521,769
Population
Sunny Days: 269
90100 Affordability
85100 Schools
95100 Diversity
80100 Safety
Sacramento, California
Sactown
Downtown Sacramento , Credit: Brandon Williams
Sacramento River
Downtown at Night
Downtown Park
LookyLOO Review of Sacramento
California for Midwest prices
SacTown, the geographical midpoint between the Bay Area and the beauty and ski slopes of Lake Tahoe, has a bevy of lakes and rivers in and around the city if you're looking for lazy beach days away from the coast. The capital of the Golden State provides residents with many classic California amenities for an average total cost of living that hovers right around the national average. This gives newcomers, used to being priced into cramped apartment lifestyles in other California cities, a fresh start, and roomier living.
Sacramento has been hit as hard if not harder than the other major west coast cities in the summer months in recent years. With increasing droughts, frequent summer days in the triple digits, and proximity to California wildfires, those moving to Sacramento for the warm weather might be flying too close to the sun, literally and figuratively. Bad air quality can make some Sacramento summers difficult to enjoy for those with expectations of a consistently idyllic California.
Lifestyle
One of the most diverse cities in the nation, Sacramento is filled with celebrations of culture. Known for its Chinese New Year, Cinco de Mayo, Carnaval celebrations, and more. Have kids? Check out some of Sacramento’s wide variety of museums or cheer your lungs off at a Sacramento Kings game. Sacramento is also known for its theater and opera scenes, and you’ll never be far from a critically acclaimed cup of coffee. That ‘suburb’ vibe is diminishing but still hangs over the city a bit, however, so maybe check out some of the other California cities if you’re hunting for a city with a torrid nightlife. Hitting the road for a weekend adventure to the slopes of Lake Tahoe, the shores of the Pacific Coast, or the big cities by the Bay are also massive draws.
If you want to see what's happening in Sacramento check out the calendar of events.
Worklife
Being the capital of the most populous state in the country has its perks. Politics is one of SacTown’s biggest draws, headlined by the State of California being a huge employer. Sacramento is an ideal destination for the politically minded who want to get away from massive metropolises. Health jobs are also big in Cali’s capital. Sutter Health is headquartered in Sacramento, along with Kaiser Permanente are the two biggest private employers in town. The startup/entrepreneurial scene is also on the rise, as many expats from SF hit the road to Sacramento at the start of COVID. Check out startupgrind, Sacramento Angels, or https://www.blackstar.fund/, a Black-led VC firm that invests primarily in Black founders.
Schools
Sacramento has a few school districts. Natomas Unified (NUSD) and Sacramento City Unified (SCUSD) and Robla Elementary School District.
Robla is just five elementary schools in the northeast section of the city. It receives "B-" scores on niche.com with much higher grades for the quality of the Teachers and Diversity.
Natoma is a mid-sized district that has a mix of elementary, middle, and high schools. The schools range in standardized scores from "C's" to "A's" on niche.com with Inderkum High School the highest-ranking in the district. It also includes, Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep, the #2 best charter high school in the area.
SCUSD is the largest of the three districts and it comes in with a "B" ranking on niche.com. Among these schools is West Campus, the highest-rated niche standout high school in the area. It also includes "The Met", an "A" rated public charter school.
Why You Should Move Here Now?
The Suburban Draw
Sacramento offers some amazing perks including: tree lined streets a great local food scene and as previously noted affordable and spacious houses. This made it a prime target for pandemic movers. Those with the option to work remotely are trading up from big city apartments for Sacramento’s homes, mostly from other cities in the Golden State.
Reviews of Sacramento from Locals
OHdulcenea
Living in Sacramento
1y ago
✭✭✭✭
We were a bit leery about leaving Austin after 30 years because we both had good jobs we liked and our kids were pretty happy. But then I looked around at the state, at what happened during COVID, at what the legislature was doing, what’s happening at school boards and medical centers, and decided even the Austin bubble didn’t seem safe enough anymore.
We visited Sacramento in fall of 2021 and again last July. We sold our Austin house, got here in September 2022, and then bought a house in a walkable neighborhood.
Our lives have improved in nearly every way. I’m no longer angry and stressed all the time at what’s happening around me and feeling at risk from the government that’s supposed to be in place for the people. My kids go to schools where healthy free breakfasts and lunches are served to every child, as opposed to Texas where school kids were fundraising to pay off other students’ lunch debts. Most of my neighbors don’t support insurrections against the government. Some Proud Boys showed up to try to start some trouble at a Drag Queen story time near us and were immediately shouted down and run off.
Our cost of living went up somewhat but our pay went up more - lots more - so financially we’re doing really well. I’m almost positive my youngest was literally the only white kid at his school - a big change for him - but he got settled right in and had a great year. My kids love their new schools, had kind teachers, and made friends quickly.
The weather has been superior here compared to Austin nearly every day. We got here in the fall and the weather gradually cooled. I kept waiting for it to get hot again like Texas, where the weather is very schizophrenic, but it never did. It was a gradual cooling and a beautiful changing of leaf colors. There was a ton of rain in the winter and we were repeatedly told how abnormal it was. But even with that, it was nice. The cold isn’t as cutting here as in Austin, so we were usually comfortable, even when it was near freezing. Now that it’s summer, I still barely use my AC. It’s cool at night - in the 50s and 60s - so we sleep with the windows open and leave them open for most of the day. Sometimes by the afternoon the house has heated up enough that the AC kicks on and I’ll close the windows then. But by dark it’s cooled again and the windows get reopened. And even with that, I’ve had perhaps a half-dozen mosquito bites total. I‘ve gotten that many in 5 minutes in my Austin backyard before.
For this review in full and more reviews from locals check out The Reviews
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Living in Sacramento
Neighborhoods in Sacramento
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The Area
Sacramento is northeast of San Francisco and the city center is centrally located between the coast and Nevada. The city itself is pretty flat, but still very gorgeous. Given the title “Tree City USA,” Sacramento is an urban forest and the city has more trees per capita than anywhere else in the world. Just outside the city you have Folsom Lake state Recreation Area and Mendocino National Forest.
The city also sits at the confluence of the Sacramento and American River. The Yolo Bypass, sitting just west of the city, interrupts the urban sprawl, serving as a large flood control basin. If you look at a map, you’ll see that Sacramento only goes out about 4 miles west of downtown, but as far as 30 miles in other directions. And unlike other major cities, there is no highway bypass around Sacramento. Instead the roads come from all directions and converge in the center of the city. Just west of the Sacramento River is a city called West Sacramento. Despite being right across the river and almost sharing a name, this city is not part of Sacramento, nor is it in Sacramento County. WestSac is a part of Yolo County and a completely different city.