Concord

Concord is the largest city in Contra Costa County, and it has the range that comes with that — a downtown plaza with a summer concert series, two BART stations, an outdoor amphitheater up in the hills, and neighborhoods that vary a lot block to block. The original 1868 town square is still the center of it.

Why people move here

• Todos Santos Plaza anchors downtown: farmers market, summer concerts, and the restaurants that have grown up around the square.
• Two BART stations — the Concord station on Oakland Avenue and North Concord/Martinez — plus Highway 242 connecting I-680 to Highway 4.
• The Concord Pavilion, a hillside amphitheater designed by Frank Gehry, sits at the edge of Lime Ridge Open Space.
• More variety in housing than most of this valley, from post-war ranch streets near downtown to hillside construction on the Clayton side.

Neighborhoods

Todos Santos and the surrounding downtown grid hold the oldest housing. Ygnacio Valley runs southeast along the boulevard of the same name. Clayton Valley sits toward the Clayton line beneath the mountain, and Dana Estates is one of several established post-war areas on the west side.

Concord is Mt. Diablo Unified — the same district that reaches into Clayton, Pleasant Hill, and the Northgate part of Walnut Creek.