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Capital of California · Sacramento County · capital since 1854 · 38.6°N 121.5°W

Sacramento, California

Sacramento became the permanent capital of California in 1854 after San Jose, Vallejo and Benicia each held the legislature briefly. It is the sixth-largest city in the state.

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Sacramento lies in the Central Valley of northern California, about 90 miles northeast of San Francisco. Press Streets and zoom in to see the Sacramento and American rivers meeting at the north edge of downtown.

Where Sacramento is

Sacramento is the seat of Sacramento County, at 38.58°N, 121.49°W, at the point where the American River flows into the Sacramento River in the northern Central Valley. The city is only about 30 ft above sea level; levees protect it from both rivers, and the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta begins just to the south. The Sierra Nevada foothills start about 25 miles east, and Lake Tahoe is about 100 miles away up Interstate 80. San Francisco Bay is 90 miles to the southwest.

How it became the capital

California's first constitutional convention met at Monterey in 1849, and the first legislature sat at San Jose. Vallejo was named the capital in 1852, Benicia in 1853, and each proved too small. Sacramento, the supply town for the gold fields founded by John Sutter's son in 1848, hosted the legislature from 1854 and was confirmed as the permanent capital in the 1879 constitution. Flooding in 1861–62 was so bad that the government moved to San Francisco for a session before returning.

Population

Sacramento counted 524,943 people in 2020, sixth among California cities after Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco and Fresno. The four-county Sacramento metropolitan area, which includes Roseville, Elk Grove and Folsom, has about 2.4 million residents. Los Angeles, the largest city in the state, has more than seven times Sacramento's population and is about 385 miles south.

The capitol

The California State Capitol at the east end of Capitol Mall was begun in 1861 and finished in 1874, to a design by Reuben Clark after an initial plan by M. F. Butler. The neoclassical building has a white dome 210 ft high, and an office annex was added on the east side in 1952. It sits in a 40-acre park planted with trees from around the world. Both houses of the legislature and the governor's office are still inside.

Distances to other cities

CityDirectionRoad distance
San Francisco, CAsouthwestabout 90 mi
Los Angeles, CAsouthabout 385 mi
Reno, NVnortheastabout 130 mi

Sacramento is on Pacific Time. See the Sierra Nevada map for the mountains east of the city.

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