Sacramento, CA water hardness

Tap water hardness
45mg/L
2.6gpg
SoftReports range 45–91

Reported by City of Sacramento Main · August 2025

CA typical
121 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

Tap water in Sacramento has about 45 mg/L of hardness, which is 2.6 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as soft. The number comes from City of Sacramento Main, dated August 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 45 to 91 mg/L.

Sacramento on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CA typical 121Fruitridge Pocket: 25 mg/LFruitridge Pocket 25Lemon Hill: 25 mg/LLemon Hill 25West Sacramento: 35 mg/LWest Sacramento 35Rosemont: 38 mg/LRosemont 38Parkway: 66 mg/LParkway 66Florin: 66 mg/LFlorin 66La Riviera: 85 mg/LLa Riviera 85Rio Linda: 93 mg/LRio Linda 93Arden-Arcade: 98 mg/LArden-Arcade 98North Highlands: 98 mg/LNorth Highlands 98Sacramento 45mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CA 121Fruitridge Pocket: 25 mg/LFruitridge. 25Lemon Hill: 25 mg/LLemon Hill 25West Sacramento: 35 mg/LWest Sacra. 35Parkway: 66 mg/LParkway 66La Riviera: 85 mg/LLa Riviera 85Arden-Arcade: 98 mg/LArden-Arca. 9845 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Sacramento sits 76 mg/L below the typical California figure of 121. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 6 have harder. The range nearby runs from 25 mg/L in Fruitridge Pocket to 98 in Arden-Arcade.

What 45 mg/L means at home

Soap and shampoo lather with very little product. Kettles and showerheads stay mostly free of white crust.

Some people notice that soap feels slow to rinse off in soft water. That slippery feel is normal and harmless.

Hardness is not a health problem, and EPA sets no limit for it. It is a matter of scale and soap.

What to do about it

Nothing, as far as hardness goes. At 45 mg/L a softener would have almost nothing to remove.

Carbon filter

If the water tastes of chlorine, a pitcher or faucet carbon filter takes care of that. It does not change hardness.

EPA record for Sacramento's water system

City of Sacramento Main · PWSID CA3410020

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 527,979 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a missed treatment step. Monitoring and reporting violations are late or missing tests and notices. Source: EPA ECHO, 2026Q3 export, violations with periods starting 2016 or later. Full EPA record.

Questions

Is Sacramento water hard?

No. It measures about 45 mg/L (2.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Sacramento in grains per gallon?

About 2.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 45 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.6.

Has the Sacramento water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Sacramento Main since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 515 cities in California

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 27, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.