Fair Oaks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States.

It is bordered to the west by Carmichael, north by the city of Citrus Heights, to the east by Orangevale, and to the south by the American River.

Fair Oaks is a natural, lush foliage town with rolling streets, canopies of trees, located at 38°39′5″N 121°15′33″W / 38.65139°N 121.25917°W / 38.65139; -121.25917 (38.651254, -121.259279),[4] between Sacramento and Folsom.

Fair Oaks has a mix of upscale, custom home pocket areas, few apartments, and is a semi-rural neighborhood with easy access to Highway 50.

Fair Oaks has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa), characterized by damp to wet, mild winters and hot, dry summers.

The wet season is generally October through April, though there may be a day or two of light rainfall in June or September.

This climate is suited to the endangered Sacramento Orcutt Grass, which has a protected reserve at the Phoenix Vernal Pools.

During especially cold winter and spring storms, intense showers can produce a significant amount of hail, which can create hazardous driving conditions.

[9] The town center also houses the Fair Oaks History Center,[10] which contains the history of the founding and development of Fair Oaks including displays featuring pictures and artifacts dating from the early 1900s, as well as a small collection of early Maidu Indian artifacts.

In 1895, Brevet Brigadier General Charles Henry Howard and James W. Wilson of the Howard-Wilson Publishing Company of Chicago acquired rights to present Fair Oaks community, then primarily covered by citrus farms, from California Senator Frederick K. Cox and businessman Crawford W. Clarke.

The Howard-Wilson company surveyed and mapped the land and began to promote Fair Oaks as one of their “Sunset Colonies.” The Howard-Wilson company advertised Fair Oaks as an innovative and growing citrus colony after destructive freezes in Southern California and Florida and a national depression hitting in 1893.

[14]: 7  Then a group of local businessmen, including Valentine S. McClatchy (the co-owner of the Sacramento Bee), incorporated the Fair Oaks Development Company in 1900.

The boosters proclaimed Fair Oaks to be the “crown of the [Sacramento] valley,” in the “heart of California.” Together these groups were able to succeed in constructing an efficient water supply.

They convinced the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, which McClatchy's business partners from Orangevale created and chaired, to build a bridge across the American River at Fair Oaks in 1901.

At the same time, the community leaders were also able to persuade the Southern Pacific Rail Road Company to build a railroad line to the bridge.

Fair Oaks had become a typical small town by 1906 with a post office, hotel, blacksmith shop, lumber yard, pharmacy, bank, cemetery, newspaper, and a number of small dry-goods and grocery stores located along Main Street.

The Fair Oaks Civic Club purchased and developed the Plaza in 1918 for recreational and leisure activities.

After this and a similar freeze in 1934, Fair Oaks was no longer a major producer of citrus fruit in California.

In 1955, Aerojet, a rocket engine producing company, helped the Fair Oaks economy recover by bringing one of its new facilities nearby in what is now present-day Rancho Cordova.

The growth rate still continued, however, because of the increased access to Sacramento by Highway 50 and the construction of the Sunrise Boulevard Bridge in 1954.

[16] Fair Oaks is an unincorporated community represented by Republican Susan Peters on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.

A Local Planning Council, made up of 7 community members, is appointed by the Board of Supervisors to recommend land-use decisions for Fair Oaks.

[26] Fair Oaks is served by the Sacramento Regional Transit District, and has one light rail stop at Hazel Avenue.