Research Facts & Figures > Area Descriptions > Market Regions > Northern Region
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Albany Hercules Pinole Richmond |
The Northern Region is
characterized by miles and miles of shoreline,
beginning with the San Francisco Bay to the west,
San Pablo Bay to the north and to the east, the
Carquinez Strait - a narrow gap in the Coast Range
that led to the formation of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin River Delta.
Panoramic view of the
Northern shore
(Piedmont, El Cerrito, and Richmond to the
right, Pinole, center and Hercules to the left).
All of these cities can be seen in the larger image that can
be viewed by clicking on the image above.
The photo was taken from across the Carquinez Strait.
The San Pablo Bay is a favored saltwater, recreational fishing destination and is also a popular, primary wintering stop and migratory staging ground for numerous species of waterfowl. The San Francisco Bay shoreline (with stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Treasure Island to the west) is connected via the San Rafael Bridge to the Napa Valley. The Carquinez Strait is spanned by two bridges that link the Region to Sacramento (the State Capital) and I-5 North.
In 2010, the Northern Region had 8.6% of the East Bay’s population; 9.6% of the labor force; an unemployment rate of 13.2%; 5.7% of the jobs; 5.9% of the businesses; and 6.8% of the taxable sales. It also had 9.6% of the single family and 7.7% of the multi-family housing units in the East Bay.
The majority of the jobs in this region are in the trade, transportation and utilities industry, which includes 12,179 jobs and 21.4% of the businesses in the area. But manufacturing had the most sales (over $4.5 billion) and the second most businesses (14.4%) and jobs (8,096). This is not surprising due to the Region’s location and transportation infrastructure that includes Richmond’s seaport that supports international trade. Educational and health services were third strongest industry, with 116 organizations (10.8%) that supported 6,008 jobs.
Significant employers include: West Contra Costa Unified School District, California Department of Health and Human Services Agency, Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Bayer Healthcare, DiCon Fiberoptics Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
The Region’s long shoreline contributes significantly to making it the “coolest” in the East Bay, with the lowest annual average temperature of 56.2 degrees. Its high temperature of 95 degrees was second lowest in the East Bay. The Region also received the most precipitation - a total of 36.4 inches of rain in 2010 (compared to the previous 11 year average of 22.46 inches per year) that fell during 17% of the days. It actually had the fewest days with fog (12%).
Western Contra Costa County Business Dynamics - Additional Research from "Building on our Assets" Study 2011
Subarea Land Use Analysis - BOOA Study 2011 (Sub-Regions do not match exactly the Market subregions, but comprehensive analysis can be very useful) - Analysis of land use patterns in the East Bay Region based on available data from CB Richard Ellis on four major employment-based land uses: office, manufacturing, industrial warehouse, and R&D.