BlockBefore

Richmond, California

40 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1895 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the West Contra Costa census division. It lies in ZIP code area 94801. The Survey maps it on the Richmond quadrangle. 116,448 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 46 feet above sea level.

Richmond within Contra Costa County

Then and now

1895 to 1995

The same ground, surveyed 100 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Richmond, surveyed 1995
Topographic sheet of Richmond, surveyed 1895

On record in Richmond

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 12 records

Population over time

3 figures

Richmond grew from 6,802 to 116,448 between 1910 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
19106,802
2010103,701
2020116,448+12,747 (+12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

19 surveys from 40 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

355 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 355 fires within 5 miles of Richmond between 1992 and 2020, burning about 250 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 48 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined238
Arson/incendiarism48
Misuse of fire by a minor24
Smoking20
Equipment and vehicle use15
Debris and open burning6
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara Unitnot named
7 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresSanta Clara UnitHALLOCK
4 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Contra Costa County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 33 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 33 workings within 5 miles of Richmond: 15 occurrences, 8 producers, 5 past producers, 5 prospects. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Manganese, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Blake Brothers QuarryStone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Blake Brothers San PabloStone, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceSand
PinoleDiatomiteProspect
Richmond MillLimestone, GeneralProducer
Unnamed LocationAsbestosOccurrence
United Materials and Richmond Pressed Brick Co.ClayProducer1907
UnknownMercuryOccurrence
Unnamed LocationMercuryProspect
Untd. Mtrls. & Rchmnd.Prssd.Brck.CoClayPast Producer
Red RockManganeseProducerMineral Paint, Psilomelane

Every working recorded in Contra Costa County

Storms near this place

6 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Richmond in 6 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 5 flood, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 1998Tornado (F0)Richmond$200,000no account filed
December 2025FloodRichmond-One foot of water was reported on westbound Interstate 580 just east of Canal Boulevard.
November 2025FloodRichmond-The on and offramps from Canal Boulevard to Interstate 580 were flooded.
February 2019FloodRichmond-On ramp from Canal Blvd to I-580 E flooded with 1-1.5 feet of water.
January 2018FloodEast Richmond-WB I80 at Macdonald, lane flooded.
February 2017FloodEast Richmond-One foot of water in Portrero on ramp to I80.

Every storm recorded in Contra Costa County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Nystrom Village0.8 miles40
Easter Hill Village0.9 miles40
Triangle Court1.0 miles40
Atchison Village1.3 miles40
Stege1.7 miles40
East Richmond1.8 miles40
San Pablo1.8 miles40
North Richmond1.9 miles40

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on RichmondAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q495377The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1659507. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.