The Greater Sacramento Area
The City of Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, was founded in 1849, and is the oldest incorporated city in California. In 1920, Sacramento City voters adopted a City Charter (municipal constitution) and a City Council-City Manager form of government, which are still used today.
The six-county Greater Sacramento Area is one of the fastest growing major metropolitan areas in California. The “livability” of the region, variety of housing opportunities, economic growth, recreation and culture, and proximity to world renowned destinations such as Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, the Napa Valley, Pacific Ocean beaches, and the San Francisco Bay Area within a few hours drive, all add to the quality of life of the residents and businesses within the region. The Greater Sacramento Area also has a unique and increasingly healthy mix of economic opportunities for companies and job-seekers alike. With the combination of a variety of housing options and relatively lower business costs, many people and businesses are making the move to the Greater Sacramento Area.
Sacramento’s population is estimated to grow to 2.4 million by 2010. It is expected to significantly outpace the growth of nearly all other major metropolitan areas in California, as well as California itself. This growth rate is also greater than many of the other major metropolitan areas in the western United States, including Salt Lake City, Denver and Portland.
Employment
One of the major strengths of the Greater Sacramento Area is its economic stability. Job growth has been very steady here, not exhibiting large spiked increases and very rarely suffering from dramatic drops or declines in activity. During the last four years, a period of statewide and national economic instability, the Sacramento Region grew at a steady 18,000 to 20,000 jobs per year, roughly a two percent growth rate of the nearly million-strong employment base. Part of this stability is due to the significant labor force created and sustained by the largest headquarter in California, the State Capitol.
The Sacramento Region has been able to absorb a high number of new residents into the workforce. Keeping the unemployment rate at a healthy level is always an additional challenge for communities that are growing rapidly, as the number of employed must keep up with the increasing size of the labor
force. Unemployment in the region has fluctuated with the overall performance of the economy; however, the variation of the unemployment level has been relatively low compared to other metropolitan regions in California. This is also an indicator of the stability of the regional economy, as well as a stabilizing factor in the State’s economy.
Education
Through a network of public and private schools, the Sacramento region benefits from a well-educated community and labor force. The Sacramento Region has over 680 schools, from elementary to high school, educating over 400,000 students. The workforce of the Sacramento Region is highly educated. Roughly 34 percent of the adult population has a degree of higher education, compared to 31 percent nationwide and 33 percent statewide. In addition to the area’s universities, the Sacramento Region has one of the strongest community college systems in California.