Sac Valley Research · For contractors
Where the work is: a market map of Sacramento-area homeowners for 2026.
If you run a contracting business, your next twelve months depend on three numbers in each city: what homeowners earn, what their homes are worth, and how old those homes are. We joined U.S. Census economics for 19 Sacramento-area cities with our CSLB licensing data including how many competitors are already based in each market so you can point your marketing where the spend actually lives.
The full market table
| City | Median income | Median home value | Owner-occupied | Median built | Contractors / 1k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granite Bay | $184,606 | $1,135,900 | 90% | 1987 | 12.77 |
| El Dorado Hills | $165,349 | $909,500 | 87.5% | 2002 | 8.21 |
| Folsom | $135,855 | $770,500 | 66.1% | 1999 | 5.62 |
| Rocklin | $125,795 | $693,100 | 66.8% | 2000 | 7.93 |
| Elk Grove | $120,958 | $648,700 | 75% | 2001 | 4.22 |
| Fair Oaks | $116,975 | $683,000 | 71.2% | 1977 | 12.46 |
| Roseville | $116,323 | $668,600 | 71.1% | 1999 | 8.26 |
| Lincoln | $111,990 | $651,000 | 83.9% | 2005 | 7.92 |
| Orangevale | $99,832 | $565,100 | 75.5% | 1976 | 14.41 |
| Antelope | $99,067 | $489,800 | 70.2% | 1993 | 6.57 |
| West Sacramento | $93,188 | $525,800 | 60.2% | 1987 | 6.36 |
| Sacramento | $91,387 | $515,800 | 50.8% | 1978 | 7.56 |
| Citrus Heights | $91,036 | $471,800 | 62.6% | 1978 | 8.27 |
| Woodland | $90,180 | $548,200 | 58.7% | 1981 | 6.6 |
| Carmichael | $88,573 | $597,200 | 56.6% | 1970 | 5.87 |
| Rancho Cordova | $84,623 | $529,400 | 56.9% | 1980 | 7.46 |
| Arden-Arcade | $80,277 | $571,900 | 46.1% | 1966 | |
| Davis | $76,706 | $901,500 | 41.7% | 1980 | 2.59 |
| North Highlands | $65,495 | $367,600 | 51.1% | 1971 | 5.64 |
Sorted by median household income · build year in orange = 45+ year-old median stock · contractor density from CSLB records
Three markets hiding in one region
The remodel belt. Arden-Arcade, Carmichael, North Highlands, Orangevale, Fair Oaks, Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Davis, Woodland all have a median home built before 1981. These houses are entering the years when everything original fails at once: roofs, sewer laterals, 100-amp panels, galvanized supply lines, single-pane windows. Owner incomes here range from $65,495 to $116,975 repair-and-replace work, financed thoughtfully, not luxury discretionary spend. If you do roofing, repipes, panel upgrades, or HVAC change-outs, this belt is your 2026 bread and butter.
The high-budget hills. Granite Bay, El Dorado Hills, and Folsom combine six-figure-plus median incomes, 90-87.5% ownership, and home values from $770,500 to over $1,135,900. The stock is newer, so the work skews discretionary: outdoor living, ADUs, kitchens, pools. Fewer jobs, bigger tickets, longer sales cycles and referrals matter more than ads.
The volume floor. Sacramento proper is the region's biggest absolute market but only 50.8% owner-occupied, and Davis sits at 41.7% landlord and property-management work behaves differently than owner-occupant work (faster decisions, thinner margins, repeat volume). Price and pitch accordingly.
How to use this in 2026
Match your trade to the age curve: a median build year of 1970 means water heaters on their third replacement and panels that predate EV charging. Watch the incentive landscape the federal 25C credit ended in December 2025, but SMUD's raised electrification rebates keep heat-pump conversions moving. And be findable where homeowners verify you: your CSLB record is public, and homeowners increasingly check it before calling. Claim your free page on this directory so the record they find carries your photos, services, and website not just a license number.
Methodology & data
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (tables B19013, B25077, B25003, B25035), via Census Reporter. Contractor density = active CLEAR-status CSLB licenses based in each city per 1,000 residents (2020 Census populations); Arden-Arcade has no density figure because CSLB mailing addresses there typically say "Sacramento." Median year built is for all housing units. ACS figures are 5-year survey estimates and carry margins of error.
Free to cite with attribution (CC BY 4.0): Sac Valley Contractors analysis of CSLB licensing data and U.S. Census Bureau ACS estimates, 2026-06-09.