If you actually want to live in downtown sacramento the best area is Eastern Sacramento, the houses are really nice and the neighborhoods are clean i have many friends that live over there. If you are looking for a suburb of sacramento it all depends on how much you can afford, Folsom is really good area but if you can afford it there is El Dorado Hills which isn t even in sacramento county but its still really nice up the hill a few mins.
Northern Sac is probably the best. It s very clean, new, and peacful. Apartments would be great in North Highlands.