The Central Contra Costa region

is the "heart" of Contra Costa County. Central County, as it is commonly referred to, has a strong, vital and diverse economy located in the Diablo Valley, at the base of 3,849 foot Mt Diablo; a 90,000 acre state park that includes some of the most beautiful and preserved open space in Northern California.

This panoramic image above shows Walnut Creek to the left, Pleasant Hill in left-center, with Concord and Martinez and the Carquinez Strait to the right. 
The photograph was taken from Mt. Diablo, looking to the North-West. 
A much larger image may be viewed by clicking on the photograph.

Contra Costa County’s administrative headquarters are in Martinez, so the strongest sector is public administration (26.3%). Other drivers of the economy include corporate headquarters; administrative and support services and waste management (11.3%); retail trade (9.1%). Significant employers include: Shell Martinez Refining, AT&T Services and Quest Diagnostics. Many are located in well designed business parks such as Contra Costa Center, Ellinwood and Shadelands in downtown Walnut Creek and Concord and the Hwy-4 Corridor in Martinez and Concord.

Education services contributes (9%), with Diablo Valley College, John F. Kennedy University, Chapman University and several K-12 California distinguished schools.

Healthcare is the fifth largest sector, with the John Muir/Mt. Diablo Regional Medical Centers, Kaiser Hospital and clinics, and Contra Costa Merithew Medical Center in Walnut Creek, Concord and Martinez providing state of the art medical services and professional opportunities.

The Region has 11.9% of the East Bay’s population; 13.4% of the single family and 13.1% of the multi-family housing units; 4.4% of the labor force; 4.3% of the jobs; and 11.4% of the taxable sales.

The East Central Region’s climate is warmer than the Northern Region’s but cooler than the North Eastern Region, with an annual average temperature of 57.6 degrees, a low of 28.4 and high of 108.8. Its total precipitation was 14.4 inches and the average humidity was 61.8% in 2008.