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California›Contra Costa County

East Richmond HeightsCA

3,109 residents make their home in this town in California.

Is East Richmond Heights a good place to live?

Good on most counts; one lags. It does especially well on health: residents are healthier than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Walkability is a strength too: it is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. What counts against it is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $915K, 6.7 years of the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too (D): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. The overall grade comes out at B, better than nearly three fifths of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 143rd of 841 in California. The biggest park or preserve is Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, at 30 acres.

Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap.

What makes East Richmond Heights stand out

Where East Richmond Heights beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.

A commuter town

99% of working residents leave East Richmond Heights for work

Where East Richmond Heights’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

18% → San Francisco San Francisco 18% 13% → Oakland Oakland 13% 12% → Berkeley Berkeley 12% 6% → Richmond Richmond 6% 3% → El Cerrito El Cerrito 3% 2% → San Rafael San Rafael 2% East Richmond Heights · 1% stay
179jobs based in East Richmond Heights
1%of working residents work in town
12 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

How East Richmond Heights grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far East Richmond Heights is from typical.

How grading works

Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for hazard risk (better than 8%), so the B overall blends very different results.

Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

How TownRatings grades towns →

EastRichmond1912
EastRichmond1912, 1912
East Richmond Heights’s story

East Richmond Heights in pictures

Census counts: 3,266 in 1990, 3,460 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 8 maps from 1895 on.

Explore the history →
Nearby attractions

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and 199 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around East Richmond Heights. Close and well known come first.

All 258 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Presidio of San Francisco: Robert Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0

Getting set up

Moving to East Richmond Heights: who provides what

East Richmond Heights is unincorporated, so Contra Costa County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterEBMUDNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesContra Costa CountyContra Costa County provides services here
SchoolsWest Contra Costa Unified School DistrictWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereContra Costa County Elections DivisionContra Costa County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2025
ZIP code9480594805 100%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in East Richmond Heights.

East Richmond Heights has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, has less no health insurance than most of California and sends most of its workers to San Francisco and beyond.

OutdoorsA

In East Richmond Heights, 8.6% of the land is conserved

There are 1.9 miles of trail across 2 parks and preserves. In East Richmond Heights, the trail network density is 3.2 miles per square mile, above both California’s towns (1.0) and U.S. towns (0.4).

#70for trails in CA
East Richmond HeightsCalifornia townsU.S. towns
Miles of trail per square mile3.2 miles per square mile1.00.4
Conserved land8.6%4.2%4.3%
8.6%
conserved · 32 of 370 acres
1.9 mi
of trails · 3.2 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Mira Vista School Park0.8 mi7
2. Wildcat Canyon Regional Park0.6 mi30

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

SchoolsC+

On state tests, East Richmond Heights’ schools trail 64% of California districts

The public schools here belong to the West Contra Costa Unified school district. Two of its 3 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Enrollment at East Richmond Heights’s public school: 510 students.

36%of CA districts it outscoresC+School Grade
SchoolLevelStudentsLetter
Mira Vista ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8Grades K–8510–
Arlington Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–12Grades K–1235–

NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation

HealthA

East Richmond Heights’ grade for health is an A

Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 4.7% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide. Against the 4,081 U.S. towns with household incomes like East Richmond Heights’s, it is healthier than 76%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.

Among adults in East Richmond Heights, 15% binge drink. 7.5% of East Richmond Heights adults smoke cigarettes, below both the California town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). The town does better than the California average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 2.

92%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
East Richmond HeightsCalifornia townsU.S. towns
Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES)14%17%17%
Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES)7.5%11%14%
Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES)11%14%14%
Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES)15%22%19%
32 measures vs. California
18 better12 too close to call2 worse
What stands outEast Richmond HeightsCA
Fewer uninsured adults4.7%10.6%
Fewer adults facing food insecurity8.2%17.9%
More adults who have had cancer9%6.4%
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Alta Bates Camp
6.7 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
86th
percentile among CA towns

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D

East Richmond Heights has a very high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from earthquakes

Paid flood insurance claims in East Richmond Heights since 2024: 3. Expected losses in East Richmond Heights break down as 68% from earthquakes and 30% from inland flooding.

88risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
88Very high riskLowerHigher
EarthquakesInland flooding
3
paid flood claims since 2024

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Work & commuteJobs & income grade A−

Most people working in East Richmond Heights commute elsewhere

East Richmond Heights has 179 jobs for its 1,622 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 37.1 minutes, against 28.7 across California.

East Richmond Heights’ average trip to work is 37 minutes. Most working residents leave East Richmond Heights for work: only 1% work in town. It had 179 jobs in 2023, down 29 from 2013. For residents in the town, the share who live below the poverty line is 5.3%.

1%work in town
East Richmond HeightsCalifornia townsU.S. towns
Average trip to work37 minutes28 minutes25 minutes
Median household income$135,000$95,000$80,000
Below the poverty line5.3%10%9.6%
Working residents who work in town0.9%6.6%8%

Where working residents work

In East Richmond Heights1%
San Francisco18%
Oakland13%
Berkeley12%
Richmond6%
12 mi
median commute distance
179
jobs based in East Richmond Heights
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
A+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

In East Richmond Heights, expect mild winters and pleasant summers

January nights average 42.1°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 75.5°.

The midsummer high in the town is 76°F. Snowfall is close to zero.

77°summer high
East Richmond HeightsCalifornia townsU.S. towns
July high76°F89°F85°F
January low42°F40°F22°F

Typical low → high °F

Winter43–58°
Spring48–66°
Summer54–76°
Fall51–71°
+1.5°
vs. the 20th-century average
77°
typical summer high

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

HousingCost of living grade C−

The median home in East Richmond Heights sells for about $1.05M

For East Richmond Heights, the rent at the middle of the market is $2,071 a month. In East Richmond Heights, 85% of households live in a home they own.

$1.05Mmedian sale price
East Richmond HeightsCalifornia townsU.S. towns
Households that own their home85%64%73%
Median rent$2,071 a month$1,895 a month$1,185 a month
2
homes sold in September

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about East Richmond Heights

17pages on East Richmond Heights
After high school

Colleges nearby

36 within 15 miles of the center of East Richmond Heights

About East Richmond Heights

Unincorporated community in California, United States

East Richmond Heights is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. Its population was 3,460 at the 2020 census.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
0.6 sq mi
Elevation
387 ft
Area code
510

East Richmond Heights’s neighbors

One town shares a border with East Richmond Heights.

Explore the map →
How the neighbors grade
TownCA rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
East Richmond Heights#143BC−—C+A
Richmond#605DC−DC+C+

East Richmond Heights reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare East Richmond Heights with a neighbor →

Questions about East Richmond Heights

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is East Richmond Heights, CA a good place to live?

For most people who can afford it, yes. East Richmond Heights grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #143 of 841 in California. It grades A for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.

Is East Richmond Heights, CA expensive?

Yes. The typical home is worth about $915,000, 20% above the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.