City · Sacramento County, California

Folsom, California

Folsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, part of the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA metro area. It has 83,916 residents. Folsom, California has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,656 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #325 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on drought exposure (low), child poverty rate (low) and access to exercise opportunities (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), public libraries (low) and mammography screening (low).

57Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,656 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #325 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 83,916 (2020-2024)
Land area: 28 mi²
Density: 3,009.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 0624638

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety25#11,748/15,637
Economy92#1,305/15,631
Housing50#7,559/14,977
Health78#3,459/15,609
Healthcare78#3,468/15,650
Environment16#12,926/15,453
Education29#11,189/15,649
Infrastructure93#1,100/15,650
Community32#10,639/15,651
Leisure & amenities52#7,462/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Folsom, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sacramento County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Drought exposure · low0%
98/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASacramento County value
Child poverty rate · low4.2%
97/100California 14.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Access to exercise opportunities · high98.9%
95/100California 94.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSacramento County value
Physical inactivity · low15.0%
95/100California 23.5%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
New business applications · high22.1 /1k
94/100California 14.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSacramento County value
Median household income · high$139,804
93/100California $100,130United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high23.1×
0/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSacramento County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
7/100California 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSacramento County value
Mammography screening · low36.0%
9/100California 38.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSacramento County value
Drug overdose deaths · high29.2 /100k
10/100California 20.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSacramento County value
Violent crime rate · high503 /100k
10/100California 433 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationSacramento County value
Loneliness · high37.1%
11/100California 37.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
78,159 (2015-2019) → 83,916 (2020-2024)
+7.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
12.0 /1k (2021) → 5.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−58%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$114,405 (2015-2019) → $139,804 (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
51.2% (2015-2019) → 54.9% (2020-2024)
+3.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.6× (2015-2019) → 5.4× (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Unemployment rateWorsening
3.1% (2015-2019) → 6.3% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Folsom, California improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 7 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Bachelor's++3.7 points51.2% → 54.9%
Child poverty−1.9 points6.1% → 4.2%
Household income+22%$114,405 → $139,804
Broadband+1.4 points94.4% → 95.8%

Declined3

Unemployment+3.1 points3.1% → 6.3%
Price / income+0.8×4.6× → 5.4×
Inequality+0.0270.397 → 0.423

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Folsom, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.0 min2015-2019	26.6 min2020-2024	+0.6 min	Within the margin of error	40%
Bachelor's degree or higher	51.2%2015-2019	54.9%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Improved	58%
Broadband subscriptions	94.4%2015-2019	95.8%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Improved	13%
Child poverty rate	6.1%2015-2019	4.2%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Improved	55%
Effective property tax rate	0.94%2015-2019	0.86%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	31%
High school diploma or higher	93.8%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Home price to income ratio	4.6×2015-2019	5.4×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	30%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3972015-2019	0.4232020-2024	+0.027	Declined	29%
Median household income	$114,4052015-2019	$139,8042020-2024	+22%	Improved	38%
Poverty rate	5.6%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Public transit commuters	1.6%2015-2019	1.6%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent as share of income	27.8%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Rent-burdened households	45.0%2015-2019	46.8%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Unemployment rate	3.1%2015-2019	6.3%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Declined	9%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.7%2015-2019	2.9%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Folsom, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Folsom, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Folsom, California itself moved −5.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

83,916 residents (±39)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

29,963 households (±597)

Folsom, California
California share

Under $25k7.8%2,349
$25k–50k8.8%2,640
$50k–75k7.6%2,269

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

29,963 households (±597)

Folsom, California
California share

Own70%20,898
Rent30%9,065

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

38,581 workers (±1,127)

Folsom, California
California share

Drive alone60%23,023
Carpool5.3%2,045
Public transit1.6%†599

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Sacramento County, the county holding most of Folsom's residents.

Sacramento County has 34,280 employer establishments, 215 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248; 0.82× California's), with 533,709 paid employees at an average annual pay of $71,257. The Census Bureau also counts 135,917 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 34,280; 135,917 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 215; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 533,709
Average annual pay: $71,257; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Sacramento County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	2,956	18.5	1.01×About typical	52,485	$25,508	593
Ambulatory health care services	2,865	17.9	0.86×About typical	46,292	$95,154	4,750
Specialty trade contractors	2,241	14	0.91×About typical	29,077	$77,249	5,372
Lessors of real estate	1,750	11	0.89×About typical	8,301	$64,042	9,888
Limited-service restaurants	1,313	8.2	1.03×About typical	23,702	$22,655	240
Truck transportation	1,204	7.5	1.49×More than typical	5,380	$53,925	8,745
Full-service restaurants	1,124	7	0.92×About typical	21,930	$29,413	224
Management, scientific and technical consulting	1,103	6.9	1.03×About typical	8,224	$97,600	4,136
Construction of buildings	1,010	6.3	0.84×About typical	8,897	$93,764	4,585
Legal services	945	5.9	1.10×About typical	6,749	$115,882	1,417
Services to buildings and dwellings	916	5.7	0.85×About typical	13,640	$43,205	6,960
Building equipment contractors	841	5.3	0.88×About typical	14,102	$82,269	1,200

Rank places for an industry Open Sacramento County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 1,596,637 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $32.2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Folsom, California: $384 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $32.2M; −6.4% vs FY2025
Per resident: $384; US $1,994
Sole-source: 2.2%; US 30%
Single offer: 17%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Bureau of Reclamation$14.8M46%
Department of Energy$9.9M31%
Department of the Army$4.6M14%
Department of the Navy$1.3M4.0%
Department of Education$999.8K3.1%
National Park Service$259.1K0.8%
U.S. Coast Guard$237.5K0.7%
Federal Aviation Administration$97.1K0.3%

Top recipients

SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT$8.1M25%
TOGIAK LOGISTICS SERVICES, LLC$6.2M19%
CHEROKEE NATION STRATEGIC PROGRAMS, L.L.C.$4.7M15%
FOLSOM DAM CONSTRUCTORS$2.9M9.0%
GRANITE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY$1.5M4.8%

Spending by fiscal year

44.6MFY2017
46.5MFY2018
47MFY2019
46.4MFY2020
52.9MFY2021
41.6MFY2022
203MFY2023
40.2M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$10.9M34%
Justice, public order, and safety activities · 9221$8.1M25%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$4.8M15%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$2.3M7.2%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$2M6.2%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Folsom, California

FOLSOM MAIN, LEFT & RIGHT WING DAMS$137.1M
FOLSOM DAM CONSTRUCTORS· Sacramento County, CA· Construction & real property· Mar 31, 2023 – Jun 9, 2026· W9123823C0010
FOLSOM DAM RAISE DIKES 1-6$30.5M
MALONEY-ODIN A JOINT VENTURE· Sacramento County, CA· Construction & real property· May 1, 2023 – Apr 1, 2026· W9123823C0015
SNR TECHNICAL SERVICES$23.1M
CHEROKEE NATION STRATEGIC PROGRAMS, L.L.C.· Sacramento County, CA· Professional services· Sep 27, 2022 – Aug 12, 2026· 89503322FWA400117
FOLSOM DAM LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SECURITY SERVICES

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Folsom, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Folsom, California's figures are part of those of Sacramento County, CA ($625.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 5.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Folsom is mostly in Sacramento County.

See federal money in Sacramento County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Folsom, California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Adam B. SchiffD-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Sacramento County52100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA65

Other cities and towns in Sacramento County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0624638

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends