 name sec1**: List of state highways in California, State highways
- **blank2 info sec1**: