Parking at Sacramento International Airport is set to become significantly more expensive when the airport’s $390 million parking garage opens next month.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the new rates Tuesday. Travelers seeking the most convenient spaces closest to the terminals will face the sharpest increase.
The garage’s maximum daily rate will rise from $21 to $28, adding $7 to the cost of parking for a full day.
Daily lots within walking distance of the terminals will increase from $14 to $19. Economy parking will climb from $12 to $14 per day.
Those increases may be only the start.
Airport officials are also proposing additional $1-per-year increases from 2028 through 2031, potentially pushing Sacramento International Airport parking costs higher for several more years.
The question for travelers is why the rates are rising so sharply.
Airport officials said the additional revenue will help repay the $390 million in debt taken on to construct the new 5,500-space garage.
The higher parking fees will also support technology improvements, including a red-and-green lighting system intended to help drivers locate available spaces more quickly.
The new garage is scheduled to open Oct. 26, and the initial rate increases will take effect on the same day.
Even at $28 per day, Sacramento’s new garage rate remains below the cost of parking at some of California’s largest airports.
San Francisco International Airport charges as much as $39 per day in its domestic garage. At San Diego International Airport, parking in terminal plazas can cost up to $40 per day.
Los Angeles International Airport is even more expensive, with premium terminal parking reaching $70 per day.
The comparison is similar for economy parking. Sacramento’s new $14 daily rate will be lower than the $15 to $20 charged at San Diego, the $27 rate at San Francisco’s long-term economy garages and the $35 fee at LAX’s official economy lot.
County officials said Sacramento’s parking rates had not kept pace with inflation. The increases, they said, will bring airport parking prices closer to current market rates.
A staff report said SMF would still be cheaper than Bay Area airports and Reno even after the hikes, and would remain less expensive than downtown Sacramento parking garages.
