Elk Grove, CA's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Elk Grove in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 64.6% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Elk Grove.

Note the source: a satellite reading of upward light, not a visual Bortle scale reading. The two measure related but different things.

How far Elk Grove is from a meaningfully darker sky

West Sacramento, CA, about 13 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Elk Grove. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

West Sacramento, CA is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

How Elk Grove compares nationally

About 182,797 people live in Elk Grove, CA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Elk Grove places 2,059 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.