Is Citrus Heights a good place to live? The short answer
For buyers priced out of Roseville, Rocklin and Folsom who still want a suburb close to Interstate 80, Citrus Heights is one of the most practical choices in the region. It is a built-out city of about 87,000 people, incorporated in 1997, with established neighborhoods, a regional park district and two large retail corridors. Four numbers frame it:
- $468,847: Zillow's typical home value, September 2026, down 0.3% over the year and up 67.8% over ten years.
- $1,883 a month: Zillow's typical rent, September 2026, up 1.5% over the year.
- $82,314: median household income, Census ACS 2020-2024, against $99,122 for California.
- 1977: the median year the city's homes were built (ACS), which shapes repair costs and insurance.
Pros of living in Citrus Heights
Pro: Citrus Heights homes cost less than its neighbors
Zillow's typical value in September 2026 was $468,847 in Citrus Heights, $643,854 in Roseville and $754,898 in Folsom. It is close to the City of Sacramento's $470,552, but in a suburban setting of mostly single-family streets. Redfin's median sale price of $479,772 in the three months to September 2026 tells the same story.
Pro: rents below Sacramento and Roseville
Zillow's typical Citrus Heights rent was $1,883 in September 2026, against $2,045 in the City of Sacramento and $2,521 in Roseville. About 39% of households rent (ACS), so there is a real rental market of houses and apartments.
Pro: strong long-run value growth
Zillow's typical value rose 67.8% over ten years, more than in Sacramento (64.0%), Roseville (58.4%) or Folsom (53.9%). Lower starting prices drew buyers as the region grew, though gains have stalled since 2022.
Pro: Interstate 80 and a central location
Interstate 80 runs along the west side of the city, and Business 80, the Capital City Freeway, leads toward downtown Sacramento. Amtrak trains stop in Roseville, about five miles north. That makes Roseville, Rocklin, Folsom and Sacramento job centers all reachable by car.
Pro: a large local park district
The Sunrise Recreation and Park District runs more than 20 parks and open-space sites in the city, among them Rusch Community Park, C-Bar-C Park, Tempo Community Park, Stock Ranch Nature Preserve and the Arcade Creek Park Preserve, plus the Historic Rusch Home and Gardens and the Rusch Park pool. The city is also extending the Arcade-Cripple Creek Trail.
Pro: shopping and services close to home
The Sunrise Boulevard, Greenback Lane and Auburn Boulevard corridors hold the Sunrise Mall site, the Birdcage area, Citrus Town Center and Sunrise Village, so groceries, big-box stores and medical offices are rarely far away.
Pro: the Sunrise Mall site is being replanned
The city's Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan sets out a mixed-use district on the roughly 100-acre mall property. On March 11, 2026 the City Council approved an agreement to explore the Sunrise Sports Center, a proposed 160,000-square-foot complex with a 4,000-seat arena and two NHL-size ice sheets. It is a proposal, not a finished project, but it signals where the city wants to go.
Pro: a city-run police department and active neighborhood groups
Citrus Heights has run its own police department since 2006, with its own dispatch center. The city is divided into 11 Neighborhood Areas with volunteer associations that meet regularly, which gives residents a direct line to city staff and officers.
Pro: a majority of homes are owner-occupied
About 61% of occupied homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2020-2024), and 88% of residents lived in the same home a year earlier. Streets tend to be stable, with long-time owners next to newer buyers.
Cons of living in Citrus Heights
Con: older homes need work
With a median build year of 1977, many houses still have original windows, ducts, plumbing or electrical panels. Budget for updates and order a sewer-line camera inspection with any purchase. Older roofs can also make insurance harder to place; see our homeowners insurance guide.
Con: hot, dry summers
Long-run climate normals show about 73 days a year above 90 degrees and an average July high of 93, with almost no summer rain. Air conditioning is a necessity, and SMUD bills rise in July and August.
Con: you will drive almost everywhere
About 69% of Citrus Heights workers drive alone and 1.1% take public transit (ACS). There is no light rail station in the city; SacRT runs buses. The average one-way commute is 28.0 minutes.
Con: buying still takes a solid income
At 7.24% with 20% down, the $479,772 median sale price costs about $2,616 a month in principal and interest, plus around $400 in base property tax and insurance on top. That points to a household income of roughly $125,000 or more, well above the city's median of $82,314.
Con: prices have stalled since 2022
Zillow's typical value is 6.4% below its June 2022 peak of $500,862 and up only 5.4% over five years. Buyers expecting quick gains may be disappointed, and inventory rose 17.8% in the year to September 2026 (Redfin).
Con: crime near the state average, with violent crime above its 2020 low
The police department reported 325 violent and 1,638 property crimes in 2025 (California DOJ), about 3.7 and 18.8 per 1,000 residents, against state rates of 4.3 and 18.0. Violent crime rose each year from 2020 to 2024, then fell in 2025. Our Citrus Heights crime data page has the details.
Con: school test scores below the state
Most Citrus Heights public schools scored below California averages in English and math on the 2025 Dashboard; one elementary school was above standard in both. See our Citrus Heights schools guide for each school's figures.
