Bigger than Pasadena: This Sacramento suburb is one of California’s inland hot spots

Placer County has become inland California’s hot spot. And Roseville is becoming a major city in its own right.

Driven by new home construction in the southern suburban region of the county, Placer was one of only four California counties in 2020 to have positive population growth, according to data from the state Department of Finance. The county eclipsed 400,000 residents and grew at a robust 1.5% last year, data show.

Only San Benito County grew at a fast rate.

“Changes to work policies resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have had significant impacts on migration flows – not just to and from California but within California,” the Department of Finance said, adding that within the state, “new inter-county migration patterns have been observed, much of it Coastal to Inland.”

Placer officials pointed to the county’s efforts to develop employment centers along with new housing.

“I think one of the reasons (Placer County) is popular is that we have done a good job with that growth planning and so we’re a desirable place to live,” said Supervisor Robert Weygandt, chair of the board of supervisors who represents the Lincoln area.

“If you have good planning and high demand, then you also can focus on dealing with some of the bigger issues, like we work hard to try to make sure that we try to attract jobs along with our growth so we have local jobs and a stronger economy,” he added.

Roseville continued its fast growth in 2020. Placer’s largest community was the ninth fastest-growing city of at least 30,000 residents, with a growth rate of 2.4%. It’s raw increase of 3,382 new residents was the second-highest total in California, behind only Santa Clara. And with 146,875 residents, Roseville is now the 39th largest city in California, passing Pasadena and Torrance on the list in 2020.

Housing construction is helping to fuel the growth. Roseville added an estimated 1,013 new single-family housing units in 2020 – the seventh-highest total in California.

Roseville was featured last year as one of Money Magazine’s top places to live and retire.

Lincoln also saw more growth in 2020, increasing by 2.1%. In fact, every city in Placer County grew last year.

And Placer County’s real estate market is among the hottest in the region. South Placer County, in particular, has seen a burst of home building and buying in the past 16 or so months, making the area a key landing spot in the COVID-19 era of migration out of urban areas.

The West Roseville ZIP code of 95747 led the way with a net growth of 2,352 new residents in 2020 – taking the top spot in the Sacramento region.

That trend continued through February of 2021. New home sales in south Placer County were up 38% over February of the previous year (before COVID-19 hit), according to the North State Building Industry Association.

“We’re lucky in a lot of ways,” Weygandt said. “We have really gorgeous country and access to places like Lake Tahoe and just a real good balance of places where people can work and raise a family, and in addition to that we have the Del Webb community so people are enjoying retiring here.”

“Overall in the state of California, for a long period of time now, we’ve been unusually well-positioned,” he added.

This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.