Sacramento, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·Sacramento

Sacramento County · Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom · population 535,798

Big-city amenities
Sacramento, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Sacramento, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
50
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Sacramento stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $480,548
1-year -2.3%
5-yr CAGR +2.0%
vs 5-yr peak -8.5%
Population +0.5%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-07$481k$259k$354k$450k$546k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
64/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
50/100
Some transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
64/100
Workable for remote workers
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,020/mo$1,564$1,855$2,147202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent110121100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 19.8
Lean buy

At a 19.8 price-to-rent ratio, Sacramento is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
38 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
47 · w22%
Distance from peak
49 · w18%
Population growth
55 · w16%
Rent YoY
55 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
65 · w10%
Long thesis

Sacramento has held up across the cycle: home values at $480,548 with +2.0% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Sacramento is a West Coast market off recent highs, and the regional fundamentals (taxes, regulation, out-migration) are still working against it. The bear case isn't that prices go to zero — it's that they don't recover meaningfully for years.

About Sacramento

Sacramento is a city in Sacramento County, California, with an estimated population of 535,798. It anchors the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area. The population grew 0.5% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Sacramento is $480,548 as of 2026-04, down 2.3% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.0% annual growth (-8.5% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Sacramento average $2,020 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.5%). The composite momentum score is 50 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

○Scale = optionality: 535,798 population gives you airports, hospitals, a deep job market, and a real cultural scene.
○The data is the data: Sacramento has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Cooling: -2.3% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Sacramento (Wikipedia)

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California. The county seat of Sacramento County, it is located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in the Sacramento Valley. It is the fourth-most populous city in Northern California, sixth-most populous city in the state, and 35th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 524,943 at the 2020 census. The Sacramento metropolitan area, with 2.46 million residents, is the 27th-largest metropolitan area in the country.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorKevin McCarty (D)
Area100.70 sq mi
Elevation26 population_total = 524943 ft
IncorporatedDecember 1848
Nickname"Sactown", "Sac", "City of Trees", "River City", "Camellia C
Mottoforce singular
Density5323.4/sq mi
Named forSacrament of the Holy Eucharist

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Sacramento County right now.

NWS active alerts (CA)California Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Sacramento County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Sacramento

100 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Land Park$863,679+0.6%
2East Sacramento$785,345+0.2%
3Curtis Park$739,988+1.0%
4River Park$738,456+0.7%
5Alkali Flat$735,649-3.7%
6Little Pocket$710,176+4.7%
7Boulevard Park$690,260+2.9%
8Midtown – Winn Park Capital Avenue$669,755-2.6%
9Sierra Oaks$668,715+1.3%
10South Land Park$652,766-2.2%
11Marshall School$638,851-5.3%
12Pocket$635,716-0.4%
13Greenhaven$633,614-0.8%
14Mansion Flats$631,652+0.4%
15Natomas Park$617,769-2.7%
16Elmhurst$601,179+1.0%
17Newton Booth$600,082-0.6%
18Village 7$597,556-3.1%
19Vineyard$590,943-2.0%
20New Era Park$589,750-5.4%
21Westlake$589,044-4.6%
22Village 5$577,166-5.5%
23Willowcreek$572,596-3.0%
24Richmond Grove$571,627-1.9%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Sacramento

Santa Rosa, CA49 · StableStockton, CA49 · StableFairfield, CA50 · StableVacaville, CA50 · Stable

Run the numbers for Sacramento

ToolCan I afford Sacramento?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Sacramento rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Sacramento to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolSacramento cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
60° / 41°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 60°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
258
~71% of year
Annual precip
22″ rain
8″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very high
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Sacramento listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
65%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$91,500
California state median
Top industries (state-level)
TechEntertainmentAgriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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