Groundwork

Real estate · County · California

Real estate businesses in Contra Costa County, CA

How Contra Costa County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,930 of 2,229 scored counties
#40 of 55 scored counties in California

Listings
2,355
156 chain locations (7%)
Official establishments
1,382
+15.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$9.1B
On rent and homeowner costs · $22,069 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
90
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
56.8
48% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,170,070
+0.3% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Contra Costa County

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Contra Costa County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

For real estate businesses, Contra Costa County has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #1,930 of 2,229 scored counties and #40 of 55 scored counties in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Contra Costa County comes to about $9.1B a year: $22,069 per household, 32% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 10% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

Contra Costa County has 2,355 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 7% of them, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 56.8, 48% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Contra Costa County was 1,382 in 2023, up 15.6% from 2019. That is one for every 300 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 18 SBA-backed loans worth $2.9M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Contra Costa County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Contra Costa County grew 0.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Contra Costa County compares

The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Contra Costa County, CA compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureContra Costa CountyCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households56.849.038.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)9094100
Households per official establishment300293414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+15.6%+13.8%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.3%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$22,069$19,977$16,661
Median household income$127,229$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score3432

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,196 → 1,382+15.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
7,093
Annual payroll, 2023
$750.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
7,627Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,355156 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,111The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
18
Amount
$2.9M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Contra Costa County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Contra Costa County

Population, 2025 estimate
1,170,070+0.3% since 2020
Households
414,417
Median age
41.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
717 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,625
Median household income
$127,229+27.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$174,872
Median home value
$866,800
Jobs located here
382,994
Daytime population
1,022,844Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Contra Costa County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Contra Costa County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in California for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in California, with Contra Costa County marked.

Top counties in California

Counties in California ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Yuba County, CA853211.2359+8.2%#7 of 2,229
2Inyo County, CA721214.9270−4.4%#162 of 2,229
3Colusa County, CA671013.3301−0.1%#292 of 2,229
4Merced County, CA6421024.4157+5.1%#424 of 2,229
5Trinity County, CA631017.9203−2.3%#455 of 2,229
6Kings County, CA618519.3203+1.0%#540 of 2,229
7Glenn County, CA591717.3219−2.6%#610 of 2,229
8Tulare County, CA5634724.2163+2.4%#775 of 2,229
9Madera County, CA5613229.1140+7.4%#787 of 2,229
10San Joaquin County, CA5486835.4124+5.5%#882 of 2,229
40Contra Costa County, CA342,35556.890+0.3%#1,930 of 2,229

Other business types in Contra Costa County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Contra Costa County, CA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,355 real estate businesses in Contra Costa County. 156 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 1,382 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 15.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 7,627 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Contra Costa County, CA spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $9.1B a year, or $22,069 per household. That is 32% above the U.S. average (an index of 132, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 2,355 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 10% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 414,417 households in Contra Costa County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Contra Costa County, CA compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Contra Costa County has 56.8 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 48% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 90, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Contra Costa County would have about 2,111, against 2,355 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 300 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 15.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is Contra Costa County, CA growing?

Population estimates put Contra Costa County at 1,170,070 people in 2025, up 0.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 414,417 households. Median household income in Contra Costa County is $127,229, 58% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 27.6%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Contra Costa County scores 34 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #1,930 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Contra Costa County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Contra Costa County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Contra Costa County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Contra Costa County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.