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Sacramento County, California
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Sacramento County is a county in the U.S. state of California. The county seat is the city of Sacramento, the state capital. As of 2006 the population was 1,347,799.
Sacramento County covers about in the middle of the Central Valley, California's prime agricultural region. Sacramento County extends from the low delta lands between the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers north to about ten miles (16 km) beyond the State Capitol and east to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The southernmost portion of Sacramento County has direct access to the San Francisco Bay.
The Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of four counties with Sacramento being the largest.
HistorySacramento County was one of the original counties of California, 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 Eucharist.
Alexander Hamilton Willard of the Lewis and Clark Expedition is buried in the old Franklin Cemetery.
GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 995 square miles (2,578 kmē), of which, 966 square miles (2,501 kmē) of it is land and 30 square miles (77 kmē) of it (3.00%) is water. 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
- Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
Transportation infrastructureMajor highways
Public transportationSacramento Regional Transit (RT) provides bus and light rail service in Sacramento and nearby communities. 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.
AirportsSacramento 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.
Politics Presidential Election Results | Year | DEM | GOP |
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| 2004 | 49.6% 236,657 | 49.3% 235,539 | | 2000 | 49.3% 212,792 | 45.3% 195,619 | | 1996 | 49.8% 203,019 | 40.8% 166,049 | | 1992 | 43.6% 197,540 | 35.4% 160,366 | | 1988 | 51.0% 201,832 | 47.7% 188,557 | | 1984 | 43.1% 159,128 | 55.6% 204,922 | | 1980 | 40.4% 130,031 | 47.7% 153,721 | | 1976 | 52.3% 144,203 | 44.6% 123,110 | | 1972 | 47.6% 137,287 | 49.0% 141,218 | | 1968 | 50.9% 118,769 | 41.7% 97,177 | | 1964 | 65.7% 149,668 | 34.2% 77,871 | | 1960 | 56.3% 109,695 | 43.3% 84,252 | |
Sacramento County is a slightly Democratic-leaning county in presidential elections, with the city of Sacramento going heavily for Democrats and the suburbs going somewhat for Republicans. This pattern is also present in congressional and state legislative elections. The last Republican presidential candidate to win a majority in the county was Ronald Reagan in 1984.
In the House of Representatives all of California's 5th congressional district and parts of the 3rd district and tiny parts of the 4th and 10th districts are in the county. The 3rd and 4th districts are represented by Republicans Dan Lungren and John Doolittle respectively while the 5th and 10th are represented by Democrats Doris Matsui and Ellen Tauscher respectively.
In the State Assembly, all of the 9th district and parts of the 4th, 5th, 10th, and 15th districts are in the county. Except for the 9th, which is represented by Democrat Dave Jones, all the districts are represented by Republicans: the 4th by Ted Gaines, the 5th by Roger Niello, the 10th by Alan Nakanishi, and the 15th by Guy Houston.
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 Dave Cox and the 5th and 6th districts are represented by Democrats, Michael Machado and Darrell Steinberg respectively.
DemographicsAs of the census 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/kmē). There were 474,814 housing units at an average density of 492/sq mi (190/kmē). The racial makeup of the county was 64.02% White, 9.96% Black or African American, 1.09% Native American, 11.03% Asian, 0.59% Pacific Islander, 7.48% from other races, and 5.84% from two or more races. 16.01% 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 English, 10.0% Spanish, 1.5% Hmong, 1.4% Chinese or Mandarin, 1.3% Vietnamese, 1.2% Tagalog and 1.2% Russian as their first language.
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 10.30% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.20% of those under age 18 and 6.60% of those age 65 or over.
Miscellaneous information - Annual maximum temperature (average): 92.4 degrees Fahrenheit (33.6 degrees Celsius)
- Annual minimum temperature (average): 37.7 °F (3.2 °C)
- Average rainfall: 19.6 inches (500 mm)
- Climate is mild winter rainy seasons typically in the 40's and 50's and long dry summer seasons with many hot spells of over 100 for several days in a row, (average temperature does not tell the whole story), with very pleasant dry weather most other times.
- 20.5 miles (33.0 km) of light rail system (an additional 22.1 miles or 35.6 km is under construction)
- 3 mainline railroad tracks
- 10 million passengers annually through Sacramento International airport
- Port of Sacramento ships 870,000 short tons (790,000 metric tons) of cargo annually
- 14 Regional Parks Districts
- 6 million trees
- 19 major public & private colleges & universities
- 16 public school districts
- 15 major art and historical museums
- 26 public libraries
- 10 hospitals
- 69.6% of eligible voters are registered to vote
- Population density: 1,252/sq mi (483/kmē)
- Leading agricultural crops include: rice, milk, wine grapes, Bartlett pears, field corn, turkeys
See also
External links
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