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Contra Costa Centre, California

Contra Costa Centre is an unincorporated community of about 6,900 people in Contra Costa County, California, in the Concord area. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, San Jose, is about 45 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Concord

Population
6,893
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$733,300
Contra Costa County prices up 0.2% since 2022
Household income
$121,313
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, San Francisco area
115.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
John Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek Campus
To San Jose
45 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 15.6% above the U.S. average in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary and 2 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Ygnacio Valley High, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byJohn Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek Campus is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Jose is about 45 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Contra Costa Centre meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Contra Costa Centre runs into the built-up area around Concord (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$733,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 0.2%Contra Costa County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,713 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$121,313U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
15%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,517 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
15%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
115.6U.S. average = 100 (the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 0.2% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area, not Contra Costa Centre alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
6,893The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
33.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
8%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
67%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%
College students
11%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Professional and business services (26%); schools, health care and social services (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
23%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: John Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek Campus, Walnut Creek, CA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Contra Costa Centre, run by Mt. Diablo Unified and Walnut Creek Elementary. The nearest public high school is Ygnacio Valley High, about 2 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
98%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
42°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
47 a year
Nights at or below freezing
4 a year
Rain and melted snow
17.7 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
93 feet

Weather station: Concord Wwtp (4 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Walnut Creek, San Jose.

Contra Costa County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • John Muir National Historic Site5 miles
  • Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site7 miles
  • Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial9 miles
  • Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park16 miles
  • Golden Gate National Recreation Area20 miles

Read about Contra Costa Centre's history on Wikipedia.

Know Contra Costa Centre?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Shell Ridge, CA (unincorporated)746 people, 2 miles
  • Acalanes Ridge, CA (unincorporated)1,006 people, 2 miles
  • North Gate, CA (unincorporated)806 people, 3 miles
  • Castle Hill, CA (unincorporated)1,026 people, 4 miles
  • Alhambra Valley, CA (unincorporated)979 people, 5 miles
  • Mountain View, CA (unincorporated)2,418 people, 7 miles
  • Clyde, CA (unincorporated)653 people, 7 miles
  • Diablo, CA (unincorporated)1,232 people, 8 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.