Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Located just south of the state capital of Sacramento, it is part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 176,124. A 2021 Census estimate puts the population of the city at 187,985. Elk Grove has many wineries, wine cellars, and vineyards. Elk Grove was the fastest-growing city in the U.S. between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005, and is also presently the second-largest city in Sacramento County by population.
It is a general law city with a council/manager form of government. One of Elk Grove's largest employers is the Elk Grove Unified School District, which is the city's second-largest employer.
The Miwok inhabited the area.
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. 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 (Spaniards) drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them.
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. 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.
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 city's 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 in 2004, the facility was converted into the modern Apple Elk Grove campus. In 2018, Apple invested $4.2 million into expanding the office space, expanding its already established AppleCare support presence in the region.
In 2008, Elk Grove suffered heavily from the subprime mortgage crisis due to its suburban nature.
In 2011, two Sikh American grandfathers were killed while out for a walk on Stockton Boulevard. This led to a national public outcry by the community, raising safety concerns for the city's 3,000 Sikh community members. The city completed the "Singh and Kaur Park" in 2021 to commemorate the lives of the slain men, and to raise awareness about the Sikh faith. In 2020, Elk Grove elected Bobbie Allen-Singh as its new mayor, making her the first Sikh woman to hold the position of mayor in an American city. She secured re-election for her second term in 2022 and for her third term in 2024, achieving victories in both elections by progressively larger margins.
Elk Grove is 510 miles (south of the state capital in Sacramento and experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) with hot summers and cool winters. Summers are moderated by a cool Pacific Ocean breeze also known as the "delta breeze" which comes through the SacramentoSan Joaquin River Delta from the San Francisco Bay.
The 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. Additional local libraries supplement neighborhoods, such as the public Franklin High Library. Elk Grove Public Library was the first free Public in Sacramento County.
Cosumnes Community Services District owns and operates over 100 parks in Elk Grove, including Emerald Lakes Golf Course.
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 for four-year terms.
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 immigrated at the age of four with his family as refugees from Laos after the end of the Vietnam War. Currently, Bobbie Singh-Allen sits as mayor having defeated Ly in the 2020 election following Ly's controversial tenure. The remaining council members are Darren Suen (1), Rod Brewer (2), Kevin Spease (3) and Sergio Robles (4).
Elk Grove is in California's 7th congressional district, represented by Democrat Doris Matsui.
The Cosumnes Community Services District is the largest Community Services District in California and provides parks and recreation services and fire protection services in Elk Grove. Located in southern Sacramento County, the district covers 157 square miles (board of directors is the governing body of the district and is composed of five duly-elected or appointed residents. At the beginning of each year, the board selects from its members a president and vice-president to serve during the ensuing year.
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. It also consistently ranks among the top school districts in the state. Located in southern Sacramento County, the district covers 320 square miles (one-third of the county. For the 200203 school year, the district served more than 52,500 students, and grew to 62,767 students in the 20162017 school year. Those students attend 40 elementary schools, 9 middle schools, 9 high schools and 7 alternative high schools.
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, such as the CSU system and UC system across the state of California. 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.[dubious discuss] In 2013, California Northstate University College of Pharmacy, which offers a Doctor of Pharmacy degree program, relocated to Elk Grove (Interstate 5).
Elk Grove is serviced by a E-tran, a fared bus system that traverses many of the city's main routes. SmaRT Ride is a free, on-demand, Sacramento Regional Transit District system for students that services main routes.
There are plans for SacRT to expand its light rail system two miles south from Cosumnes River College to Elk Grove Boulevard, however these plans for a new light-rail station are currently in the planning phase.
Amtrak California San Joaquin inter-city rail and Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail were expected to be brought directly to Elk Grove in 2021, on the existing rail line which extends from Marysville in the north to Stockton in the south. In February 2024, Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen announced that the City of Elk Grove had closed escrow on the new station property.