What living in Citrus Heights is like
Climate in Citrus Heights
Winters are mild and wet, with average December and January highs around 53 degrees and lows near 38, and over 80% of the year's rain falls between November and March. Summers are long and dry. Morning tule fog is common in December and January. Check the CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone map for any address, since grass fires are a summer risk even in built-out suburbs.
Getting around Citrus Heights
The city is laid out on a grid of arterials: Sunrise Boulevard, Greenback Lane, Antelope Road, Auburn Boulevard, San Juan Avenue and Old Auburn Road. Interstate 80 is the main route toward Sacramento and the Bay Area. Sacramento International Airport lies to the west. The city has complete-streets projects under way on Old Auburn Road, Auburn Boulevard and San Juan Avenue, and lists them on its public works pages.
Utilities in Citrus Heights
The city's utility list names SMUD for electricity, PG&E for gas, Republic Services for trash and the Sacramento Area Sewer District for sewer, billed through the county's consolidated utility billing service. Water depends on the street: Citrus Heights Water District, Cal American Water or Sacramento Suburban Water District. Internet comes from AT&T, Comcast Xfinity or Consolidated Communications. Ask a seller for a year of bills so you can budget, especially summer electricity.
Things to do in Citrus Heights
Weekends center on the parks: swimming at Rusch Park, trails at Stock Ranch and Arcade Creek, sports fields at C-Bar-C and Tempo, and the gardens at the Historic Rusch Home. Sylvan Corners, the old center of the community once called Sylvan, has local breweries. Folsom Lake and the American River Parkway are a short drive east and south.
Salary needed to live in Citrus Heights
MIT's Living Wage Calculator for Sacramento County, last updated February 15, 2026, puts the pre-tax income one adult with no children needs to cover basic costs at $58,502 a year, or $28.13 an hour. A single parent with one child needs $100,158. Two working adults with one child need $112,776 combined, and a household with two adults, one of them working, and two children needs $100,974. MIT's housing budget for a single adult is $20,488 a year, about $1,707 a month, slightly under Zillow's typical Citrus Heights rent of $1,883, so renters here should treat MIT's figures as a minimum. To rent the typical home at 30% of income takes about $75,300 a year; to buy at the median takes roughly $125,000, as shown above. Property tax adds about 1% of the purchase price a year plus local charges, set at purchase under Prop 13 rather than at today's value for long-time owners; the Sacramento County property tax guide shows a sample bill. Our California cost of living guide compares regions.
Who's moving to and from Citrus Heights
The Census ACS 2020-2024 shows a settled population. Of residents aged one and over, 88.0% lived in the same home a year earlier. Of those who moved, most stayed local: 8.0% of residents had moved from elsewhere in Sacramento County, 2.6% from another California county, 0.9% from another state and 0.5% from abroad. The ACS does not record why people move or where people who leave go, so treat claims about people fleeing the city with care. Population has been close to flat for decades: 85,071 in the 2000 Census, 87,583 in 2020 and about 87,000 in the latest ACS estimate. With little vacant land, growth will come mostly from infill and from redevelopment such as the Sunrise Mall plan.
Retiring in Citrus Heights
Single-story ranch homes are common, which means fewer stairs, and prices let some owners downsize from Roseville or Folsom with cash to spare. If you are 55 or older and selling a home elsewhere in California, Prop 19 may let you carry your current taxable value to a home here; see our Prop 19 guide. The Sunrise Recreation and Park District runs older-adult programs including a meal service. Ask your doctors and insurer which hospitals and clinics in the region are in network before you choose a street. Weigh the summer heat, car dependence and repair costs of an older house. Our guide to retiring in California compares other places.
Where to live in Citrus Heights
Zillow's September 2026 values for areas inside the city ran from $329,643 in Arcade Creek to $517,500 in Chase. The east-side ZIP 95610 ($502,458) runs about 13% higher than west-side 95621 ($444,898). Sunrise Oaks ($511,519), Sunrise Ranch ($492,038) and Birdcage Heights ($490,261) sit near the top; Northwest ($449,199) and Rusch Park ($436,938) are lower. Condos and townhouses, mostly in 95621, start under $200,000. Compare areas on our Citrus Heights homes guide, the ZIP code guide and the condos guide.
Should you move to Citrus Heights? A checklist
- Drive your commute at rush hour on Interstate 80 or your actual route.
- Spend a July afternoon in the city and price air conditioning costs with SMUD.
- Compare a remodeled home with an original one on the same street, and price the gap.
- Get an insurance quote before you remove contingencies.
- Check schools for the exact address with San Juan Unified's lookup.
- Review crime incidents on the police department's crime map for several months.
- Confirm the water provider and flood zone for the address.
- Visit a Neighborhood Area meeting to hear local concerns.
- Read the latest property tax bill for any special assessments on the parcel.
- If you will rent the home out later, read the city's Rental Housing Inspection Program rules and annual fees.
- Check the status of the Sunrise Mall plans if you are buying near Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane.
If you decide to buy, our featured Citrus Heights agent is one option to interview alongside others.