San Francisco to Sacramento distance

San Francisco to Sacramento by road

The fastest driving route is 87.4 miles (141 km) long and takes about 1 hr 50 min without stops or traffic. Almost all of it is on I-80: 79.9 mi of 87.4 mi.

The whole route stays in California. That’s an average of 49 mph (78 km/h), and at under two hours you can do it without stopping. The time is OSRM’s estimate with OpenStreetMap data: no traffic and speeds somewhat below the limits, so real trips can differ.

Straight-line distance and bearing

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, San Francisco and Sacramento are 75.0 miles (121 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 16% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 116. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 40 US pairs in this series, it ranks 12th for detour (the average is 14%).

From San Francisco, Sacramento lies to the northeast (bearing 42°), and from Sacramento, San Francisco lies to the southwest.

Halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento

Halfway along the straight line, 37.5 miles (60.4 km) from each city, is the point 38.1792° N, 121.9595° W. It falls near Suisun City (California, pop. 29,454), 5.5 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 43.7 miles (70.3 km) from each city, near Suisun City (California, pop. 29,454), 4.3 mi away. The two midpoints are 8.3 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone

San Francisco and Sacramento share the same time all year: both are on Pacific Time.

The two cities

San Francisco and Sacramento sit at almost the same elevation: 55 ft (17 m) and 27 ft (8 m).

San Francisco has 826,079 people and Sacramento 536,449 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).