Concord is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 123,261 in 2025, making it the tenth most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1869 as Todos Santos by Don Salvio Pacheco II, a noted Californio ranchero, the name was later changed to Concord. The city is a major regional suburban East Bay center within the San Francisco Bay Area, and is east of San Francisco.

The United States Census Bureau defines an urban area in the East Bay which is separated from the San Francisco–Oakland urban area and with Concord as the principal city: the Concord–Walnut Creek, CA urban area had a population of 538,583 as of the 2020 census, making it the 80th largest in the United States.

History

The valleys north of Mount Diablo were inhabited by the Miwok people, who hunted elk and fished in the numerous streams flowing from the mountain into the San Francisco Bay. Miwok and other indigenous people still live within city limits. In 1772, Spanish explorers began to cross the area but did not settle there. In 1834, the Mexican land grant Rancho Monte del Diablo at the base of Mount Diablo was granted to Salvio Pacheco (for whom the nearby town of Pacheco is named).

Concord was founded under the name of Todos Santos ("all saints"; a name still borne by the central city plaza and park between Willow Pass Road and Salvio Street), on the initiative of Pacheco in 1869. It achieved prominence in the 19th century, when most residents of Pacheco relocated to Concord to avoid the devastation of fire and flood which crippled Pacheco's formerly booming economy. Concord was incorporated on February 5, 1905.

The area around Concord in the surrounding Ygnacio and Clayton valleys was a large agricultural area. The crops grown included grapes, walnuts, almonds, wheat, hay, and even tomatoes. The area to the east (now the site of the Concord Naval Weapons Station) was the site of a few enormous wheat ranches of over , and was almost a sea of wheat all the way to the marshes bordering Suisun Bay. During Prohibition, many vineyards were removed and replaced with walnut orchards. The town of Cowell, now incorporated into Concord, produced cement.

The first Concord post office opened in 1872.

Port Chicago disaster

The munitions on board a Navy cargo ship exploded while being loaded during World War II, resulting in the largest number of casualties among African Americans in any one incident during that war. On the evening of July 17, 1944, a massive explosion instantly killed 320 sailors, merchant seamen, and civilians working at the pier. The blast was felt away. A subsequent refusal by 258 black sailors to load any more ammunition was the beginning of the Navy's largest-ever mutiny trial, in which 50 men were found guilty. Future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall sat in on most of the proceedings and declared that he saw a prejudiced court.

Geography

Concord is located at . It is northeast of San Francisco, northeast from Oakland, southwest of Sacramento, and north of San Jose.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

The focal point of downtown Concord is Todos Santos Plaza, which encompasses an entire city block and is known for its farmers market, free summer concerts, and large number of surrounding restaurants. Much of the area immediately around downtown has recently been redeveloped, with new high-density apartment and condominium projects to take advantage of the proximity to public transportation and to the area surrounding the park. Despite this, some crime and homelessness remain issues in the downtown area.

Concord is bordered on the west by Pleasant Hill and the unincorporated community of Pacheco, on the south by Walnut Creek, on the southeast by Clayton, on the northeast by Pittsburg and the unincorporated community of Bay Point, and on the north by the unincorporated community of Clyde. Although it shares no border with Concord, Martinez (the county seat) is located almost immediately adjacent to Concord on the northwest. The North Concord BART station is also known as Martinez BART.

Climate

Concord has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb), with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

Official data from the National Weather Service cooperative station in Concord shows average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . Average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . There are an average of 45.0 days with highs of or higher and 3.8 days with lows of or lower. The highest recorded temperature was on September 1, 2017. The lowest record temperature was on December 23, 1998.

Average annual precipitation is , falling on an average of 71 days annually. The wettest year was 1995, with and the driest year was 2007, with . The most rainfall in one month was in December 2005, which included the 24-hour maximum rainfall of on December 31.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Concord city, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)74,11961,41654,10460.86%50.31%43.14%Black or African American alone (NH)3,5303,9914,5322.90%3.27%3.61%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)5803662950.48%0.30%0.24%Asian alone (NH)11,26413,21918,4359.25%10.83%14.70%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)5517446440.45%0.61%0.51%Other Race alone (NH)3193258840.26%0.27%0.70%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)4,8574,6957,5633.99%3.85%6.03%Hispanic or Latino (any race)26,56037,31138,95321.81%30.57%31.06%Total121,780122,067125,410100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census The 2020 United States census reported that Concord had a population of 125,410. The population density was . The racial makeup of Concord was 47.7% White, 3.8% African American, 1.1% Native American, 15.0% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 17.0% from other races, and 14.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.1% of the population.

