The Sacramento region usually refers to the four-county area that includes Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, and El Dorado counties. With a population of 2,042,283, the Sacramento metropolitan area is the largest in the Central Valley, and is the fourth-largest in California, behind the Los Angeles-Orange County area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the San Diego area.

Lake Tahoe and Reno with lots of skiing are to the east, while San Francisco and the Beaches are to the west.