Census-designated place · Contra Costa County, California

Kensington, California

Kensington is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, part of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area. It has 5,179 residents. Kensington, California has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,935 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #213 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on adult smoking (low), food insecurity (low) and bachelor's degree or higher (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), home price to income ratio (high) and natural hazard risk (high).

68High

Quality-of-life score: #4,935 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #213 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 5,179 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 5,374.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 0638086

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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
Economy90#1,569/15,631
Housing6#14,070/14,977
Health96#635/15,609
Healthcare92#1,302/15,650
Environment29#10,902/15,453
Education41#9,206/15,649
Infrastructure95#725/15,650
Community56#6,926/15,651
Leisure & amenities56#6,799/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Kensington, 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

Adult smoking · low5.4%
100/100California 12.6%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · low5.4%
100/100California 18.5%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Bachelor's degree or higher · high83.8%
100/100California 37.1%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Median household income · high$237,130
99/100California $100,130United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Physical inactivity · low13.4%
98/100California 23.5%United States 26.5%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

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 · high6.5×
7/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
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
Average commute time · high32.7 min
11/100California 28.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent-burdened households · high53.3%
12/100California 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.

Public transit commutersWorsening
19.9% (2015-2019) → 7.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Median household incomeImproving
$146,563 (2015-2019) → $237,130 (2020-2024)
+62%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
46.2% (2015-2019) → 53.3% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.7% (2015-2019) → 30.7% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Unemployment rateWorsening
4.4% (2015-2019) → 7.6% (2020-2024)
+3.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.482 (2015-2019) → 0.413 (2020-2024)
−14%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

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, Kensington, California improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved2

Household income+62%$146,563 → $237,130
Inequality−0.0690.482 → 0.413

Declined1

Transit use−13 points19.9% → 7.0%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Kensington, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	37.7 min2015-2019	32.7 min2020-2024	−5.0 min	Within the margin of error	90%
Bachelor's degree or higher	85.3%2015-2019	83.8%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Broadband subscriptions	95.0%2015-2019	97.8%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Effective property tax rate	0.80%2015-2019	0.78%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	20%
High school diploma or higher	98.6%2015-2019	99.6%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Home price to income ratio	6.4×2015-2019	6.5×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	77%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4822015-2019	0.4132020-2024	−0.069	Improved	90%
Median household income	$146,5632015-2019	$237,1302020-2024	+62%	Improved	91%
Poverty rate	5.4%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Public transit commuters	19.9%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	−13 points	Declined	1%
Rent-burdened households	46.2%2015-2019	53.3%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Unemployment rate	4.4%2015-2019	7.6%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	9%

“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 Kensington, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kensington, 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, Kensington, California itself moved +2.9 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

5,179 residents (±475)

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

2,144 households (±128)

Kensington, California
California share

Under $25k5.6%†120
$25k–50k3.0%†64
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,144 households (±128)

Kensington, California
California share

Own87%1,861
Rent13%†283

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,538 workers (±269)

Kensington, California
California share

Drive alone28%705
Carpool5.4%†136
Public transit7.0%†177

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 Kensington'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 $10.9K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Kensington, California: $2.11 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $10.9K; −82% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.11; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; 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

Federal Bureau of Investigation$10.9K100%

Top recipients

SHELDON ZEDECK$10.9K100%
TERRAFUSE INC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

39.7KFY2017
-2.6KFY2018
32KFY2020
138KFY2021
-1KFY2022
1.2MFY2023
94.3KFY2024
61.4KFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$10.9K100%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Kensington, California

SBIR PHASE II IGNITE - WILDFIRE MITIGATION THROUGH EXPLAINABLE RISK PREDICTIONS$850K
TERRAFUSE INC· Contra Costa County, CA· Research & development· Sep 29, 2023 – Aug 11, 2026· 80NSSC23CA189

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 Kensington, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Kensington, California's figures are part of those of Contra Costa County, CA ($781.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Kensington 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.

Kensington, 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
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/0638086

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends