Sacramento, CA water hardness
City of Sacramento Department of Utilities publishes an average hardness of 83 mg/L (4.9 grains per gallon, also its own figure) for its system, in its City of Sacramento 2025 Consumer Confidence Report. On the USGS scale that is moderately hard water, though the utility's own range crosses more than one class — it spans soft, moderately hard and hard water from end to end.
Every figure City of Sacramento Department of Utilities publishes, by source
The utility publishes a system average, shown above, and separately the figure for each source behind it. Which source serves an address determines which of these rows describes its water.
| Source as published | mg/L (ppm) | Grains per gallon | USGS class |
|---|---|---|---|
| E.A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant (American River) | 34 | 2 | Soft |
| Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant | 63 | 3.7 | Moderately hard |
| City of Sacramento Groundwater | 15–154 | 0.9–9 | Hard at the high end, soft at the low end |
Figures in the grains column are the utility's own where it published them. Where it published only one unit, the other column is our conversion at 17.1 mg/L per grain, and the row above says which. Nothing in this table is averaged across sources.
The published figures, exactly as they appear
This is the hardness line transcribed from the source, with nothing added:
Hardness (mg/L) 2023 - 2025 83 34 63 15 - 154 […] Hardness (grains per gallon) 2023 - 2025 4.9 2.0 3.7 0.9 - 9.0
City of Sacramento Department of Utilities, City of Sacramento 2025 Consumer Confidence Report
Units as published: mg/L and grains per gallon. What kind of figure it is: an average with no range. Retrieved 2026-10-17.
Sacramento hardness in mg/L and grains per gallon
Water-quality reports use mg/L (identical to ppm). Softener instructions and plumbing specifications use grains per gallon. Both are below. Where a figure is our arithmetic rather than the utility's own number, it says so.
| Figure | mg/L (ppm) | Grains per gallon | Whose number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published average | 83 | 4.9 | both published by the utility |
| Plotted on the scale above | 83 | 4.9 | published average; the gpg here is our conversion at 17.1, so it can differ slightly from a utility’s own rounded gpg figure |
The conversion, both ways: gpg = mg/L ÷ 17.1 and mg/L = gpg × 17.1. Worked for this system: 83 ÷ 17.1 = 4.9 gpg. The converter does °dH and °f as well, and why the factor is 17.1 explains where the number comes from.
What this figure does not tell you
Service area and source water
| Utility | City of Sacramento Department of Utilities |
|---|---|
| Service area as published | The City of Sacramento's water system, supplied by two surface water treatment plants and city groundwater wells. |
Provenance of every number on this page
| Source document | City of Sacramento 2025 Consumer Confidence Report |
|---|---|
| Source URL | https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/content/dam/portal/dou/utilities/water/water-quality/documents/2025%20Consumer%20Confidence%20Report.pdf |
| Published by | City of Sacramento Department of Utilities |
| Report year | 2025 |
| Year note | The hardness rows are in Table 3, “Other Parameters of Interest to Customers”, with the years monitored given as 2023 - 2025. |
| Retrieved | 2026-10-17 |
| Classification bands | USGS Water Science School, retrieved 2026-10-16 |
Notes the report forces on this page
- The 83 mg/L and 4.9 grains-per-gallon figures are the report's own System Average column. The remaining numbers in the same rows belong to the three source columns listed above, and the 15 - 154 mg/L range belongs to the groundwater column only — not to the system — so no system-wide range is shown on this page.
- The two surface plants and the groundwater wells do not share one classification, and the groundwater range alone crosses three USGS classes. Which source serves an address determines which figure applies.
If you are sizing a softener for Sacramento water
At 4.9 gpg, the sizing arithmetic starts from your household's water use, not from the hardness alone. The calculator below is pre-filled with this system's figure and every other input is an editable assumption.
Whether a softener is worth installing at this hardness is a judgement, not arithmetic, and it is not one this site makes for you. Nothing here has been tested by the author.
Where Sacramento sits against other verified systems
- Portland, OR 9 mg/L 0.5 gpg Soft
- Boston, MA 16 mg/L 1 gpg Soft
- Manchester, NH 17.9 mg/L 1 gpg Soft
- Raleigh, NC 25 mg/L 1.47 gpg Soft
- New York, NY 32 mg/L 2 gpg Soft
- Charlotte, NC 32 mg/L 1.9 gpg Soft
- Memphis, TN 46 mg/L 2.7 gpg Soft
- Anchorage, AK 56 mg/L 3.3 gpg Soft
- Oakland, CA 68.4 mg/L 4 gpg Moderately hard
- Nashville, TN 77.3 mg/L 4.5 gpg Moderately hard
- Sacramento, CA 83 mg/L 4.9 gpg Moderately hard
- Fresno, CA 89.3 mg/L 5.2 gpg Moderately hard
- Saint Paul, MN 90 mg/L 5 gpg Moderately hard
- Austin, TX 93 mg/L 5.4 gpg Moderately hard
- Washington, DC 95 mg/L 5.6 gpg Moderately hard
- Birmingham, AL 98 mg/L 5.7 gpg Moderately hard
- Kansas City, MO 100 mg/L 5.8 gpg Moderately hard
- Denver, CO 105 mg/L 6.1 gpg Moderately hard
- Tulsa, OK 114.5 mg/L 6.7 gpg Moderately hard
- Louisville, KY 115 mg/L 6.7 gpg Moderately hard
- Columbus, OH 120 mg/L 7 gpg Moderately hard
- Cleveland, OH 120 mg/L 7 gpg Moderately hard
- Philadelphia, PA 125 mg/L 7.3 gpg Hard
- Ann Arbor, MI 126 mg/L 7.4 gpg Hard
- Cincinnati, OH 133 mg/L 7.8 gpg Hard
- Milwaukee, WI 137 mg/L 8.01 gpg Hard
- St. Louis, MO 138 mg/L 8.1 gpg Hard
- Fort Worth, TX 145 mg/L 8.5 gpg Hard
- Honolulu, HI 162.5 mg/L 9.5 gpg Hard
- Wichita, KS 170 mg/L 9.9 gpg Hard
- Omaha, NE 170 mg/L 10 gpg Hard
- Los Angeles, CA 192 mg/L 11.2 gpg Very hard
- Lincoln, NE 192 mg/L 11.2 gpg Very hard
- Tampa, FL 220 mg/L 12.9 gpg Very hard
- Phoenix, AZ 237 mg/L 13.9 gpg Very hard
- Mesa, AZ 239.4 mg/L 14 gpg Very hard
- San Diego, CA 276 mg/L 16 gpg Very hard
- Las Vegas, NV 280 mg/L 16 gpg Very hard
- Chandler, AZ 282.2 mg/L 16.5 gpg Very hard
- San Antonio, TX 299.3 mg/L 17.5 gpg Very hard
- Anaheim, CA 300 mg/L 18 gpg Very hard
- Indianapolis, IN 317 mg/L 19 gpg Very hard
- Madison, WI 324.9 mg/L 19 gpg Very hard
- Scottsdale, AZ 352.5 mg/L 20.6 gpg Very hard
mg/L as calcium carbonate. Each classification band is drawn the same width, so the axis is not linear in mg/L.
Systems with similar published hardness
- Nashville, TN Metro Water Services, 77.3 mg/L (4.5 gpg)
- Fresno, CA City of Fresno Department of Public Utilities, 89.3 mg/L (5.2 gpg)
- Saint Paul, MN Saint Paul Regional Water Services, 90 mg/L (5.3 gpg)
- Austin, TX Austin Water, 93 mg/L (5.4 gpg)
All 44 verified systems How to find hardness in your own utility's report If you are on a well instead