Sacramento County, California

County of Sacramento
—  County  —

Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the US
Country  United States
State  California
Region Sacramento Valley
Metro area Greater Sacramento
Incorporated 1850
County seat Sacramento
Largest city Sacramento
Area
 • Total 2,578.3 km2 (995.48 sq mi)
 • Land 2,501 km2 (965.65 sq mi)
 • Water 77.3 km2 (29.83 sq mi)
Population (2010)
 • Total 1,418,788
 • Density 550.3/km2 (1,425.2/sq mi)
Time zone Pacific Standard Time (UTC−8)
 • Summer (DST) Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7)
Website www.saccounty.net

Sacramento County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Sacramento, which is also the state capital. As of 2010 the county had a population of 1,418,788.

The Greater Sacramento metropolitan area consists of eight counties with Sacramento County being the largest. The County covers about 994 square miles (2,570 km2) in the middle of the California Central Valley, on into Gold Country. Sacramento County extends from the low delta lands between the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River north to about ten miles (16 km) beyond the State Capitol and east into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The southmost portion of Sacramento County has direct access to San Francisco Bay.

Contents

History

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 the Sacramento River, which forms its western border. The river was named by Spanish cavalry officer Gabriel Moraga for the Santisimo Sacramento (Most Holy Sacrament), referring to the Catholic Eucharist.

Alexander Hamilton Willard, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is buried in the old Franklin Cemetery.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 995.48 square miles (2,578.3 km2), of which 965.65 square miles (2,501.0 km2) (or 97.00%) is land and 29.83 square miles (77.3 km2) (or 3.00%) is water.[1] Most of the county is at an elevation close to sea level, with some areas below sea level. Hills along the eastern boundary rise to several hundred feet. Major watercourses in the county include the American River, Sacramento River and Dry Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River.

Cities and towns

Incorporated places

Unincorporated census-designated places

Adjacent counties

See also: List of counties bordering eight or more counties

National protected area

Government and politics

Sacramento County vote
by party in presidential elections
Year GOP DEM Others
2008 39.5% 213,583 58.5% 316,506 2.4% 12,770
2004 49.3% 235,539 49.5% 236,657 1.2% 5,670
2000 45.3% 195,619 49.3% 212,792 5.4% 23,139
1996 40.8% 166,049 49.8% 203,019 9.4% 38,346
1992 35.4% 160,366 43.6% 197,540 21.1% 95,606
1988 51.0% 201,832 47.7% 188,557 1.3% 5,301
1984 55.6% 204,922 43.1% 159,128 1.3% 4,791
1980 47.7% 153,721 40.4% 130,031 11.9% 38,368
1976 44.6% 123,110 52.3% 144,203 3.1% 8,563
1972 49.0% 141,218 47.6% 137,287 3.4% 9,716
1968 41.7% 97,177 50.9% 118,769 7.4% 17,300
1964 34.2% 77,871 65.7% 149,668 0.2% 332
1960 43.3% 84,252 56.3% 109,695 0.4% 809
1956 45.1% 67,686 54.7% 82,134 0.2% 260
1952 49.0% 67,207 50.4% 69,066 0.6% 837
1948 37.8% 35,074 58.4% 54,197 3.9% 3,571
1944 33.2% 24,611 66.3% 49,204 0.5% 403
1940 30.8% 23,201 68.1% 51,351 1.2% 864
1936 20.1% 12,119 78.5% 47,265 1.3% 800
1932 27.7% 14,553 69.3% 36,370 2.9% 1,542
1928 50.8% 20,762 48.2% 19,684 1.0% 403
1924 41.1% 13,400 7.0% 2,285 51.9% 16,932
1920 64.9% 15,634 29.7% 7,150 5.5% 1,316

Sacramento County is governed by an elected five-member Sacramento County Board of Supervisors[2] according to the Sacramento County Charter and the Sacramento County Code. The county is administered by the County Executive[3] appointed by the Board, and an elected Assessor, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Board of Education.[4][5]

Sacramento County is politically competitive in presidential elections, though marginally Democratic. Candidates from the Democratic Party have carried the county in the past five presidential elections, but have won a majority of the county's votes only once during that time (in 2008). The city of Sacramento is strongly Democratic, while rural areas are strongly Republican; 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 was George H.W. Bush in 1988.

In the House of Representatives, all of California's 5th congressional district, part of the 3rd district, as well as small portions of the 4th and 10th districts, are in the county. The 3rd and 4th districts are represented by Republicans Dan Lungren and Tom McClintock, respectively, while the 5th and 10th are represented by Democrats Doris Matsui and John Garamendi, respectively.

In the State Assembly, all of the 9th district and parts of the 4th, 5th, 10th, and 15th districts are in the county. The 5th, represented by Richard Pan, the 9th, represented by Roger Dickinson, the 10th by Alyson Huber, and the 15th by Joan Buchanan are represented by Democrats, while the 4th is represented by Republican Beth Gaines.

In the State Senate, all of the 6th district and parts of the 1st and 5th districts are in the county. The 1st district is represented by Republican Ted Gaines and the 5th and 6th districts are represented by Democrats, Lois Wolk and Darrell Steinberg, respectively.

As of 2008, approximately 45% of registered voters were Democratic and 31% were registered Republicans; the remaining 23% declined to state their affiliation.[6]

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

Public transportation

Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) provides bus and light rail service in Sacramento and nearby communities like Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights, and Rosemont. Sacramento hosts 37.4 miles (60.2 km) of light rail. The cities of Elk Grove, Folsom and Galt also operate their own bus lines. In addition, the transit agencies of the adjacent counties have routes operating into downtown Sacramento, or connecting with the light rail system.

Greyhound and Amtrak both serve Sacramento. The port of Sacramento ships 870,000 short tons (790,000 metric tons) of cargo annually.

Airports

Sacramento International Airport is a major, full-service airport with passenger flights. It is owned by the County of Sacramento. The County also owns Sacramento Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento Executive Airport, both of which are general aviation airports. There are also privately owned public use airports located in Elk Grove and Rio Linda.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1900 45,915
—
1910 67,806 47.7%
1920 91,029 34.2%
1930 141,999 56.0%
1940 170,333 20.0%
1950 277,140 62.7%
1960 502,778 81.4%
1970 631,498 25.6%
1980 783,381 24.1%
1990 1,041,219 32.9%
2000 1,223,499 17.5%
2010 1,418,788 16.0%

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Sacramento County had a population of 1,418,788. The racial makeup of Sacramento County was 815,151 (57.5%) White, 200,228 (15.4%) African American, 14,308 (1.0%) Native American, 203,211 (14.3%) Asian, 13,858 (1.0%) Pacific Islander, 131,691 (9.3%) from other races, and 93,511 (6.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 306,196 persons (21.6%).[7]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County
Total
Population
White
African
American
Native
American
Asian
Pacific
Islander
other
races
two or
more races
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race)
Sacramento County 1,418,788 815,151 147,058 14,308 203,211 13,858 131,691 93,511 306,196
Incorporated
cities
Total
Population
White
African
American
Native
American
Asian
Pacific
Islander
other
races
two or
more races
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race)
Citrus Heights 83,301 66,856 2,751 753 2,714 363 5,348 4,516 13,734
Elk Grove 153,015 70,478 20,172 965 40,261 1,807 10,231 12,101 27,581
Folsom 72,203 53,627 4,140 427 9,000 173 1,818 3,018 8,064
Galt 23,647 15,639 430 361 815 108 4,834 1,460 10,113
Isleton 804 542 10 10 41 4 139 58 316
Rancho Cordova 64,776 39,123 8,561 668 7,831 556 5,517 4,520 12,740
Sacramento 466,488 210,006 80,005 5,291 85,503 6,655 57,573 33,125 125,276
Census-designated
places
Total
Population
White
African
American
Native
American
Asian
Pacific
Islander
other
races
two or
more races
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race)
Antelope 45,770 29,200 4,039 402 6,090 407 2,284 3,348 6,635
Arden-Arcade 92,186 64,688 8,977 948 5,152 531 7,420 5,470 17,147
Carmichael 61,762 49,776 4,972 546 2,653 287 2,035 3,493 7,218
Clay 1,195 981 6 24 8 0 108 68 242
Courtland 355 247 0 6 4 0 75 23 200
Elverta 5,492 4,453 117 77 208 48 302 287 859
Fair Oaks 30,912 26,479 729 255 1,289 57 738 1,365 2,954
Florin 47,513 15,034 9,521 543 13,605 815 6,756 3,239 13,048
Foothill Farms 33,121 21,249 4,628 357 1,731 208 3,362 2,586 7,579
Franklin 155 119 0 0 5 0 20 11 42
Freeport 38 34 0 0 2 0 1 1 6
Fruitridge Pocket 5,800 1,704 1,047 105 1,113 67 1,317 447 2,345
Gold River 7,912 5,837 195 20 1,426 28 97 309 515
Herald 1,184 934 20 13 64 7 105 41 254
Hood 271 135 0 15 15 1 70 35 137
La Riviera 10,802 7,315 1,084 76 766 87 671 803 1,756
Lemon Hill 13,729 5,091 3,493 246 2,394 196 3,487 822 6,790
Mather 743 467 99 13 27 21 31 85 110
McClellan Park 4,451 2,477 393 42 850 84 267 338 704
North Highlands 45,794 27,000 6,003 603 2,067 300 4,709 3,132 10,077
Orangevale 33,960 29,679 463 316 1,040 75 879 1,508 3,448
Parkway 15,670 5,225 3,696 182 1,997 300 3,161 1,109 6,185
Rancho Murieta 5,488 4,874 130 33 158 6 81 206 425
Rio Linda 15,106 11,654 502 235 665 62 1,304 821 3,033
Rosemont 22,681 13,496 2,720 310 2,419 134 1,754 1,848 4,587
Vineyard 24,836 11,306 2,426 163 7,293 256 1,682 1,710 4,414
Walnut Grove 1,542 943 15 24 110 0 402 48 673
Wilton 5,363 4,234 169 45 289 13 343 270 683
Unincorporated
communities
Total
Population
White
African
American
Native
American
Asian
Pacific
Islander
other
races
two or
more races
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined) 24,823 14,249 2,472 234 3,606 202 2,770 1,290 6,306

2000

As of the census[8] 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 people per square mile (489/km²). There were 474,814 housing units at an average density of 492/sq mi (190/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.02% White, 10.56% Black or African American, 1.09% Native American, 13.53% Asian, 0.59% Pacific Islander, 7.48% from other races, and 5.84% from two or more races. 19.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 10.2% were of German, 7.0% English, 6.7% Irish and 5.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 75.7% spoke only English at home; 10.0% spoke Spanish, 1.5% Hmong, 1.4% Chinese or Mandarin, 1.3% Vietnamese, 1.2% Tagalog and 1.2% Russian.

There were 453,602 households out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.40% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.40% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.00% 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 the population was spread out with 27.60% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 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.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
  2. ^ California Government Code §25000(a)
  3. ^ Sacramento County Charter §20
  4. ^ Sacramento County Charter §23(e)
  5. ^ Sacramento County Charter §24
  6. ^ SOS.ca.gov
  7. ^ "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau. http://www2.census.gov/census_2010/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/California/. 
  8. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

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