Roseville (formerly known as Roseville Junction, Junction, and Griders) is located in Placer County, California. Roseville is the county's largest city and part of the Sacremento metropolitan area. It's the third largest city in Greater Sacramento after Sacramento and Elk Grove. In recent years, Roseville has been consistently ranked as one of the top cities in the United States in which to live.

Population Growth

In 1870, while then known as Junction, Roseville had a population of only 115. By the turn of the century, Roseville grew to 400 people. Due to the growth in the railway industry in the town over the 10 years that followed, that 400 jumped significantly to 2,608 people.

This would continue somewhat consistently over the following decades during the decline of the town’s reliance of the railway industry. The evolving employment sectors until the 1980s saw an increase of more than an additional 20,000 people, the 1990s over 35,000 people, and the 2000s almost 40,000 people. This lead the population to stand at 24,347 people, 44,685 people, 79,921 people and 119,809 people in 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 respectively.

In the years following 2010 growth has slowed down considerably when compared to the previous 50 years of growth. As of 2019, the population stands at 135,000, a near 3,000% increase in the last almost 100 years, and a more than 5,000% increase since the time of the city’s incorporation in 1909. A recent report placed Roseville near the top of a report on California population growth with the county expected to add another 150,000 residents (https://www.rosevilletoday.com/news/roseville/roseville-and-rocklin-near-top-in-california-population-growth/) over the next 20 years.

The city of Roseville began as the stage coach station known as Griders. In 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad arrived in the region and met the California Central Railroad line at Griders. At this point the region became known as Junction, eventually being renamed Roseville. The town then became incorporated as a city in 1909 and expanded rapidly. For decades the city was a small railroad town. When WWII began, the rail yards became very busy and the region enjoyed a building boom.

During the growth of the air travel industry in the 1950s and the creation of the national Interstate Highway system, the prominence of the railroad industry started to shrink. Roseville moved into other employment sectors.

The following decades saw relatively large and steady population growth as various investments were made into the city. The population grew as major retailers and shopping centers moved into the area.