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Rankings / Routes / Los Angeles to Sacramento

2025 flights

Los Angeles to Sacramento

Between Los Angeles and Sacramento, 2.6 million passengers flew nonstop in 2025, on 29 thousand flights of about 379 miles and 1.0 hours in the air. The average passenger accounted for about 92 kg of CO2 from the fuel burned, from 57 kg on Frontier Airlines to 115 kg on SkyWest Airlines.

  • 92 kgCO2 per passenger, average
  • 379 milesabout 1.0 hours in the air
  • 2.6 millionpassengers in 2025
  • 67%of seats filled

CO2 per passenger, airline by airline

CO2 per passenger by airline, Los Angeles to SacramentoBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on each airline between Los Angeles and Sacramento in 2025.0255075100Frontier Airlines57 kgSouthwest Airlines88 kgSkyWest Airlines115 kg
CO2 per passenger by airline, Los Angeles to SacramentoBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on each airline between Los Angeles and Sacramento in 2025.050100Frontier Airlines57 kgSouthwest Airlines88 kgSkyWest Airlines115 kg
Kilograms of CO2 per passenger, one way, 2025. Fuel burned only. Less is better.
Los Angeles to Sacramento by airline, 2025
AirlineShare of passengersFlights (thousands)Main aircraftSeats per flightSeats filledkg CO2 per passenger
Southwest Airlines81%21.4Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737 MAX 815165%88
SkyWest Airlines16%7.3Embraer 1757377%115
Frontier Airlines2%0.3Airbus A320neo, Airbus A321neo20776%57

What explains the differences

It's number 40 of the 100 busiest city pairs by passengers, and number 93 for the lowest CO2 per mile flown (0.24 kg per passenger-mile, number 1 being the lowest). A typical route of 379 miles in this set comes out at about 75 kg, so this one is 22% above it.

The flights use more than one pair of airports: LAX to SMF (33%), BUR to SMF (18%), SNA to SMF (17%). The figures here cover all of them.

The airlines on this route differ by 100% per passenger. Frontier Airlines burned 919 gallons per flight and 156 passengers on each, and SkyWest Airlines 662 gallons and 56 passengers. The gap comes from how many passengers share each flight, not from fuel burned per flight. Frontier Airlines flew 76% full here against 77% for SkyWest Airlines, flying mostly Airbus A320neo against Embraer 175.

For comparison, the EPA default factor for a flight of this length (0.129 kg per passenger-mile) would give 49 kg. The EPA figure is a national average for flights of that length. The measured figure for this route is 88% higher.

2019 compared with 2025

In 2019 the route carried 3.3 million passengers on 34 thousand flights. In 2025 it carried 2.6 million, down 22%, on 29 thousand flights, down 13%. The average flight had 129 seats then and 132 now, and 77% of them were filled against 67%.

CO2 per passenger was 83 kg in 2019 and 92 kg in 2025, up 11.2%. Fuel burned per flight was down 0.7% (839 gallons to 833) and passengers per flight were down 10.7% (99 to 88). The distance flown was about the same (378 miles then, 379 now).

Southwest Airlines led in both years, with 80% of passengers in 2019 and 81% in 2025. SkyWest Airlines gained the most share, 4% to 16%. Frontier Airlines didn't have 1% of the passengers in 2019 and now carries 2%. Compass Airlines and JetBlue and Delta Air Lines no longer reach 1% of passengers, having had 16% in 2019.

Airline by airline, SkyWest Airlines went from 118 kg to 115 kg per passenger (61 seats per flight to 73, main aircraft Embraer 175 in both years); Southwest Airlines went from 78 kg to 88 kg per passenger (145 seats per flight to 151, main aircraft Boeing 737-700 in both years).

Los Angeles to Sacramento, 2019 and 2025
Measure20192025
Passengers (thousands)3,3322,593
Flights (thousands)33.729.3
Seats filled77%67%
Gallons of fuel per flight839833
kg CO2 per passenger8392
CO2 per passenger by airline, 2019 and 2025, Los Angeles to SacramentoBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on Los Angeles to Sacramento for each major airline in 2019 and in 2025.050100Southwest Airlines 201978 kgSouthwest Airlines 202588 kgSkyWest Airlines 2019118 kgSkyWest Airlines 2025115 kg
CO2 per passenger by airline, 2019 and 2025, Los Angeles to SacramentoBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on Los Angeles to Sacramento for each major airline in 2019 and in 2025.050100Southwest Airlines 201978 kgSouthwest Airlines 202588 kgSkyWest Airlines 2019118 kgSkyWest Airlines 2025115 kg
Kilograms of CO2 per passenger on the airlines that flew the route in both years. 2019 figures use that year's filings and estimated aircraft fuel rates, with type-average replacements for missing or outlying filings as described in the methodology. Less is better.

Los Angeles to Sacramento and back: time in the air

The time in the air is almost the same each way: 63 minutes on average from Los Angeles to Sacramento and 62 minutes back. A difference of 1 minute is within what routing and congestion alone produce.

Time in the air by direction, 2025
DirectionAverage minutes in the airFlights
Los Angeles to Sacramento63.014,659
Sacramento to Los Angeles62.014,687

Fly or drive

Driving is about 443 miles by road, which we estimate as 1.17 times the straight-line distance. An average car emits about 132 kg of CO2 on the trip, at the EPA figure of 0.297 kg per vehicle-mile. Alone, that's 43% more than the 92 kg for a passenger on the flight.

With 2 people in the car, driving comes out lower per person than the flight (66 kg each, and 33 kg each for four). A larger SUV or pickup (0.394 kg per mile) would emit about 175 kg per vehicle.

CO2 per person by way of travel, Los Angeles to SacramentoBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per person flying, driving or taking the train between Los Angeles and Sacramento.050100Flight, average92 kgCar, driver alone132 kgCar, 2 people66 kgCar, 4 people33 kg
CO2 per person by way of travel, Los Angeles to SacramentoBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per person flying, driving or taking the train between Los Angeles and Sacramento.050100Flight, average92 kgCar, driver alone132 kgCar, 2 people66 kgCar, 4 people33 kg
CO2 per person, Los Angeles to Sacramento. Driving figures divide one car's emissions between the people in it. See flying vs driving for other trip lengths.

Flights are listed under the airline that operates them, so regional flying appears under the regional. How the CO2 and drive figures are worked out is in the methodology.

Routes with shared cities or nearby CO2 per mile

Los Angeles to San Francisco75 kg CO2 per passenger over 337 milesLos Angeles to Las Vegas53 kg CO2 per passenger over 227 milesNew York to Los Angeles406 kg CO2 per passenger over 2,465 milesLos Angeles to Dallas-Fort Worth171 kg CO2 per passenger over 1,222 milesDallas-Fort Worth to San Antonio60 kg CO2 per passenger over 247 milesWashington, DC to Charlotte82 kg CO2 per passenger over 339 milesChicago to Minneapolis82 kg CO2 per passenger over 338 milesWashington, DC to Boston100 kg CO2 per passenger over 383 miles

Airports on this route: Los Angeles International Airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport, John Wayne Airport, Ontario International Airport.

Airport and airline references

Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), T-100 traffic and Schedule T-2 fuel filings; US EPA transport emission factors. See the methodology.

See all routes, or how the airlines compare overall on the airline pages.