Spend some time in Sacramento, and you’ll quickly see for yourself that it’s a special place. An amazing city in its own right—nestled at the convergence of the American and Sacramento Rivers, with a vigorous downtown, affordable suburbs, vibrant restaurant and entertainment scenes—but also centrally located to all California has to offer.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
“No longer sitting in the shadow of cool-kid cities like San Francisco and L.A., California’s capital is showing off some newfound swagger these days. Its booming craft beer and cocktail culture, an explosion of noteworthy restaurants, and thriving arts scene are all turning heads like never before — and that’s not to mention a remarkable big-screen debut in the Oscar-nominated Lady Bird, with director Greta Gerwig’s hometown emerging as a character of its own. But come for a visit, and you’ll find that even with its recent popularity, Sac still sticks to its old-school roots with friendly locals, tree-lined streets that beckon for a bike ride, and lively, welcoming neighborhoods.”
— NEW YORK MAGAZINE
"In Sacramento, I have the ability to buy a house. That’s something I thought I’d never be able to do while working in San Francisco
or Los Angeles."
Quality Of Life Combined With Affordability
Sacramento remains one of the most affordable large cities in the state of California, attracting both young professionals and families who value home ownership and a reasonable cost of living. The quality of life in Sacramento tends to be higher than its California counterparts and many residents are attracted to the city because of its affordability, access to services and diverse population.
From the Sacramento Bee in 2018: “A new report by analysts at the job posting site Indeed.com ranks the Sacramento region sixth in the nation when taking into account salaries, cost of living, the number of job postings on the website over the past year, unemployment rate and projected job growth. Sacramento is the only California metro area that cracked the Top 10.
There’s more. Sacramento also compares favorably to other metro areas in California that have similar job markets. For instance, salaries go 20.9 percent further in Sacramento than in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura area, the analysis found. Your dollar will go 17.6 percent further here than in San Diego and 15.7 percent further than if you lived and worked in Los Angeles.”
Quality of life and affordability isn’t confined to the city limits. Sacramento has many desirable suburbs that have their own unique attributes, such as the picturesque foothills of Folsom and El Dorado Hills, access to shopping and sophisticated amenities offered by Rocklin and Roseville, a tightknit community lifestyle fostered in Elk Grove and the university town vibe afforded by Davis.
Learn more about Sacramento quality of life
Learn more about Sacramento communities
"Last week, I finished work for the day, walked across the street and met up with friends at a microbrewery and then watched the Kings play the San Antonio Spurs—all within yards of my workplace."
Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Food, Recreation
Sacramento is in the midst of a decade-long renaissance that has ushered in the arrival of a vibrant restaurant scene, worldwide concert tours, NBA basketball in one of the league’s newest and most sophisticated arenas, world-class art exhibits, and an impressive range of live theatre.
In a 2017 article published in SFGate entitled “Bay Area Residents are Flooding Sacramento. What’s It Really Like Living There?” the writers note: “Real estate prices aside, many of those who made the leap from the Bay Area to Sacramento have discovered a city coming into its own, with a burgeoning food, arts and culture scene.”
Among the area’s gems are the Golden1 Center, home to the NBA Sacramento Kings, and host to the hottest concert tours such as Jennifer Lopez, Andrea Bocelli, The Jonas Brothers, John Mayer and Khalid.
The Crocker Art Museum is the longest continually-running art museum in the West and hosts one of the state’s premier collections of California art. In 2010, the museum more than tripled in size, adding significant space for traveling exhibitions.
Sacramento is known as “America’s Farm to Fork Capital,” and its restaurant scene, breweries, wineries, farmers’ markets and festivals reflects its moniker. Sacramento is home to award-winning restaurants, over 60 breweries, countless coffee houses and an annual Farm-to-Fork festival.
Golfers consider Sacramento the perfect place to hone their skills. Not only does Sacramento offer some of the best golf courses in the country, club memberships and greens fees are affordable as compared to their Bay Area counterparts. Several private clubs including El Macero in Davis, Sierra View in Roseville and Valley Hi in Elk Grove have reasonable initiation fees and manageable monthly dues (some offering discounts for members under age 40). There also are numerous excellent public courses—in sum, GolfAdvisor ranks over half of the area’s courses at either 4 or 5-star ratings.
This just brushes the surface of the entertainment and culture that Sacramento has to offer.
VisitSacramento.com
Quality of Life
50 Things to do in Sacramento
Golf Courses
"On a warm, sunny day, I love hopping in my car and in just over an hour, I’m in the Napa Valley sipping wine, looking out at the grapevines and rose bushes. But the best part is, the weekend before, I was looking at a panoramic view of Lake Tahoe as I skied down the mountainside."
Ideal Proximity To California Attractions
Cycling on the American River Bike Trail, waterskiing in Folsom Lake, floating down the American River in a raft, running in the California International Marathon—whatever your speed or ambition, there’s plenty to do without leaving Sacramento. There’s also much to explore outside of the Central Valley.
Sacramento has easy access to California’s best attractions. World class Lake Tahoe skiing, Napa Valley vineyards, hiking in the Sierra Nevada high country, watching sailboats from a dock in Tiburon, dinner at a Michelin-star restaurant, cocktails overlooking the Bay Bridge, watching NASCAR at Sonoma Raceway—all within driving distance of centrally-located Sacramento.
Learn more about regional attractions:
Lake Tahoe visitor’s bureau
Napa visitor’s bureau
Nearby places