Sacramento · CA
Downtown Sacramento: Neighborhood Guide
Downtown Sacramento holds the Capitol, Old Sacramento and the Railyards, with condos, lofts and a few older homes inside the original grid.
What is Downtown Sacramento?
Downtown Sacramento is the oldest part of the city's grid, south of the American River, east of the Sacramento River, north of Broadway and west of 16th Street. The central business district sits inside it, roughly from H Street to R Street between the river and 16th Street.
Downtown is where the state government lives. The California State Capitol, Sacramento City Hall and the Sacramento Convention Center are all here, along with Golden 1 Center, which opened in 2016 as home of the Sacramento Kings.
Old Sacramento sits on the riverfront west of Interstate 5, which separates it from the rest of downtown. To the north, the old Railyards are being rebuilt as a new part of the city.
Talk With Maggie About Downtown
How did Downtown Sacramento grow up?
Downtown is where Sacramento began. The city was laid out in 1848, and the riverfront that is now Old Sacramento was its first business district. The Sacramento Valley Railroad, engineered by Theodore Judah, opened in 1856 as the first railroad in California.
The Railyards grew into the western end of the first transcontinental railroad. In the early 20th century they were the largest railroad facility west of the Mississippi. Union Pacific ended rail operations there in 1999, and the land has been under cleanup and redevelopment since.
The streets changed too. K Street closed to cars in 1969 as a pedestrian mall. Four blocks between 8th and 12th Streets reopened to traffic in November 2011, and the corridor was rebranded The Kay a year later.
What types of homes are in Downtown Sacramento?
Most Downtown Sacramento homes are condos, lofts and apartments, many in buildings converted from offices or warehouses or built new on infill lots. A smaller number of older houses and flats sit toward the south and east edges of the grid, where downtown blends into Midtown.
A downtown condo purchase depends on the building as much as the unit. HOA dues, reserves, special assessments and rental rules all shape the payment and the loan. Some lenders review a building's budget before they approve a buyer, so we read the HOA packet early.
The Railyards plan adds a new chapter. Its master plan calls for up to 12,000 housing units over 15 to 20 years, along with parks, offices and a Kaiser Permanente medical campus. Those numbers are a plan, not a finished neighborhood, so ask what is built and occupied today.
How do you get around Downtown Sacramento?
Downtown is the hub for trains and transit. Sacramento Valley Station, the restored Southern Pacific depot north of Downtown Commons, is served by the Capitol Corridor and other Amtrak routes. It is also the western end of SacRT's Gold Line light rail, and several light rail lines and bus routes cross the grid.
Interstate 5 runs along the river, and Business 80, State Route 99 and U.S. 50 meet nearby. State offices are a walk from most downtown addresses, which matters more since July 1, 2026, when the state's four-day office order took effect.
Which school district serves Downtown Sacramento?
Downtown Sacramento is served by Sacramento City Unified School District. Confirm the assigned school with the district directly.
What draws buyers to Downtown Sacramento?
Downtown puts the arena, the theaters and the river within a few blocks. Downtown Commons, or DOCO, holds Golden 1 Center, the Sawyer Hotel, a multiplex and shops. The Crest Theatre is at 10th and K, the Community Center Theatre at 13th and L, and Memorial Auditorium at 16th and J.
The museums sit near the water. The Crocker Art Museum, founded in 1885, and the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento anchor the riverfront. The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament stands at 11th and K Streets.
The city's largest farmers market runs every Sunday morning year-round under the freeway at 8th and W Streets, on downtown's southern edge.
What should sellers in Downtown Sacramento know?
A downtown condo seller competes with every other unit in the building, and sometimes with new units nearby. Pricing starts with recent sales in the same building, then the floor, the view, the parking and the HOA's health. Order the HOA documents before you list, because a buyer's lender may need them before it approves the loan.
Surroundings is led by Maggie B. Hopkins, a real estate broker and a mortgage broker. She can read a buyer's approval and a building's HOA packet side by side. See selling your home in Sacramento for the city transfer tax and closing steps.
Only in Downtown
A National Historic Landmark district by the river.
Old Sacramento, along the river at the edge of downtown, was designated a National Historic Landmark district on January 12, 1965. Its B. F. Hastings Building is recognized as the western terminal of the Pony Express.
The numbers: a full year of sales
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 $769,550, 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, 14 single-family homes sold in ZIP 95814 (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026). That is a small number of sales, so treat this as a rough guide. The typical home was built in 2010, with 3 bedrooms and about 1,871 square feet, on a lot of about 2,100 square feet. Half of the sales landed between $730k and $825k, depending on lot size, condition, square footage and more, and the median was $769,550. 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.
Good to know before you look
The Sacramento River East Levee, which runs about 12 miles from downtown to Freeport, protects areas of the city south of the American River and west of Highway 99. Alkali Flat has four city historic districts. We look these up for each address.
Ready to talk about Downtown Sacramento?
If you are buying here, start with buying a home in Sacramento. If you want more house and a yard, compare our guides to Midtown and Land Park, or read the Sacramento neighborhoods guide.
When you are ready, talk with Maggie about the building and the loan together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the boundaries of Downtown Sacramento?
Downtown Sacramento is generally south of the American River, east of the Sacramento River, north of Broadway and west of 16th Street.
What types of homes are in Downtown Sacramento?
Most downtown homes are condos, lofts and apartments. A smaller number of older houses and flats sit toward the edges of the grid.
Is there an Amtrak station downtown?
Yes. Sacramento Valley Station is served by the Capitol Corridor and other Amtrak routes, and it is the western end of SacRT's Gold Line light rail.
What is the Sacramento Railyards?
The Railyards is a redevelopment of the former railroad yards north of downtown. Its master plan calls for up to 12,000 housing units, offices, parks and a Kaiser Permanente medical campus over 15 to 20 years.
When did Golden 1 Center open?
Golden 1 Center opened in 2016 in Downtown Commons. It is home to the Sacramento Kings.
What school district serves Downtown Sacramento?
Downtown Sacramento is served by Sacramento City Unified School District. Confirm the assigned school with the district directly.
The method
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