As one might expect of a city that is both the capital of the State of California, as well as the county seat for Sacramento County, government plays a very large role in the economy of the Sacramento area. While federal, state and local government remain the largest employers in the Sacramento area, Sacramento has a diverse economy which includes:
- Agriculture
- Construction
- Education
- Government
- Healthcare
- Information technology
- Leisure and hospitality
- Manufacturing
- Mining
- Professional, technical, scientific, and management services
- Wholesale trade and transportation
Sacramento is also home to a deep water port that is connected to San Francisco Bay by a via a 43-mile channel. The port supports agriculture and industry throughout Northern California.
Providing a driving force behind the Sacramento economy is a very well educated work force. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, over 24% of the Sacramento area population has a college degree or higher. According to a 2005 Central Connecticut State University study, Sacramento ranked as the 22nd most literate city in the United States.
Business honors and awards received by the Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville metropolitan area include:
- The Sacramento-Yolo area was ranked 34th among the top 50 large U.S. cities/metropolitan areas on Entrepreneur magazine's 2005 list of "Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs".
- The Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville metropolitan area ranked 19th among large U.S. Cities in Inc. magazine's 2006 list of "Best Cities for Doing Business" (out of 393 population centers across the United States).
- The Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville metropolitan area was ranked the 34th best performing city in the United States on the Milken Institute's "2005 Best Performing Cities" report studying the 200 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.
- According to SustainLane, Sacramento is ranked 13th among 50 major U.S. cities for sustainable services and economics.
For business commuters, the Sacramento area is is served by five major freeways and highways. For air travel, Sacramento is served by the Sacramento International Airport (SMF) which provides service from 13 major carriers and one commuter airline.
Some major employers in the Sacramento metropolitan area include:
- Aerojet Fine Chemicals
- American River College
- California State University Sacramento
- Ben Corp. Inc.
- Kaiser Foundation Hospital
- Mercy San Juan Medical center
- Sacramento Bee Newspaper
- Sacramento City College
- The Sacramento Kings
- Sutter Memorial Hospital
- UC Davis Health System
- University of California Surgery Clinic
Business and economic development organizations in the Sacramento area include:
- The City of Sacramento Economic Development Department
- The Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau
- The Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- The Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce
- The North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce
- The West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce
The Sacramento Business Journal, and the "Business Section" of the Sacramento Bee are both good sources of information on the Sacramento area business community.