Concord, CA Economic Overview
Concord is located in Contra Costa County, in the San Francisco East Bay region, and is just 20 miles east of San Francisco. Home to nearly 129,000 residents, this 31-square-mile city is the largest city in a county of over 1 million people. The office market in Concord is driven by a combination of the city's enviable business and live-work environment, its ideal location relative to San Francisco, and its access to the entire Northern California region.
The City of Concord's location in the East Bay Area of San Francisco places it in the center of a major business and transportation hub. With a population of over 2.5 million people, the area is the most populous sub region in the Bay Area. The city offers easy access to the entire East Bay Region, along with a stable and safe business environment, with room for a growth and a high-quality of life for residents.
With a median household income of over $86,000 and an unemployment rate of just 5.3% the economy in Concord is growing annually and is home to both a well-educated work force and a diverse mix of business and industry. Concord has over 61,000 employees with an annual growth rate of nearly 2%.
Concord, CA Commercial Real Estate Market
Both owners and tenants of Concord commercial real estate benefit from the city's enviable location, Class A amenities, affordable space, and a thriving, forward-looking business community that attracts the top talent and innovative businesses in Concord.
Concord's geographic location within the East Bay Area is second to none. The city is linked to the entire San Francisco Bay Area by two BART stations that provide direct service to San Francisco, only 30 miles away. Concord also boasts prime access to the I-680 interstate freeway and State Routes 4 and 242, along with a local airport for private jet travel.
There is over 690,000 square feet of R&D space in Concord, 3.5 million square feet of Class A office space, and 5.8 million square feet of industrial space. Across all asset classes, commercial lease rates in Concord run 50% less than in neighboring Walnut Creek and 75% less than in San Francisco. There are also numerous build-to-suit opportunities in Concord.
A diverse variety of business and industry calls Concord home, including firms such as Fresenius, Conco, John Muir Health, and Wells Fargo. Honda chose the city to be the test site for its self-driving cars, and Cerus Corporation and Fresenius Medical Care have been achieving innovative breakthroughs in the health care industry. Other business and industry in Concord are focused on advanced manufacturing, life sciences and medical devices, research and development, and office and technology-oriented businesses.
The number of development projects underway in Concord is truly astounding. Among them are:
- The Concord Community Reuse Project, which is converting a 9 square mile area into a mixed use development of business, housing, community facilities, and recreational space;
- the Veranda Shopping Center of 375,000 square feet, located on Galaxy Way and Willow Way;
- the Carondelet Athletic and Fine Arts Complex, encompassing nearly 55,000 square feet, at Winton Drive and Treat Boulevard;
- the North Pointe V 46,000-square-foot industrial park building on Commercial Circle and Bates Avenue;
- the 230-million-square-foot Concord Village and Four Corners Residential projects, the first on Salvio Street and Willow Pass Road, and the later on Oak Grove Road and Monument Boulevard.
All asset classes of commercial investment real estate in Concord have seen significant increases in asking price over the past year, with the asking prices for multifamily property in Concord increasing by over 21%, office property in Concord gaining over 14%, asking prices for industrial property in Concord gaining over 15%, while retail property prices in the city have remained stable.
Concord, CA Office Rental Rates ($/SF/year)
Data provided by Yardi Matrix, for properties larger than 50K SF.
Concord, CA Office Sales
Data provided by Yardi Matrix, for properties larger than 50K SF, which sold at over $5M.
Concord, CA Commercial Inventory Breakdown
Office Spaces
Total: 5,578,338 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 1,185,731 SF / 21.26% of total office
- 100k to 500k SF: 3,592,607 SF / 64.4% of total office
- 500k to 1M SF: 800,000 SF / 14.34% of total office
By class:
- Class A: 832,990 SF / 14.93% of total office
- Class B: 3,745,647 SF / 67.15% of total office
- Class C: 199,701 SF / 3.58% of total office
Industrial
Total: 2,452,393 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 1,156,433 SF / 47.16% of total industrial
- 100k to 500k SF: 1,295,960 SF / 52.84% of total industrial
By class:
- Class A: 1,283,846 SF / 52.35% of total industrial
- Class B: 942,587 SF / 38.44% of total industrial
Office Spaces with Retail
Total: 4,122,385 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 1,251,256 SF / 30.35% of total office with retail
- 100k to 500k SF: 1,551,129 SF / 37.63% of total office with retail
- > 1M SF: 1,320,000 SF / 32.02% of total office with retail
Employment in Concord, CA
Job growth in Concord has increased by over 1% this past year, with employment expected to continue increasing by over 2% per annum over the next several years. Nearly 44% of the labor force in Concord works in management, business & financial operations, administration, education & training, and sales.
Concord is home to the back-office operations of Chevron and Bank of America, and the city has a strong retail sector including major shopping areas, auto dealerships, Costco and Fry's Electronics. Major employers in Concord include the Mount Diablo Unified School District, Wells Fargo Credit Center, Chevron, PG&E, Bank of America Technology Center, John Muir Medical Center, The Conco Companies, Safeway, and Adecco Employment Services.
Education in Concord, CA
Public schools in Concord are operated by the Mount Diablo Unified School District. There are numerous elementary schools, nine middle schools including the Sequoia magnet middle school, and five high schools. There are also a number of alternative schools in Concord including Crossroads and Gateway NSHS, Diablo Day School, Shadelands pre-school, and the Transitional Learning Center.
California State University - East Bay has a campus in Concord. Because of its proximity to the metropolitan areas of Oakland and San Francisco, students in Concord also have wide access to the universities and colleges of the entire Bay Area, including ITT Technical Institute in Oakland, Heald College in Hayward, Mills College, Holy Names University, California College of the Arts, University of California at Berkeley, and Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Commuting Time in Concord, CA
The average commuting time in Concord is over 31 minutes, longer than the average for the State of California and for the San Francisco - Oakland - Hayward metropolitan area. In addition, over 4% of the workforce has a super commute of 90 minutes or more, while nearly 11% of the work-week commuters choose to carpool and 10% use some form of public mass transit.
The City of Concord is just 41 minutes from San Francisco, 35 minutes from the University of California at Berkeley, 31 minutes from Downtown Oakland, and 33 minutes from Pleasanton and Bishop Ranch, all via BART.
- The I-680 and State Routes 4 and 242 provide Concord with major land transportation routes.
- BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, has two stations in Concord.
- Bus service in Concord runs throughout the city and directly to the BART stations.
- Amtrak provides rail service in Concord through the station just 8 miles from the city's downtown.
- Commercial airports serving Concord are the local Buchanan Field, Oakland International Airport and the San Francisco International Airport.
Concord Demographics
Population
- Total Population129,183
- Male Population(49.7 %) 64,147
- Female Population(50.3 %) 65,036
- Median Age38.90
Income/Financial
- Average Household Income$107,208
- Median Household Income$89,564
- Median Income Under 25$54,792
- Median Income 25-44$92,850
- Median Income 45-64$102,204
- Median Income Over 65$66,239