Elk Grove, California

Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2019, the population of the city was estimated at 174,775.[10] Elk Grove was the fastest-growing city in the U.S. between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005 and is presently the second-largest city in Sacramento County.[11]

Elk Grove, California
City
City of Elk Grove
Sunset on Laguna Blvd., Elk Grove
Seal
Motto(s): 
"Proud Heritage, Bright Future"
Location of Elk Grove in Sacramento County, California.
Elk Grove, California
Location in the contiguous United States
Coordinates: 38°26′18″N 121°22′55″W
Country United States
State California
County Sacramento
DistrictCosumnes CSD[1]
IncorporatedJuly 1, 2000[2]
Government
 • TypeCouncil/Manager[3]
 • MayorSteve Ly[4]
 • Vice MayorSteven M. Detrick (appointed by city council and rotated annually)[4]
 • Chief Of PoliceTimothy Albright
 • Fire Chief (Cosumnes Community Services District)Mike McLaughlin[5]
Area
 • Total42.24 sq mi (109.4 km2)
 • Land42.20 sq mi (109.3 km2)
 • Water0.05 sq mi (0.1 km2)  0.12%
Elevation46 ft (14 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total153,015
 • Estimate 
(2019)[8]
174,775
 • Rank2nd in Sacramento County
29th in California
149th in the United States
 • Density3,600/sq mi (1,400/km2)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes[9]
95624, 95757–95759
Area code916, 279
FIPS code06-22020
GNIS feature IDs277506, 2410425
Websiteelkgrovecity.org

The City of Elk Grove incorporated on July 1, 2000.[2] It is a general law city with a council/manager form of government.[4] One of Elk Grove's most significant aspects is the Elk Grove Unified School District, which is the city's second largest employer.

History

Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga entered the region in 1808, naming the valley "Sacramento Valley" in honor of Sacramento, the Holy Sacrament in Spanish, giving the northerly city of Sacramento its name.[12] A writer on Moraga's expedition wrote of the region:

"Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths. The air was like champagne, and (the Spaniards) drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them."[13]

Elk Grove was founded in 1850 as a stage stop for travelers coming from Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area, when the Elk Grove Hotel and Stage Stop was opened by James Hall and the town was named after it.[14] In 1868 the Western Division of the Central Pacific Railroad came through about a mile east of Elk Grove. At this new location another hotel was built to accommodate travelers and was named the Elk Grove Hotel.[15]

In the following decades, Elk Grove remained a small farming community with little urban development. In the late 1980s, suburban development projects began to spring up around the community, specifically in the north near Sacramento. These were meant to serve Sacramento's population, as well as San Francisco commuters seeking a commuting community relatively near the San Francisco Bay Area where they could reside. Such changes triggered a period of rapid growth. On July 1, 2000, Elk Grove incorporated as a city. The growth peaked in 2004 and 2005, when Elk Grove was declared the fastest growing city in the US.

Apple Inc. manufactured its iMac line in Elk Grove as late as 2002. After many of those tasks were offshored, the facility was converted into an AppleCare call center.[16]

In 2008, Elk Grove suffered heavily from the subprime mortgage crisis due to its suburban nature.[17]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
19602,205—
19703,72168.8%
198010,959194.5%
199017,48359.5%
200059,984243.1%
2010153,015155.1%
Est. 2019174,775[8]14.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[18]
Racial composition2018[19]
White45.9%
—Non-Hispanic38.1%
Asian American28.4%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)18.0%
Black or African American11.1%
Two or More Races8.4%

Education

The Elk Grove Unified School District is the fifth largest school district in California and one of the fastest growing school districts in the nation. Located in southern Sacramento County, the district covers 320 square miles (830 km2), one-third of the county. For the 2002–03 school year, the district served more than 52,500 students, and grew to 62,767 students in the 2016–2017 school year. Those students attend 40 elementary schools, 9 middle schools, 9 high schools and 7 alternative high schools.[20]

There are also several private schools in town. A local community college, Cosumnes River College, offers both career training and a transfer program to four-year universities. Located nearby are California State University, Sacramento and the University of California, Davis. Elk Grove is also the home of the private six-year Universalist college Quest Seminary.[21] In 2013, California Northstate University College of Pharmacy, which offers a Doctor of Pharmacy degree program, relocated to Elk Grove (near Interstate 5).

Public libraries

The new Elk Grove Public Library is located at 8900 Elk Grove Boulevard in a modern two-story building. It moved to this location in 2008 from its old building one block east. The library is part of the broader Sacramento Public Library system. The Elk Grove Library also serves neighboring communities such as Vineyard, Wilton, Sloughhouse, and Rancho Murieta.[22] Additional local libraries supplement neighborhoods, such as the public Franklin High Library.

