Citrus Heights is a city in Sacramento County, California. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 83,301, down from 85,071 at the 2000 U.S. Census.

Citrus Heights is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Incorporation

Citrus Heights voters approved the measure to incorporate the City on November 5, 1996, effective January 1, 1997. The measure won, with 62.5% of the votes.

Transportation/access

Citrus Heights is centrally located between the region’s major freeways and highways. Interstate 80 passes through the west side of the city, and Interstate 5, U.S. Highway 50 and California State Route 99 are all located from three to 11 miles (18 km) from the city. The Business 80 freeway otherwise known as the Capital City Freeway begins near Citrus Heights and ends in Downtown Sacramento. Sacramento International Airport is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) from the city, while rail transportation provided by Amtrak is accessible in Roseville (about 10 miles (16 km) from the city). A public bus transportation is currently also provided by the Sacramento Regional Transit District.

Geography

Citrus Heights is located at 38°42′N 121°17′W (38.6947, -121.2905). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.2 square miles (37 km²), all land. The city incorporated January 2, 1997 (January 1 according to the official city website), becoming the fifth city in Sacramento County.

Climate

Citrus Heights has a climate that is characterized by mild winters and dry hotter summers. The area usually has a low humidity and the average temperature throughout the year is 61° Fahrenheit, with the daily average ranging from 45° in December and January to 76° in July. Average daily high temperatures range from 53° in December and January to 93° in July. Average daily low temperatures range from 38° to 58°. The average year has 73 days with a high over 90°, with the highest temperature on record being 114° on July 17, 1925, and 18 days when the low drops below 32°, with the coldest one day record being December 11, 1932, at 17°.

Average yearly precipitation is 24.61 inches according to weather.com (, 2018). Almost no rain falls during the summer months (less than 1%), and over 80% falls between November and March. 3.47″, 3.39″, 4.46″, and 4.34″ per month respectively, though rainfall can be much greater than average. On average, 96 days in the year have fog, mostly in the morning, primarily in December and January. Typically, Citrus Heights enjoys 268 sunny days throughout the year.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Citrus Heights had a population of 83,301. The population density was 5,854.6 people per square mile (2,260.5/km²). The racial makeup of Citrus Heights was 66,856 (80.3%) White, 2,751 (3.3%) African American, 753 (0.9%) Native American, 2,714 (3.3%) Asian (1.2% Filipino, 0.4% Indian, 0.4% Chinese, 0.3% Japanese, 0.2% Vietnamese, 0.4% Other), 363 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 5,348 (6.4%) from other races, and 4,516 (5.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13,734 persons (16.5%).

The Census reported that 82,815 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 304 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 182 (0.2%) were institutionalized.

There were 32,686 households, out of which 10,452 (32.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,241 (43.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 4,689 (14.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,027 (6.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,653 (8.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 252 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 8,860 households (27.1%) were made up of individuals and 3,280 (10.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53. There were 20,957 families (64.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.08.

The population was spread out with 19,241 people (23.1%) under the age of 18, 8,480 people (10.2%) aged 18 to 24, 23,022 people (27.6%) aged 25 to 44, 21,473 people (25.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 11,085 people (13.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

There were 35,075 housing units at an average density of 2,465.1 per square mile (951.8/km²), of which 18,832 (57.6%) were owner-occupied, and 13,854 (42.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%. 47,329 people (56.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 35,486 people (42.6%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 85,071 people, 33,478 households, and 21,660 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,929.3 inhabitants per square mile (2,288.9/km²). There were 34,897 housing units at an average density of 2,432.3 per square mile (938.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.64% White, 2.87% African American, 1.01% Native American, 2.85% Asian, 0.34% Pacific Islander, 3.56% from other races, and 4.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.04% of the population.

There were 33,478 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city, the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $53,859, and the median income for a family was $60,207. Males had a median income of $48,614 versus $39,399 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,744. About 5.6% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Business and shopping

Citrus Heights is home to a bustling retail and service industry. Sunrise Mall, newly remodeled with over 100 stores, including major department and specialty stores (Macy’s, Sears, JC Penney’s, etc.), is located in the center of the city, along with the Sunrise MarketPlace a growing retail community offering a wide variety of retail, dining, and service establishments (Barnes & Noble, Target Greatland, Best Buy, Lowe’s Home Improvement, etc.). Citrus Heights also features major discount retail stores such as Costco, Sam’s Club, and Wal-Mart.

Education

Citrus Heights is primarily served by the San Juan Unified School District. San Juan is the ninth largest school district in California and serves a 75-square-mile (190 km²) area in northeast Sacramento County, including Citrus Heights. Within the city of Citrus Heights there are ten elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools. These schools serve over 10,000 students from the city of Citrus Heights. San Juan Unified School District also offers other educational schools and programs such as a special education centers, adult schools, adult handicapped schools, preschool, and before-and after-school programs. Universities and colleges that serve the area include: University of California, Davis; California State University, Sacramento; American River College; Sierra College; McGeorge School of Law; Lincoln Law School of Sacramento; Golden Gate University; University of Phoenix; and National University.

Neighborhood associations and REACH

Neighborhood associations are groups of grassroots community volunteers who work together to make a difference in their neighborhoods and in the city. Citrus Heights has eleven neighborhood areas, and each one has a corresponding neighborhood association group. Each association has bylaws and a board of directors.

On May 22, 2009, at the Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) Conference in Spokane, WA, the Sylvan-Old Auburn Road (SOAR) Neighborhood, one of the ten Neighborhood Groups located within the City of Citrus Heights, received first place honors in the Multi-Neighborhood Project Partnerships category for their highly acclaimed 2008 Senior Health Fair event. By receiving the first place category recognition, SOAR was also selected by the NUSA Judges as the prestigious 2009 Neighborhood of the Year.

Neighborhoods, USA is a national non-profit organization committed to building and strengthening neighborhood organizations. Created in 1975 to share information and experiences toward building stronger communities, NUSA now continues to encourage networking and information sharing to facilitate the development of partnerships between neighborhood organizations, government and the private sector.

Citrus Heights also features numerous parks and playgrounds. Many recreational activities and programs are offered through the Sunrise Recreation and Park District.

Sacramento is home to one major league sports team — the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. The Kings came to Sacramento from Kansas City in 1985. On January 21, 2013, a controlling interest of the Sacramento Kings was sold to Chris Hansen, who intended to move the franchise to Seattle for the 2013–2014 NBA season and rename the team the Seattle SuperSonics. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson fought the move, forming an ownership group led by Vivek Ranadive to keep the Kings in Sacramento. On May 16, 2013, the NBA Board of Governors voted 22–8 to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

Sacramento has two other professional teams. Sacramento Republic FC began play in April 2014 at Hughes Stadium before a sellout crowd of 20,231, setting a USL Pro regular-season single game attendance record. They now play in Papa Murphy’s Park. The Republic FC won the USL championship in their first season. In 2000, AAA minor league baseball returned to Sacramento with the Sacramento River Cats, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants and formerly an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The River Cats play in Raley Field, in West Sacramento.

Sacramento is the former home of two professional basketball teams. The Sacramento Heatwave of the American Basketball Association previously played in the Sacramento area until 2013. Sacramento was also formerly home to the now defunct Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA. The Monarchs were one of the eight founding members of the WNBA in 1997 and won the WNBA Championship in 2005, but folded in November 2009.

Sacramento has frequently hosted the NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship as well as the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship. The California International Marathon (est. 1983) attracts a field of international elite runners who vie for a share of the $50,000 prize purse. The fast course is popular for runners seeking to achieve a Boston Marathon qualifying time and fitness runners.

Police department

In June 2006, the City of Citrus Heights formed its own police department. The department attracted lateral police officers from 62 different police agencies throughout California Template:Http://citrusheights.net/222/Police. Under the leadership of Chief of Police Christopher Boyd, the newly formed department took over law enforcement responsibility from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department on June 26, 2006. The police department is a full service agency, with specialty units such as SWAT, Special Investigations, Traffic and School Resource Officers. The department operates its own state of the art communications center, which answers 911 calls and dispatches police units throughout the city.

Notable people

• Jackie Lynn Taylor – Our Gang actress (1934)
• Bill Conroy – MLB catcher
• Kelley Jones – artist 
• Mandisa – Contemporary Christian music artist
• Joseph James DeAngelo – accused Golden State Killer

Government

In the California State Legislature, Citrus Heights is in the 4th Senate District, represented by Republican Jim Nielsen, and in the 8th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Ken Cooley.

In the United States House of Representatives, Citrus Heights is in California’s 7th congressional district, represented by Democrat Ami Bera.

Magazines

• Comstock’s Magazine
• Government Technology Magazine
• Sacramento Magazine
• Sactown Magazine

Newspapers

Top two newspapers

• The Sacramento Bee, the primary newspaper, was founded in 1857 by James McClatchy. The Sacramento Bee is the flagship paper of The McClatchy Company, the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States. The Sacramento Bee has won five Pulitzer Prizes in its history and numerous other awards, including many for its progressive public service campaigns promoting free speech (the Bee often criticized government policy, and uncovered many scandals hurting Californians), anti-racism (the Bee supported the Union during the American Civil War and later publicly denounced the Ku Klux Klan), worker’s rights (the Bee has a strong history of supporting unionization), and environmental protection (leading numerous tree-planting campaigns and fighting against environmental destruction in the Sierra Nevada).
• The Sacramento Union, the Sacramento Bee‘s rival, started publishing six years earlier in 1851; it closed its doors in 1994, with a revival attempt lasting from 2005 to 2009. Writer and journalist Mark Twain wrote for the Union in 1866.

Other newspapers

• Sacramento Business Journal
• Sacramento News & Review
• The Sacramento Observer

Radio

Television stations