Sacramento is the fastest-growing large city in California, according to the California Department of Finance's annual population report released in July. The city's population grew by nearly 1.5% during 2016, the highest percentage of any city in the state. Also, Sacramento's surrounding counties were some of the fastest-growing in California.
The question now in Sacramento is not whether there will be more growth, but how the coming growth will affect the city, especially its well-regarded quality of life (and relatively reasonable cost of living).
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Growth is more than raw population numbers. The city is attracting Bay Area residents — especially millennials — in record numbers. These residents are looking for tech jobs in Sacramento, and houses that do not cost an arm and a leg.
Tech employers are coming, too. For instance, the local computer programmer talent pool is more than 11,000 people who take in an average annual salary of $84K. Bay Area companies willing to expand northward will benefit from a 21% discount on wages in that sector, besides significantly lower office rents, JLL reports.
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Lionakis principal Laura Knauss is optimistic about the Sacramento economy, and said current investment patterns bode well for its future. The impact of growth will largely be positive, she said.
"The infusion of public and private investment into housing and schools, in particular, is spurring our ability to be the city we want to be," Knauss said.
But there is more to quality of life than that.
"The city embraces the arts and is beginning to look for solutions to housing the unsheltered. Its goal is being a truly livable, walkable place. Our ability to bring people to the central city has added to our vibrancy in Midtown, Downtown and beyond."
Knauss will be a moderator at our first Sacramento State of the Market on Sept. 27 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel.
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