The Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of four counties with Sacramento being the largest. The County covers about 994 square miles (2,570 km) in the middle of the Central Valley, California's prime agricultural region. Sacramento County extends from the low delta lands between the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers north to about ten miles (16 km) beyond the State Capitol and east to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The southernmost portion of Sacramento County has direct access to the San Francisco Bay.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,223,499 people, 453,602 households, and 297,562 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,267 people per square mile (489/km²). There were 474,814 housing units at an average density of 492/sq mi (190/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.02% White, 10.56% Black or African American, 1.09% Native American, 13.53% Asian, 0.59% Pacific Islander, 7.48% from other races, and 5.84% from two or more races. 19.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 10.2% were of German, 7.0% English, 6.7% Irish and 5.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 75.7% spoke English, 10.0% Spanish, 1.5% Hmong, 1.4% Chinese or Mandarin, 1.3% Vietnamese, 1.2% Tagalog and 1.2% Russian as their first language.
There were 453,602 households out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.40% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.40% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the county the population was spread out with 27.60% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,816, and the median income for a family was $50,717. Males had a median income of $39,482 versus $31,569 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,142. About 10.3% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.
Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) provides bus and light rail service in Sacramento and nearby communities. Sacramento hosts 37.4 miles (60.2km) of light rail. The cities of Elk Grove, Folsom and Galt also operate their own bus lines. In addition, the transit agencies of the adjacent counties have routes operating into downtown Sacramento, or connecting with the light rail system.
Greyhound and Amtrak both serve Sacramento. The port of Sacramento ships 870,000 short tons (790,000 metric tons) of cargo annually.
Sacramento International Airport is a major, full-service airport with passenger flights. It is owned by the County of Sacramento. The County also owns Sacramento Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento Executive Airport, both of which are general aviation airports. There are also privately owned public use airports located in Elk Grove and Rio Linda.