Government

Beginning in 2012, voters elect the mayor for a two-year term. Prior to 2012, the mayor's position was a one-year term and was chosen by the city council. The remaining four positions on the city council are elected by districts to four-year terms.[4]

On November 8, 2016, Steve Ly became the second directly elected mayor following Gary Davis. He is the first ethnic Hmong mayor in the United States, having come here at the age of four with his family as refugees from Laos after the end of the Vietnam War.[23][24] The remaining councilmembers are Darren Suen (District 1), Pat Hume (District 2), Steve Detrick (District 3) and Stephanie Nguyen (District 4).[4]

Elk Grove is in California's 7th congressional district, represented by Democrat Ami Bera.[25]

The Elk Grove Police Department provides policing services for the city while the Cosumnes Community Services District runs the fire department and parks department.[26]

Economy

Employers
Top employers in Elk Grove in 2019[27]
# Employer # of Employees
1 Apple Inc. 5,000
2 Elk Grove Unified School District 4,055
3 CA Correctional Health Care Services 1,124
4 Cosumnes Community Services District 779
5 Walmart 515
6 Kaiser Permanente 443
7 Raley's/Bel Air Markets 398
8 City of Elk Grove 347
9 Alldata LLC 376
10 Nissan of Elk Grove 301

Other companies based in Elk Grove include Citizens Telecommunications Company of California and Frontier Communications of the Southwest.

Infrastructure

Buses

Elk Grove is serviced by a fared bus system called e-Tran that traverses many of the city's main routes.[28]

Rail

Amtrak California San Joaquin intercity rail and Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail are expected to be brought directly to Elk Grove in 2021.[29]

Sister cities

Elk Grove is a sister city of Concepción de Ataco in El Salvador.[30]

Notable people

References
  1. "Cosumnes CSD - Fire, Parks & Recreation Dept - Elk Grove & Galt, CA - Community Services District Home Page". Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  2. "California Cities by Incorporation Date". California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on November 3, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  3. "City Government". City of Elk Grove. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  4. "City Council". City of Elk Grove. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  5. Editor, Cameron Macdonald Citizen News. "New CSD fire chief to be sworn in". Elk Grove Citizen.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  6. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  7. "Elk Grove". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  8. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  9. "ZIP Code(tm) Lookup". United States Postal Service. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  10. "Demographics - City of Elk Grove". www.elkgrovecity.org. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  11. "US Census Press Releases". Archived from the original on June 24, 2006. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  12. "Sacramento, California City History and Historical Figures". ByCityLight.com. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  13. "Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament - Sacramento, California". Cathedralsacramento.org. November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  14. Erwin, Gudde (2004). California Place Names: The origin and etymology of current geographical names. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 121.
  15. Archived March 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  16. Duhigg, Charles; Keith Bradsher (January 21, 2012). "How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work". New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  17. "Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?". CNN.com. June 16, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  18. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  19. "Elk Grove, California Population 2018 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  20. "Elk Grove Unified Snapshot" (PDF). Elk Grove Unified School District. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  21. "Quest Seminary". Questseminary.org. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
  22. "Elk Grove Library". Saclibrary.org. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
  23. "Elk Grove's new mayor cheered by Hmong worldwide". sacbee. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  24. Wang, Frances Kai-Hwa. "For Nation’s First Hmong Mayor, Life Is an 'American Story'", NBC News, December 13, 2016. Accessed March 1, 2017. "Steve Ly will make history this month as the nation's first Hmong-American mayor, though it's a historic moment that he says he acknowledges, but doesn't dwell on.... According to 2010 US Census figures, 26.3 percent of Elk Grove's population is Asian and 1.2 percent Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander alone. Of those, Ly estimates that only about 2,000 to 3,000 voters are Hmong American."
  25. "California's 7th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  26. "Cosumnes CSD | Elk Grove & Galt, CA | Official Website". www.yourcsd.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  27. City of Elk Grove (2019). "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report" (PDF).
  28. "Transit (e-Tran) - City of Elk Grove". Elkgrovecity.org. September 13, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  29. Holland, John (April 27, 2018). "Expanded train service coming to Modesto, Merced; what it means for commuters". Modesto Bee. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  30. "Sister Cities". City of Elk Grove. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  31. http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/05/01/elk-groves-erik-armstead-looks-to-take-the-nfl-path-his-brother-didnt-get/ "Elk Grove’s Arik Armstead Looks To Take The NFL Path His Brother Didn’t Get"], CBS Sacramento, May 1, 2015. Accessed March 1, 2017.
  32. Staff. "Former USC football player from Elk Grove sues over injected drug; Armond Armstead hospitalized for days", KCRA, August 31, 2012. Accessed March 1, 2017.
  33. Bera, Ami. "About Dr. Ami Bera". Bera for Congress. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  34. Jason Belzer (November 4, 2014). "The World's Most Powerful Sports Agents 2014". Forbes.
  35. Via Associated Press. "Elk Grove native Lance Briggs plans to retire from NFL", Cincinnati.com, September 3, 2015. Accessed March 1, 2017.
  36. Hull, John. "Where Are They Now: Bill Cartwright", Elk Grove Citizen, March 30, 2010. Accessed March 1, 2017. "Cartwright has countless memories of those experiences, but when he sits down and begins reminiscing of his days in Elk Grove, stories of his teenage years start flowing out in sharp detail."
  37. "Biography". Kyle Larson official website. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
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