Town · Contra Costa County, California

Danville, California

Danville is a town in Contra Costa County, California, part of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area. It has 43,401 residents. Danville, California has a quality-of-life score of 71 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,615 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #192 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on median household income (high), child poverty rate (low) and adult smoking (low). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), home price to income ratio (high) and average commute time (high).

71High

Quality-of-life score: #4,615 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #192 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 43,401 (2020-2024)
Land area: 18 mi²
Density: 2,400.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 0617988

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety43#8,934/15,637
Economy92#1,321/15,631
Housing17#12,503/14,977
Health95#766/15,609
Healthcare92#1,222/15,650
Environment29#10,902/15,453
Education45#8,569/15,649
Infrastructure94#956/15,650
Community53#7,296/15,651
Leisure & amenities56#6,799/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Danville, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Contra Costa County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Median household income · high$232,216
99/100California $100,130United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Child poverty rate · low2.5%
99/100California 14.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Adult smoking · low6.5%
98/100California 12.6%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Drought exposure · low0%
98/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAContra Costa County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · high73.9%
98/100California 37.1%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Broadband subscriptions · high98.9%
98/100California 93.5%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high22.3×
2/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsContra Costa County value
Home price to income ratio · high7.2×
5/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Average commute time · high32.5 min
6/100California 28.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Natural hazard risk · high91.9
8/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyContra Costa County value
Social associations · low5.6 /10k
9/100California 6.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteContra Costa County value
Rent-burdened households · high54.6%
14/100California 55.3%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 3.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+318%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
41.1% (2015-2019) → 54.6% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$160,808 (2015-2019) → $232,216 (2020-2024)
+44%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.6% (2015-2019) → 32.3% (2020-2024)
+5.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
93.4% (2015-2019) → 98.9% (2020-2024)
+5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
68.5% (2015-2019) → 73.9% (2020-2024)
+5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Danville, California improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 7 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Household income+44%$160,808 → $232,216
Bachelor's++5.4 points68.5% → 73.9%
Broadband+5.5 points93.4% → 98.9%

Declined4

Unemployment+2.3 points3.4% → 5.6%
Rent burden+14 points41.1% → 54.6%
Rent / income+5.7 points26.6% → 32.3%
Transit use−3.2 points5.9% → 2.7%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Danville, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	33.3 min2015-2019	32.5 min2020-2024	−0.8 min	Within the margin of error	57%
Bachelor's degree or higher	68.5%2015-2019	73.9%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Improved	71%
Broadband subscriptions	93.4%2015-2019	98.9%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Improved	35%
Child poverty rate	2.7%2015-2019	2.5%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Effective property tax rate	0.78%2015-2019	0.70%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	32%
High school diploma or higher	98.3%2015-2019	97.9%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Home price to income ratio	6.8×2015-2019	7.2×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	51%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4452015-2019	0.4382020-2024	−0.008	Within the margin of error	57%
Median household income	$160,8082015-2019	$232,2162020-2024	+44%	Improved	79%
Poverty rate	3.4%2015-2019	3.8%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Public transit commuters	5.9%2015-2019	2.7%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Declined	10%
Rent as share of income	26.6%2015-2019	32.3%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Declined	20%
Rent-burdened households	41.1%2015-2019	54.6%2020-2024	+14 points	Declined	17%
Unemployment rate	3.4%2015-2019	5.6%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Declined	14%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.5%2015-2019	1.2%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	63%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Danville, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Danville, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Danville, California itself moved −6.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

43,401 residents (±79)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

15,545 households (±401)

Danville, California
California share

Under $25k5.1%798
$25k–50k4.2%†648
$50k–75k4.7%726

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

15,545 households (±401)

Danville, California
California share

Own85%13,286
Rent15%2,259

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

19,830 workers (±826)

Danville, California
California share

Drive alone53%10,439
Carpool4.2%†839
Public transit2.7%†537

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Contra Costa County, the county holding most of Danville's residents.

Contra Costa County has 25,932 employer establishments, 223 for every 10,000 residents (0.90× the US rate of 248; 0.85× California's), with 343,690 paid employees at an average annual pay of $81,636. The Census Bureau also counts 106,014 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 25,932; 106,014 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 223; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 343,690
Average annual pay: $81,636; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Contra Costa County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	2,480	21.3	1.02×About typical	29,672	$96,732	5,061
Restaurants and other eating places	1,977	17	0.93×About typical	32,379	$28,533	409
Lessors of real estate	1,625	14	1.14×About typical	6,259	$82,116	11,002
Specialty trade contractors	1,621	14	0.90×About typical	18,022	$94,438	3,963
Construction of buildings	1,092	9.4	1.24×About typical	7,353	$91,337	2,910
Management, scientific and technical consulting	1,050	9	1.35×More than typical	5,844	$108,221	5,664
Limited-service restaurants	843	7.3	0.90×About typical	13,597	$25,317	175
Full-service restaurants	798	6.9	0.89×About typical	14,325	$33,302	143
Services to buildings and dwellings	791	6.8	1.01×About typical	7,550	$50,853	5,818
Real estate agents and brokers	742	6.4	1.31×More than typical	1,706	$92,203	3,320
Offices of dentists	732	6.3	1.56×More than typical	4,713	$60,554	208
Offices of physicians	683	5.9	0.91×About typical	6,324	$132,792	832

Rank places for an industry Open Contra Costa County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 1,161,953 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Danville, California: $23.50 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1M; −47% vs FY2025
Per resident: $23.50; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

United States Mint$663.7K65%
Defense Logistics Agency$356.8K35%

Top recipients

CANAM MINERALS, INC.$356.3K35%
TEER COATINGS LIMITED$350.8K34%
YERBA BUENA ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC.$320.1K31%
MISCELLANEOUS FOREIGN AWARDEES$5,2340.5%
K5 DEFENSE LLC$4550.0%
SAFE RESTRAINTS, INC

Spending by fiscal year

1.5MFY2017
1.6MFY2018
1.9MFY2019
3.8MFY2020
2MFY2021
3.2MFY2022
1.8MFY2023
3.6M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing · 3279$356.3K35%
Coating, engraving, heat treating, and allied activities · 3328$350.8K34%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$307.7K30%
Metalworking machinery manufacturing · 3335$5,2340.5%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$4550.0%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Danville, California

PVD COATING SYSTEM REPLACEMENT$6.4M
TEER COATINGS LIMITED· Contra Costa County, CA· Other equipment & supplies· Sep 28, 2020 – Sep 22, 2026· 2031JG20C00009
SEISMIC PHASE 7$405.4K
PATRIOT CONSTRUCTION INC· Contra Costa County, CA· Construction & real property· Sep 25, 2024 – Nov 13, 2025· 2031JG24F00445
SF CATONING LINE ELECTRICAL SERVICES$215.3K
YERBA BUENA ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC.· Contra Costa County, CA· Construction & real property· Sep 11, 2026 – Sep 11, 2026· 2031JG26F00209
ABRASIVE GRIT

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Danville, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Danville, California's figures are part of those of Contra Costa County, CA ($781.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Danville is mostly in Contra Costa County.

See federal money in Contra Costa County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Danville, California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Adam B. SchiffD-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Contra Costa County67100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA83

Other cities and towns in Contra Costa County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0617988

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends