Contra Costa County is located in the Bay Area region of California and is considered an East Bay region. It was one of the original 27 counties created in 1850 when California became a state. The county's population is made up of 614,512 (58.6%) white people, 97,161 (9.3%) African Americans, 6,122 (0.6%) Native Americans, 151,469 (14.4%) Asians (4.6% Filipino, 3.8% Chinese, 2.1% Indian), 4,845 (0.5%) Pacific Islanders, 112,691 (10.7%) from other races and 62,225 (5.9%) from two or more races. Democrats have a strong advantage in voter registration numbers in all political subdivisions of Contra Costa County. The expansion of suburban areas was due to the flight of whites from the decaying areas of Alameda County and the consolidated city-county of San Francisco as well as the post-war birth boom which generated demand for three- and four-bedroom homes with large patios that were unaffordable or unavailable in traditional Bay Area cities. Before 1903, most trips to central Contra Costa County were made by boat or train to Martinez on the north coast and from there to the industrial areas of the east along the coast as well as to the agricultural regions of the south.
The county's central cities have created their own suburbs within the county which extend eastward along the county's northern estuarine coast; the former Bay Point and Pittsburg development areas have been augmented by extensive development in Antioch, Oakley and Brentwood. Since 2003, four Indian gambling casinos have been proposed in Richmond and surrounding western Contra Costa County. The Contra Costa Canal, a fenced and concrete-lined irrigation canal still runs through the center of the county and provides water suitable for industrial and agricultural use to farms and industry. Land titles in Contra Costa County can be attributed to several subdivisions of a few original land grants. Between 1836 and 1846 during the time when California was an independent province of Mexico, 15 land grants were granted in Contra Costa County. In 1937, the Caldecott two-hole road vehicle tunnel was completed making the interior of Contra Costa County much more accessible. So how many cities are there in this Californian county? As an expert SEO, I can tell you that there are 19 incorporated cities in Contra Costa County: Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Danville, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, San Pablo, San Ramon and Walnut Creek.