The census reported that 98.9% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.5% were institutionalized.

There were 45,800 households, out of which 31.5% included children under the age of 18, 49.0% were married-couple households, 7.4% were cohabiting couple households, 26.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.5% had a male householder with no partner present. 23.0% of households were one person, and 10.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.71. There were 31,500 families (68.8% of all households).

The age distribution was 20.7% under the age of 18, 7.7% aged 18 to 24, 29.3% aged 25 to 44, 26.1% aged 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.5years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males.

There were 47,597 housing units at an average density of , of which 45,800 (96.2%) were occupied. Of these, 59.1% were owner-occupied, and 40.9% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $109,195, and the per capita income was $49,514. About 6.0% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census The 2010 United States census reported that Concord had a population of 122,067. The population density was . The ethnic makeup of Concord was 78,767 (64.5%) White, 4,371 (3.6%) African American, 852 (0.7%) Native American, 13,538 (11.1%) Asian (4.4% Filipino, 2.4% Chinese, 1.3% Indian, 0.7% Vietnamese, 0.6% Japanese, 0.6% Korean), 816 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 15,969 (13.1%) from other ethnicities, and 7,754 (6.4%) from two or more ethnicities. Hispanic or Latino of any ethnicity were 37,311 persons (30.6%).

The Census reported that 121,020 people (99.1% of the population) lived in households, 512 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 535 (0.4%) were institutionalized.

There were 44,278 households, out of which 15,421 (34.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,725 (49.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 5,642 (12.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,707 (6.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,952 (6.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 512 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 10,406 households (23.5%) were made up of individuals, and 3,625 (8.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73. There were 30,074 families (67.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.22.

The population was spread out, with 28,000 people (22.9%) under the age of 18, 10,946 people (9.0%) aged 18 to 24, 35,834 people (29.4%) aged 25 to 44, 32,903 people (27.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 14,384 people (11.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males.

There were 47,125 housing units at an average density of , of which 44,278 were occupied, of which 27,069 (61.1%) were owner-occupied, and 17,209 (38.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%. 71,004 people (58.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 50,016 people (41.0%) lived in rental housing units.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Concord is in , and in .

Federally, Concord is in .

Politics In 2017, Concord had 65,061 registered voters with 31,759 (48.8%) registered as Democrats, 14,447 (22.2%) registered as Republicans, and 15,623 (24%) no party preference voters.

Economy

Concord has been primarily a bedroom community for San Francisco and Oakland over the last forty years, but during the last decades, jobs within the city have increased.City of Concord demographics . Accessed August 13, 2007 BevMo! is headquartered in Concord. Concord also has a strong retail sector including the Sunvalley Shopping Center, which used to be one of the 50 largest malls in the United States, auto dealerships, and Costco.Krebs, Brian. "Report Slams U.S. Host as Major Source of Badware ." The Washington Post. August 28, 2008. Retrieved on August 31, 2009. The city is also home to the last Sears in California and one of only 5 remaining in the United States, and the last Fuddruckers in California.

Top employers

According to the city's 2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees1John Muir Medical Center1,000 to 4,999 2Mt. Diablo Unified School District1,000 to 4,9993City of Concord500 to 9994PG&E500 to 9995County Connection 250 to 4996AssetMark250 to 4997Cerus Corporation250 to 4998Yard House250 to 4999Athens Administrators0 to 24910Swinerton0 to 249

Naval Weapons Station

To the north of the city of Concord is the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS), which was established in 1942. The station functioned as a World War II armament storage depot, supplying ships at Port Chicago. The CNWS supported war efforts during the Vietnam War and through the end of the Gulf War, processing and shipping out thousands of tons of material to Southeast Asia and the Middle East.