Charter train at Knightsen station, February 1968, 1968
Knightsen’s story
126 years in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1968.
- 1900Knightsen is settled
KnightsenCA
A town of 2,264, settled in 1900.
Population
2,264
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$953K
Census ACS
Household income
$177K
median
Median age
39.6
years
Jobs based here
261
A commuter town
Is Knightsen a good place to live?
The best of Knightsen’s subject grades is an A− for incomes; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. Knightsen’s mean commuting time is 44 minutes, above both California’s towns (28 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Among 848 California towns, just one has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Knightsen. Knightsen’s concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile, below both the California town median (1.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest park or preserve is Delta Access, at 631 acres. Knightsen has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A commuter town
100% of working residents leave Knightsen for work
Where Knightsen’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
261jobs based in Knightsen
0%of working residents work in town
24 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Knightsen grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Knightsen is from typical.
Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listDOpen →Jobs & incomeA−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $953K, 7 years of the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household incomeC−Open →SchoolsB+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.7 of 20; 6.7% of households have no car; 7.9% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →HealthKaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch 6.9 miles awayBOpen →
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 →
Getting set up
Moving to Knightsen: who provides what
Knightsen is unincorporated, so Contra Costa County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterKnightsen Community Water SystemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesContra Costa CountyContra Costa County provides services here
SchoolsLiberty Union High School DistrictKnightsen Elementary School District2 districts serve Knightsen; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
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.govWho runs elections hereContra Costa County Elections DivisionContra Costa County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2025
ZIP codes94513, 94548, 9456194513 66% · 94548 26% · 94561 8%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 Knightsen.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Knightsen has a very high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Since 2017, Knightsen has seen 2 flood insurance claims paid out. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 89% of U.S. communities. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2022. FEMA puts 52% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 42% to earthquakes.
89risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingEarthquakes
2
paid flood claims since 2017
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
SchoolsB+
Knightsen’s public schools outperform 68% of California districts
Its one school is below. Public schools: the Knightsen Elementary school district. Enrollment at the town’s public school: 316 students.
68%of CA districts it outscoresB+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knightsen ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 316 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A−
Most of Knightsen’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.4 jobs for each of them
Among residents in Knightsen, 3.8% live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Knightsen grew to 261 in 2023, 121 more than in 2013. The town’s income of the median household comes in at $177,000. The top destinations are Brentwood (9%), San Francisco (8%) and Concord (6%).
0%work in town
| Knightsen | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $177,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 10% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Knightsen0%
Brentwood9%
San Francisco8%
Concord6%
Walnut Creek5%
24 mi
median commute distance
261
jobs based in Knightsen
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
The climate in Knightsen brings mild winters and hot summers
Knightsen’s peak summer temperature is 91°F.
91°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter41–58°
Spring49–73°
Summer59–90°
Fall51–77°
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
91°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsC−
11.7% of the land in Knightsen is protected from building
0.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
11.7%conserved
11.7%
conserved · 631 of 5,378 acres
0.4 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Delta Access | — | 631 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HealthB
Knightsen is healthier than 58% of U.S. towns
In Knightsen, 71% of adults had a checkup this year. The town does better than the California average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 4. Among adults locally, 17% binge drink and 32% have obesity.
58%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Knightsen | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 29% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 36% | 33% |
32 measures vs. California
3 better25 too close to call4 worse
| What stands out | Knightsen | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.8% | 17.9% |
| Fewer adults lacking emotional support | 24% | 28.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.9% | 6.4% |
Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch
6.9 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
HousingCost of living grade C−
A larger share of households in Knightsen live in a home they own than in the typical California or U.S. town
$1.05Mmedian sale price
1
homes sold in May
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Nearby attractions
All 272 attractions →USS Hornet and 72 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Knightsen. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
16 mi MountainMount Diablo
34 mi Stadium & arenaOakland Arena
34 mi Stadium & arenaCalifornia Memorial Stadium
34 mi Theme parkSix Flags Discovery Kingdom
35 mi Theme parkChildren's FairylandSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Mount Diablo: Trurl66, Public domain · Oakland Arena: Mike Disharoon, CC BY-SA 2.0 · California Memorial Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Tinned Elk, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Children's Fairyland: Wordworking, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Keep exploring
Everything we know about Knightsen
17pages on Knightsen
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Knightsen
About 3 of every 100 Knightsen residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Knightsen
Place in California, United States
Knightsen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 1,596.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 30 ft
- ZIP code
- 94548
Knightsen’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Knightsen.
OakleyKnightsen
How the neighbors grade
Knightsen has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Knightsen reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Knightsen with a neighbor →
Questions about Knightsen
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Knightsen, CA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $953,000, 25% 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−.