Elk Grove, California

Elk Grove is a in Sacramento County, California. It is just south of Sacramento. It was estimated that 174,775 people lived there in 2019. This makes it the second-largest city in Sacramento County, after Sacramento. The city was first incorporated on July 1, 2000.

Elk Grove has many wineries, wine cellar and vineyards. Elk Grove was the fastest-growing city in the U.S. between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005, and is also presently the second-largest city in Sacramento County.

The City of Elk Grove incorporated on July 1, 2000. It is a general law city with a form of government. One of Elk Grove's most significant aspects is the Elk Grove Unified School District, which is the city's second largest employer.

History
Spanish explorer entered the region in 1808, naming the valley "Sacramento Valley" in honor of Sacramento, the Holy Sacrament in Spanish, giving the northerly city of Sacramento of which Elk Grove is a suburb its name. A writer on Moraga's expedition wrote of the region: "'Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths. The air was like champagne, and (the Spaniards) drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them.'"

Elk Grove itself was founded in 1850 as a stage stop for travelers coming from Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area, when the Elk Grove Hotel and Stage Stop was opened by James Hall and the town was subsequently named after it. In 1868 the Western Division of the Central Pacific Railroad came through about a mile east of Elk Grove. At this new location another hotel was built to accommodate travelers and was also named the Elk Grove Hotel.

In the following decades, Elk Grove remained a small farming community with little urban development. However, in the late 1980s, suburban development projects began to spring up around the community, specifically in the north near Sacramento. This was meant to serve Sacramento's population as well as San Francisco commuters looking for a community relatively near the San Francisco Bay Area which they could settle in and still commute from. This set off a period of rapid suburban growth which hit its peak in the years 2004 and 2005 when Elk Grove was declared the fastest growing city in the US.

On July 1, 2000, Elk Grove incorporated as a city. In 2008 Elk Grove suffered heavily from the subprime mortgage crisis due to its suburban nature.

Education
The Elk Grove Unified School District is the fifth largest school district in California and one of the fastest growing school districts in the nation. Located in southern Sacramento County, the district covers 320 sqmi, one-third of the county. For the 2002–03 school year, the district served more than 52,500 students, and grew to 62,767 students in the 2016–2017 school year. Those students attend 40 elementary schools, 9 middle schools, 9 high schools and 7 alternative high schools.

There are also several private schools in town. A local community college, Cosumnes River College, offers both career training and a transfer program to four-year universities. Located nearby are and the. Elk Grove is also the home of the private six-year Universalist college Quest Seminary. In 2013, California Northstate University College of Pharmacy, which offers a Doctor of Pharmacy degree program, relocated to Elk Grove (near ).

Buses
Elk Grove is serviced by a fared bus system called e-Tran that traverses many of the city's main routes.

Parks
Cosumnes Community Services District owns and operates over 100 parks in Elk Grove, including Emerald Lakes Golf Course.

Rail
There are plans for SacRT to expand its light rail system two miles from Cosumnes River College to Elk Grove Boulevard, however these plans are currently in the planning phase. Amtrak California San Joaquin intercity rail and Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail were expected to be brought directly to Elk Grove in 2021. However, the project has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing wildfires throughout the state.

Notable people

 * Arik Armstead (born 1993), defensive lineman for NFL's
 * Armond Armstead (born 1990), defensive tackle for CFL's
 * Ami Bera (born 1965), physician; U.S. Representative, 7th district, California
 * Scott Boras (born 1952), baseball sports agent who was named "Most Powerful Sports Agent" in 2013 by 
 * Lance Briggs (born 1980), linebacker for NFL's
 * , 2020 Tokyo Silver Medalist in
 * Dylan Carlson (baseball) (born 1998), outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals
 * Bill Cartwright (born 1957), player and coach for NBA's
 * Earl Gage Jr. (ca. 1927–2017), firefighter
 * Kyle Larson (born 1992), NASCAR driver and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championref>
 * Jeremy Reeves, Grammy winning producer
 * Scott Smith (born 1979), mixed martial artist
 * (born 1991) rapper, songwriter, record producer
 * Kenny Wiggins, lineman for NFL's