[17] In 1848, when James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma (some 50 mi or 80.5 km northeast of the fort), numerous gold-seekers came to the area, increasing the population.

By December 1848, John Sutter Jr., in association with Samuel Brannan, began laying out the City of Sacramento, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of his father's settlement of New Helvetia.

Sutter Jr. and Brannan had United States Army Captain William H. Warner assigned to draft the official layout of the city, which included 26 lettered and 31 numbered streets (today's grid from C St. to Broadway and from Front St. to Alhambra Blvd.)

[22] In spite of all these hardships the new city's location just downstream from the Mother Lode in the Sierra Nevada proved irresistible, and it grew rapidly during the early 1850s, attracting a population of 10,000.

Later it became a terminus of the First transcontinental railroad, which began construction in Sacramento in 1863 and was financed by "The Big Four"—Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker, Collis P. Huntington, and Leland Stanford.

Today SMUD is the sixth-largest public electric utility in the U.S. and is a leader in innovative programs and services, including the development of clean fuel resources, such as solar power.

Primary sources of population growth are an influx of residents from the nearby San Francisco Bay Area, as well as immigration from Asia and Latin America.

After acquiring the majority stake in the Sacramento Kings, the team's new owner, Vivek Ranadivé, with the help of the city, agreed to build a new arena in the downtown area.

Skyscrapers such as the Wells Fargo Center and U.S. Bank Tower, two of the tallest buildings in the city, are located on Capitol Mall and are home to several major companies.

The area suffered from the forced eviction of its Japanese residents during WW2 and never recovered, resulting in the remaining properties taken through eminent domain to create the grand promenade of today's Capitol Mall.

Downtown Commons, otherwise known as DOCO, is home to the Sawyer, a 16-story skyscraper with a 250-room hotel and 45 condominiums, a Macy's anchor store, an IMAX theater, and retail space with a variety of restaurants and shops.

East Sacramento was home to Ronald Reagan during his term as Governor of California and this neighborhood was prominently featured in Greta Gerwig's film Lady Bird.

[53][57] Sacramento has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa), characterized by hot, long, dry summers and cool winters with a decent amount of rainfall.

Significant annual snow accumulations occur in the foothills 40 mi (64 km) east of the city, which had brief and traceable amounts of snowfall in January 2002, December 2009, and February 2011.

During the Vietnam War era, the Port of Sacramento was the major terminus in the supply route for all military parts, hardware, and other cargo going to Southeast Asia.

McClellan Air Force Base is home to the Aerospace Museum of California where more than 40 civilian and military aircraft and 50 historical jet engines are displayed to the public.

During the fall, winter, and spring seasons Broadway Sacramento brings bus and truck tours to the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center.

The B Street Theatre, having completed its 2018 move into the new Sophia Tsokopoulos Center for the Arts, continues its pursuit of producing smaller and more intimate professional works for families and children.

In addition to festivals in Elk Grove,[116] Davis, Roseville, Placerville,[117] and Woodland,[118] Sacramento hosts the annual California Beer Craft Summit, an exposition dedicated to the art of brewing.

[129] In its 2013 ParkScore ranking, The Trust for Public Land reported Sacramento was tied with San Francisco and Boston for having the third-best park system among the 50 most populous U.S.

Jim Souza, the lead organizer of the event, came under controversy after local H.O.A members reported hooded individuals wearing black fire emblems strolling around the park.

The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail that runs between Old Sacramento and Folsom Lake grants access to the American River Parkway, a natural area that includes more than 5,000 acres (20 km2) of undeveloped land.

As of 2024, the mayor is Kevin McCarty and the council members are Angelique Ashby, Allen Warren, Jeff Harris, Steve Hansen, Jay Schenirer, Rich Jennings, and Larry Carr.

Western is an evangelical, Christian graduate school that provides theological training for students who hope to serve in a variety of ministry roles including pastors, marriage and family therapists, educators, missionaries, and lay leadership.

The Campus Commons area and the small portions of the Sierra Oaks neighborhood that fall into the city of Sacramento are served by the San Juan Unified School District.

Sacramento Waldorf School educates students from pre-K through 12th grade on a secluded, pastoral site that incorporates a large, functioning biodynamic farm.

U.S. Highway 50 also begins its eastern journey in West Sacramento, co-signed with Business 80, but then splits off and heads toward South Lake Tahoe as the El Dorado Freeway.

California State Highway 99 runs through Sacramento, heading closer to the eastern edge of the Central Valley, connecting to Marysville and Yuba City in the north, and Fresno and Bakersfield in the south.

[151] Sacramento is a stop along Amtrak's Coast Starlight route which provides scenic service to Seattle via Klamath Falls and Portland to the north and Los Angeles via San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara to the south.

Rideshare companies such as Lime, Bird, and Helbiz have introduced up to 4,000 electric-powered scooters and bikes in Downtown Sacramento for residents to rent as a faster and alternative way to get around the city.