Sacramento County

Sacramento County, CA — key demographics (latest available)

Population size

• Total population: ~1.60 million (2023 estimate)

Age

• Median age: ~36.7 years
• Under 18: ~23%
• 18 to 64: ~62%
• 65 and over: ~15%

Gender

• Female: ~50.5%
• Male: ~49.5%

Racial/ethnic composition (mutually exclusive; Hispanic can be any race)

• White, non-Hispanic: ~38.6%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~24.0%
• Asian, non-Hispanic: ~17.9%
• Black or African American, non-Hispanic: ~10.4%
• Two or more races, non-Hispanic: ~7.0%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: ~1.4%
• American Indian and Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: ~0.6%

Household data

• Households: ~585,000
• Average household size: ~2.73
• Owner-occupied housing: ~56% of occupied units
• Renter-occupied housing: ~44% of occupied units

Insights

• No single racial/ethnic majority; the county is one of the most diverse in California.
• Age structure skews slightly younger than the U.S. median, with a sizable working-age population.
• Housing tenure is balanced but leans modestly toward renting compared with statewide suburban averages.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; 2023 Population Estimates Program).

• Estimated email users: ≈1.2–1.25 million residents (ages 13+), derived from Sacramento County’s population (~1.62M, 2023) and near‑universal U.S. email adoption among internet users.
• Age distribution (estimated adoption among adults, applying Pew national usage to local demographics): 18–29: ~95%; 30–49: ~96%; 50–64: ~92%; 65+: ~85%.
• Gender split: Usage is essentially parity; mirrors the adult population (~51% female, ~49% male), so email users are roughly evenly divided by gender.
• Digital access trends: Roughly nine in ten households maintain a home broadband subscription, with a meaningful smartphone‑only segment (~1 in 7). 5G coverage from all major carriers is extensive across the metro, and cable/fiber gigabit tiers are widely available in urban and suburban tracts; adoption lags in lower‑density south‑county Delta communities.
• Local density/connectivity facts: Population density ≈1,670 residents per square mile; the vast majority of residents live in the Sacramento urbanized area with multi‑provider cable, fiber, and fixed‑wireless options. Early 5G home deployments and ongoing fiber builds have improved speeds and reliability, while libraries and community programs help bridge remaining access gaps.

Mobile phone usage in Sacramento County, CA — 2024 snapshot

Scale and adoption

• Residents: ~1.60 million. Adults (18+): ~1.25 million.
• Estimated unique smartphone users: ~1.23 million adults and teens, reflecting near-universal adoption among ages 18–49 and high teen uptake.
• Estimated total mobile connections (phones, tablets, IoT, work lines): ~2.2 million, assuming ~1.4 active lines per resident (in line with recent CTIA statewide/device trends).
• Household smartphone penetration: ~93% of households have at least one smartphone (slightly above the California average, ~92%).
• Smartphone-only internet households (cellular data but no fixed broadband): ~16% in Sacramento County versus ~13% statewide, indicating greater mobile dependence locally.

Demographic breakdown

• Age: Smartphone ownership is effectively universal among adults 18–49 and high among 50–64. Seniors 65+ trail but continue to close the gap, with adoption comfortably above three-quarters.
• Income and housing: Mobile-only internet reliance is concentrated among lower-income households and renters, notably in South Sacramento, North Highlands, and parts of Arden-Arcade. This skews Sacramento County’s mobile dependency above the state average.
• Race/ethnicity and language: Black and Latino households are more likely than White and Asian households to be smartphone-only for home internet, mirroring statewide patterns but with a slightly higher local share. Sacramento’s share of households that primarily speak a language other than English is lower than coastal metros, which reduces some multilingual fragmentation seen in Los Angeles and parts of the Bay Area.
• Enterprise/government lines: A larger-than-average share of lines are employer-liable, tied to state agencies, local governments, healthcare, and utilities—a structural difference from most California counties.

Usage patterns that differ from state-level trends

• Higher mobile-only reliance: Sacramento’s smartphone-only household rate is a few points above the state average, reflecting a mix of income distribution, large renter segments, and strong 5G fixed-wireless availability.
• Workday surges: Distinct weekday daytime demand spikes in and around the Capitol Mall/civic core, large state office complexes, Rancho Cordova office parks, and healthcare campuses, driven by government and enterprise devices; this pattern is more pronounced than in many California counties.
• Commute-corridor concentration: Peak-hour load centers along I‑5, I‑80, US‑50, and CA‑99 are sharper than statewide norms due to regional commuting into the city core and distribution/industrial nodes near the airport and along CA‑99.
• Event-driven loads: Golden 1 Center, Cal Expo, and Sacramento State produce recurring evening/weekend capacity hotspots; downtown small cells and venue DAS investments mitigate this more visibly than in many mid-sized California metros.
• Slightly lower international roaming share than Bay Area/LA, but higher public-sector device density, shifting traffic mixes and QoS priorities.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• 5G coverage: Mid-band 5G blankets the urbanized area of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, and Folsom. Estimated population coverage is ~97% in the urbanized footprint and ~85–90% countywide, above the statewide average when rural areas are included. Downtown and the Capitol district include dense small-cell deployments.
• Performance: Typical median 5G downloads ~90–130 Mbps in the urban core with strong mid-band holdings; LTE fallbacks and edge areas (Delta communities like Isleton/Walnut Grove, Sloughhouse/Wilton, and Folsom Lake foothills) commonly run 20–50 Mbps with higher latency.
• Fixed wireless: 5G Home/Internet from multiple carriers is widely marketed across the urbanized county, contributing to the higher smartphone-/cellular-only household share relative to the state.
• Redundancy/backbone: Multiple long-haul and metro fiber routes (public utility fiber from SMUD, plus major carriers) and several regional data centers (e.g., NTT Global Data Centers in Sacramento/Natomas, facilities in Rancho Cordova) anchor robust backhaul compared with similarly sized counties.
• Public safety/resilience: FirstNet build-outs and recent C‑band/mid-band activations improved coverage along wildfire and flood response corridors; flood events and riverine zones still stress capacity. 911 call volume is predominantly wireless, consistent with national norms.
• Gaps and capacity watch-list: Delta islands and agricultural tracts (Isleton, Walnut Grove), rural southeast (Sloughhouse, Wilton), and some building-interior zones in older state office stock persist as weak spots; rush-hour sectors on I‑80/US‑50 and venue peaks remain the primary congestion risks.

Key takeaways

• Sacramento County’s mobile ecosystem is more enterprise/public-sector heavy and more mobile-dependent at home than California overall.
• Mid-band 5G and fixed-wireless offers are materially shaping household connectivity, raising smartphone-only and cellular-primary usage above the state average.
• Infrastructure density, small-cell coverage downtown, and strong fiber backbones deliver better-than-average urban performance, while river Delta and fringe rural areas continue to lag and define the remaining coverage gap.

Social media in Sacramento County, California — short breakdown

Population baseline

• Total population: ~1.60 million (2023 ACS). Adults 18+: ~1.23 million.

Overall adoption

• Adults using at least one social platform: ~72% of adults nationally (Pew), ≈880,000 adult users when applied to Sacramento County’s adult population.
• Teens (13–17): ~95% use at least one platform nationally (Pew). Sacramento County has roughly ~100,000 teens; ≈95,000 are likely social media users.

Most‑used platforms among adults (share of U.S. adults; applied to Sacramento County for estimated adult user counts)

• YouTube: 83% → ≈1.02M adults
• Facebook: 68% → ≈0.84M
• Instagram: 47% → ≈0.58M
• Pinterest: 35% → ≈0.43M
• TikTok: 33% → ≈0.41M
• LinkedIn: 30% → ≈0.37M
• Snapchat: 27% → ≈0.33M
• X (Twitter): 22% → ≈0.27M
• WhatsApp: 26% → ≈0.32M
• Reddit: 22% → ≈0.27M Note: Percentages are Pew Research Center U.S. adult usage rates (2024) applied to Sacramento’s adult population to estimate local reach.

Age profile highlights (usage patterns reflect Pew national age skews)

• 13–17: Heaviest on YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram; minimal Facebook use.
• 18–29: Very high on YouTube; heavy Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat; Facebook/X used mainly for events and news.
• 30–49: Broad, multi‑platform use; Facebook and Instagram strong; YouTube near‑universal; TikTok rising; LinkedIn relevant for state/civic and tech professions.
• 50–64: Facebook and YouTube dominate; Instagram moderate; neighborhood apps (e.g., Nextdoor) used for local updates.
• 65+: Facebook and YouTube lead; simpler, utility‑driven use (news, services, community info).

Gender breakdown

• Overall social media usage is roughly even by gender; the active user base in Sacramento County mirrors the county’s population (about 51% women, 49% men).
• Platform skews: Women over‑index on Pinterest and Facebook/Instagram; men over‑index on Reddit and X; YouTube is broad across genders.

Behavioral trends in Sacramento County

• Community and public safety: Strong engagement with local government, transit, and public‑safety updates on Facebook and X; neighborhood discussions and alerts often organized via community groups and neighborhood apps.
• Events and local culture: Instagram and TikTok drive discovery for food, arts, sports, and festivals (e.g., State Fair, farm‑to‑fork scene); short‑form video (Reels/TikTok/Shorts) is the main driver of reach.
• News and weather: Facebook and YouTube see spikes during storms, wildfire smoke events, and breaking local news; X remains important for real‑time updates.
• Commerce and services: Facebook/Instagram are the primary paid reach channels for local SMBs; YouTube for upper‑funnel awareness; TikTok increasingly effective for 18–34.
• Messaging: Facebook Messenger is widespread; WhatsApp use is notable in multilingual and Latino communities.
• Content formats: Short‑form vertical video, carousel posts, and locally relevant UGC outperform; posts tied to neighborhoods, schools, and civic issues earn higher saves/shares.

Sources and method

• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 for population baselines.
• Pew Research Center, Social Media Use in 2024 (adult platform usage) and Teens, Social Media and Technology (for teen adoption).
• Platform shares are national percentages applied to Sacramento County’s adult population to produce local estimates; county‑specific platform surveys are not publicly published.