Elk Grove, California

Elk Grove, California
General law city[1]
City of Elk Grove

Sunset on Laguna Blvd, Elk Grove

Seal
Logo
Motto: "Proud Heritage, Bright Future"
Elk Grove, California

Location in the United States

Coordinates: 38°26′18″N 121°22′55″W / 38.43833°N 121.38194°W / 38.43833; -121.38194Coordinates: 38°26′18″N 121°22′55″W / 38.43833°N 121.38194°W / 38.43833; -121.38194
Country  United States
State  California
County Sacramento
District Cosumnes CSD[2]
Incorporated July 1, 2000[3]
Government
 • Type Council/Manager[4]
 • Mayor Gary Davis[1]
 • Vice Mayor Steve Ly[1]
 • Chief Of Police Bryan Noblett
 • Fire Chief Tracey Hansen
Area[5]
 • Total 42.239 sq mi (109.398 km2)
 • Land 42.190 sq mi (109.271 km2)
 • Water 0.049 sq mi (0.127 km2)  0.12%
Elevation[6] 46 ft (14 m)
Population (April 1, 2010)
 • Total 153,015
 • Estimate (January 1, 2014) 160,688[7]
 • Rank 2nd in Sacramento County
30th in California
 • Density 3,600/sq mi (1,400/km2)
Time zone Pacific (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes[8] 95624, 95757–95759
Area code 916
FIPS code 06-22020
GNIS feature IDs 277506, 2410425
Website elkgrovecity.org

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 2015, the population of the city was estimated at 167,965.[7] The second-largest city in Sacramento County, Elk Grove was the fastest growing city in the U.S. between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005.[9]

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 of which Elk Grove is a suburb its name.[10] 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."[11]

Elk Grove itself 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 subsequently named after it.[12] 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 also named the Elk Grove Hotel.[13]

In the following decades, Elk Grove remained a small farming community with little urban development. However, in the late 1980s, suburban development projects began to spring up around the community, specifically in the north near Sacramento. This was meant to serve Sacramento's population as well as San Francisco commuters looking for a community relatively near the San Francisco Bay Area which they could settle in and still commute from. This set off a period of rapid suburban growth which hit its peak in the years 2004 and 2005 when Elk Grove was declared the fastest growing city in the US.

On July 1, 2000, Elk Grove incorporated as a city. In 2008 Elk Grove suffered heavily from the subprime mortgage crisis due to its suburban nature.[14]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
19602,205—
19703,72168.8%
198010,959194.5%
199017,48359.5%
200059,984243.1%
2010153,015155.1%
Est. 2015166,913[15]9.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]
Racial composition 2010[17]
White 46.1%
—Non-Hispanic 38.1%
Black or African American 11.2%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 18.0%
Asian 26.3%

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 expects to reach 66,000 students by 2015. Those students attend 38 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 8 high schools and 4 alternative high schools.

There are also several private schools in town. A local community college, Cosumnes River College, offers both vocational training and a transfer program to four-year universities. Located nearby are California State University, Sacramento and the University of California, Davis, as well as St. Mary's College. Elk Grove is also the home of the private six-year Universalist religious college Quest Seminary.[18] In 2013, California Northstate University College of Pharmacy that 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 Blvd in a modern two story building. It moved to this location from just a 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.[19] Additional local libraries supplement neighborhoods, such as the public Franklin High Library.

Government

The City of Elk Grove incorporated on July 1, 2000.[3] It is a general law city with a council/manager form of government.[1] Beginning in 2012, voters elect the mayor directly for a two-year term. Prior to 2012, the mayor's position was a one-year term and was chosen at-large by the city council. The remaining four positions on the city council are elected by districts to four-year terms.[1]

On November 6, 2012, Gary Davis became the first directly elected mayor. The remaining councilmembers are Darren Suen (District 1), Pat Hume (District 2), Steve Detrick (District 3) and Steve Ly (District 4).[1]

Elk Grove is in California's 7th congressional district, represented by Democrat Ami Bera.[20]

Economy

Top employers

According to Elk Grove's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[21] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 Elk Grove Unified School District 5,000
2 Apple 1,800
3 Kaiser Permanente 1,468
4 Methodist Hospital of Sacramento 550
5 ALLDATA 400
6 Cosumnes River College 330
7 Walmart 273
8 Bimbo Bakeries USA 265
9 City of Elk Grove 289
10 Bank of Stockton 237

Companies based in Elk Grove include ALLDATA, 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 encompasses many of the city's main thoroughfares.[22]

Sister cities

Elk Grove is a sister city of Concepción de Ataco in El Salvador.[23]

Notable people

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "City Council". City of Elk Grove. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Cosumnes CSD - Fire, Parks & Recreation Dept - Elk Grove & Galt, CA - Community Services District Home Page". Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "California Cities by Incorporation Date" (Word). California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  4. ↑ "City Government". City of Elk Grove. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  5. ↑ "2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files – Places – California". United States Census Bureau.
  6. ↑ "Elk Grove". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State — January 1, 2013 and 2014". California Department of Finance. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  8. ↑ "ZIP Code(tm) Lookup". United States Postal Service. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ "US Census Press Releases". Web.archive.org. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  10. ↑ "Sacramento, California City History and Historical Figures". ByCityLight.com. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  11. ↑ "Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament - Sacramento, California". Cathedralsacramento.org. November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  12. ↑ Erwin, Gudde (2004). California Place Names: The origin and etymology of current geographical names. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 121.
  13. ↑ Archived March 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ "Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?". CNN.com. 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  15. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Elk Grove (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". Quickfacts.census.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  18. ↑ "Quest Seminary". Questseminary.org. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
  19. ↑ "Elk Grove Library". Saclibrary.org. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
  20. ↑ "California's 7th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  21. ↑ Archived December 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ↑ "Transit (e-Tran) - City of Elk Grove". Elkgrovecity.org. 2015-09-13. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  23. ↑ "Sister Cities". City of Elk Grove. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  24. ↑ Bera, Ami. "About Dr. Ami Bera". Bera for Congress. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  25. ↑ Jason Belzer (November 4, 2014). "The World's Most Powerful Sports Agents 2014". Forbes.
  26. ↑ "Biography". Kyle Larson official website. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
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