Fair Oaks Neighborhoods, From the Village to the Bluffs

Fair Oaks neighborhoods sit on the north bank of the American River, about 11 square miles of rolling streets between Carmichael to the west, Citrus Heights to the north and Orangevale to the east. The whole community shares one ZIP code, 95628, and the river forms its southern edge.

Fair Oaks is not a city. It is an unincorporated community in Sacramento County, so there is no city hall. The Board of Supervisors makes the land-use decisions, with a seven-member Fair Oaks Local Planning Council advising the County Planning Commission. The Sacramento County Sheriff handles law enforcement, and Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District covers fire and medical calls.

The 2020 Census counted 32,514 residents here, up from 30,912 in 2010. Of the 13,434 occupied homes that year, 67.2% were lived in by their owners.

The town began as a citrus colony. In 1895 the Howard-Wilson Publishing Company of Chicago bought rights to the land and sold it as one of its "Sunset Colonies." The 1901 Fair Oaks Bridge, still called the Red Bridge, and a Southern Pacific rail line followed. Freezes in 1932 and 1934 killed most of the orange groves, and the land slowly turned into the neighborhoods you see today.

Here is how the main parts of Fair Oaks differ.

• Fair Oaks Village. The old town center runs roughly from Fair Oaks Boulevard south to the American River Parkway, between Main Street and Park Drive, as Comstock's described it in August 2025. It is the oldest part of town. The Fair Oaks Civic Club bought the Plaza in 1922, according to the park district's history.
• The river bluffs. South of the Village, the land drops off in cliffs above the American River. A trail on the northeast side of the Red Bridge climbs to a spot where people sit high above the water and watch the sunset. The bluff streets put the Parkway trail within walking distance.
• Sunrise and Hazel. The eastern half of town follows Sunrise Boulevard and Hazel Avenue, the two roads that reach U.S. 50. Phoenix Park, a 65.9-acre district park between Sunset Avenue and Hazel, anchors this side, and the Hazel light rail station is the closest stop.
• Madison Avenue and the north side. Madison Avenue reaches Interstate 80. The Fair Oaks Library sits at 11601 Fair Oaks Boulevard near Madison. North Ridge Country Club, on Madison Avenue, is a 1950s William Bell & Son course that Robert Trent Jones II renovated in 2018.
• Custom-home pockets. Wikipedia describes Fair Oaks as semi-rural, with upscale custom-home pockets and few apartments. Those pockets are scattered through town rather than gathered in one subdivision.

Fair Oaks shares its river frontage and its school district, San Juan Unified, with Carmichael. The county around both is covered on our Sacramento County page.

Fair Oaks Village is known for its free-roaming chickens, about 200 of them, and for the Fair Oaks Chicken Festival every September. The Fair Oaks Theater Festival, the Fair Oaks Fiesta and Car Show, and the Fair Oaks History Center round out the calendar.

The Fair Oaks Recreation & Park District, formed in 1945, runs 123 acres across 11 developed parks. Measure J, a 2018 bond of up to $26.9 million on the county ballot, paid to rebuild the Community Clubhouse, the Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre and Village Park. Comstock's reported in August 2025 that the rebuilt amphitheater has about 470 fixed seats and a black box theater for up to 90, after the park sat closed for nearly six years.

In the Village, Comstock's named the Fair Oaks Brew Pub, Bodega Biondi and the Sunflower Drive In among the places to eat. Down the hill, the American River Parkway trail runs 32 paved miles from Discovery Park to Folsom Lake.

Every neighborhood has a median, and in Sacramento the median only tells part of the story. Lot sizes vary. Eras mix. Custom homes sit beside tract homes. So even where the median is $661,000, there are one-of-a-kind homes that sell for far more, and the street, the lot and the details move the number.

Last year, 401 single-family homes sold in ZIP 95628 (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026). The typical home was built in 1974, with 4 bedrooms and about 1,944 square feet, on a lot of about 10,890 square feet. Half of the sales landed between $530k and $800k, depending on lot size, condition, square footage and more, and the median was $661,000. In Fair Oaks, 105 of those 401 sales closed at $800k or more, and the highest reached $1.96M. Condos and townhomes aren't included. This is what happened, not what will happen. Ask us for today's numbers.

Source: MetroList, single-family homes that closed October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. Any single-month figure elsewhere on this page is a separate, shorter snapshot.

Choosing among Fair Oaks neighborhoods goes better with the street, the house and the loan weighed together. If you are buying here, start with buying a home in Fair Oaks. If you are selling, see selling your home in Fair Oaks or find out what your Fair Oaks home is worth.

When you are ready, talk with Maggie about the part of Fair Oaks you have in mind.