Walnut Creek, California
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Walnut Creek is a city in
Contra Costa County, California Contra Costa County (; ''Contra Costa'', Spanish for 'Opposite Coast') is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,165,927. Th ...
, United States, located in the
East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...
region of the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
, about east of the city of
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
. Walnut Creek has a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, is located at the junction of the highways from
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
and San Jose ( I-680) and San Francisco/Oakland ( SR-24), and is accessible by
BART Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...
. The city shares its borders with Clayton, Lafayette,
Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...
, Pleasant Hill, and Concord.


History

There are three bands of
Bay Miwok The Bay Miwok are a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok, a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people in Northern California who live in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County. They joined the Franciscan missi ...
Native Americans associated with the area of Walnut Creek (the stream for which the city is named):Forester, 2006.Milliken, 1995 the '' Saclan'', whose territory extended through the hills east of present-day cities of
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, Rossmoor, Lafayette, Moraga and Walnut Creek; the ''Volvon'' (also spelled Bolbon, Wolwon or Zuicun), who were near Mt. Diablo; and the ''Tactan'', located on the San Ramon Creek in present-day Danville and Walnut Creek. The city of Walnut Creek has developed within the earlier area of four extensive Mexican land grants. One of these land grantsmeasuring belonged to Juana Sanchez de Pacheco. The grant was called Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones, named after the principal waterway, ''Arroyo de las Nueces'' (Walnut Creek in English), and for the local group of Volvon indigenous Americans (also known as ''Bolbones'' in Spanish). The ''Arroyo de las Nueces'' was named for the local species of walnut tree, the California Walnut. The two grandsons of Sanchez de Pacheco inherited the thousands of acres of land. One, Ygnacio Sibrian, built the first roofed home in the valley in about 1850. As settlers from the United States arrived following US annexation of California after victory in the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
, a small settlement called "The Corners" emerged. It was named for the junction where roads met from the settlements of Pacheco and Lafayette. The intersection of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and North Main Street is now at this site. The first town settler was William Slusher, who built a dwelling on the bank of Walnut Creek, first called "Nuts Creek" by Americans in 1849. In 1855, Milo Hough of Lafayette built the hotel named "Walnut Creek House" in The Corners. A
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
shop and a store were soon established by settlers. In 1850 Hiram Penniman laid out the town site and realigned Main Street to what it is today. (Penniman also developed Shadelands Ranch.) In December 1862 a United States
Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
was established here, named "Walnut Creek". Pioneer Homer Shuey platted the downtown street patterns in 1871–1872 on a portion of one of his family's large cattle ranches. These streets have been maintained to the present. The arrival of
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
service in 1891 stimulated development of Walnut Creek. On October 21, 1914, the town and the surrounding area were incorporated as the 8th city in Contra Costa County. A branch line of the Southern Pacific ran through Walnut Creek until the late 1970s. Portions were adapted by
East Bay Regional Park District The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a Special-purpose district, special district operating in Alameda County, California, Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay (California), East Bay area of the San Fra ...
for the Iron Horse Trail, which is used by walkers, runners and bikers. The mainline of the Sacramento Northern Railway passed through Walnut Creek. Both railroads had stations here. Today, the of the
Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running to Antioch, and Oakland Airport Connecto ...
(BART) serves Walnut Creek with a
station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
adjacent to Highway 680. With the 1951 opening of the downtown Broadway Shopping Center (now Broadway Plaza), Contra Costa County's first major retail center, the city took off in a new direction. In the postwar period of suburban development, its population more than quadrupledfrom 2,460 in 1950 to 9,903 in 1960. Growth has accelerated since the late 20th century, with a population just over 70,000 according to the latest census.


Geography and climate

Walnut Creek is located at . Portions lie in both the
San Ramon Valley The San Ramon Valley is a valley and region in Contra Costa County and Alameda County, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Geography The valley is between the Oakland Hills on the west, and the Diablo R ...
and the Ygnacio Valley below the western slopes of
Mount Diablo Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton, California, Clayton and northeast of Danville, Califo ...
. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , 0.06 percent of which is water. Walnut Creekthe actual waterway that runs through the townhas been routed underneath downtown through a series of tunnels. These start at the southwest end of Macy's and end just southwest of Bar Camino Restaurant.


Neighborhoods

Walnut Creek consists of a bustling, upscale downtown with established neighborhoods in its surrounding areas. Neighborhoods range in affordability and feel, with some being exceptionally charming and tight-knit (e.g., Parkmead) while others are more rural and forested with homes on generous lots (e.g., Tice Valley). Not all neighborhoods are incorporated; there are many unincorporated areas that are serviced by Contra Costa County. A non-exhaustive list of neighborhoods in Walnut Creek include: * Castle Hill * Carriage Square * Diablo Shadows * Lakewood Area * Larkey Park (Median SFH sold price of $1,205,000 --- Feb 2022) * Livorna Estates * Northgate (Median SFH sold price of $1,762,500 --- Feb 2022) * Overlook * Parkmead * Rancho Paraiso (Median SFH sold price of $2,500,000 --- Feb 2022) * Rossmoor (A 55+ retirement community of approximately 10,000 residents) * Rudgear Estates * Saranap (Median SFH sold price of $1,900,000 --- Feb 2022) * Summit Ridge * Tice Valley (Median SFH sold price of $1,879,000 --- Feb 2022) * Walnut Heights (Median SFH sold price of $1,802,000 --- Feb 2022) * Walnut Knolls * Homestead * Creekside Depending on the neighborhood, homes can be assigned to schools in Lafayette, San Ramon Valley, Walnut Creek, or Mt. Diablo Unified School District.


Open space

Walnut Creek owns more open space per capita than any other community in the state of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. In 1974, Walnut Creek voters approved a $6.7million bond measure to acquire and protect open space: the city purchased of undeveloped hillsides, ridge lines, and park sites. Walnut Creek owns parts of Lime Ridge Open Space, Acalanes Ridge Open Space, Shell Ridge Open Space, and Sugarloaf Open Space. The East Bay Regional Park District operates Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, both of which are located in Walnut Creek.


Climate

Walnut Creek's warm summer
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Csb'') is typical of California's interior valleys. In summer, high pressure results in almost unbroken sunshine and virtually no precipitation. Days start out cool but quickly warm up, with high temperatures normally in the 80s Fahrenheit (27 to 32°C). Temperatures of or hotter occur numerous times during heatwaves, however. In the winter, the jet stream moves far enough south so that Pacific storms can reach Walnut Creek, bringing much-needed rainaverage annual rainfall approximates , with slight variations occurring in microclimates based on elevation and topography. During particularly cold storms, snow falls on the peak of nearby
Mount Diablo Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton, California, Clayton and northeast of Danville, Califo ...
, but snow in the valley floor is very rare. There are numerous clear, mild days in winter, often with morning frost. The climate allows for the successful cultivation of many plants and crops, being warm enough for citrus yet cold enough for apples. The Ruth Bancroft Garden is a renowned
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
that showcases the diversity of plants that can be successfully grown.


Public transit and bike trails

The city has two
Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running to Antioch, and Oakland Airport Connecto ...
(BART) stations – and (in the unincorporated area known as Contra Costa Centre Transit Village) – both served by the . Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (County Connection/CCCTA) provides bus service throughout Walnut Creek and Contra Costa County at a modest cost. County Connection also operates three free weekday shuttles within city limits: the Downtown Trolley/Route 4 loops from Walnut Creek BART to Broadway Plaza; Route 5 runs from Walnut Creek BART to Creekside; and Route 7, which runs from Pleasant Hill BART to Shadelands Business Park. Walnut Creek is transected by the Iron Horse Trail (running north–south) through its downtown, as well as the Contra Costa Canal Trail (running east–west) at the north end of the city. Both these trails, in addition to city bike lanes, make bicycle transportation feasible both for recreation and as an alternative commute.


Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Walnut Creek had a population of 70,127. The population density was . The racial makeup of Walnut Creek was 66.3%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 2.2%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.3% Native American, 16.7% Asian, 0.2%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 3.5% from other races, and 10.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.4% of the population. The census reported that 98.7% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.9% were institutionalized. There were 32,246 households, out of which 21.8% included children under the age of 18, 46.4% were married-couple households, 5.2% were
cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...
couple households, 32.8% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 36.6% of households were one person, and 22.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.15. There were 18,187
families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(56.4% of all households). The age distribution was 17.0% under the age of 18, 5.1% aged 18 to 24, 25.1% aged 25 to 44, 23.8% aged 45 to 64, and 29.1% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 47.5years. For every 100 females, there were 86.0 males. There were 34,251 housing units at an average density of , of which 32,246 (94.1%) were occupied. Of these, 64.3% were owner-occupied, and 35.7% were occupied by renters.


Government

City Council members are elected at-large to staggered, four-year terms, in elections held in even-numbered years. As of 2025, the current elected representatives are Cindy Darling (Mayor), Kevin Wilk (Mayor Pro Tem), Cindy Silva, Matt Francois and Craig DeVinney (Council members).


County, state, and federal representation

On the
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is the five-member governing body for Contra Costa County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region. Members of the Board of supervisors are elected ...
, Walnut Creek is split between Supervisorial District 2 and Supervisorial District 4, represented by Candace Andersen and Ken Carlson, respectively. In the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, Walnut Creek is split between and and in . In the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Walnut Creek is located in California's 10th congressional district, represented by . According to the
California Secretary of State The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's o ...
, as of February 10, 2019, Walnut Creek has 46,149 registered voters. Of those, 21,391 (46.4%) are registered Democrats, 10,708 (23.2%) are registered Republicans, and 12,147 (26.3%) have declined to state a political party.


Education


Public K–12

Walnut Creek residents attend schools in five public school districts. The Walnut Creek School District (K8) has five elementary schools, one magnet school (K–8), and one middle school in the city. Some residents are served by schools from the
Mount Diablo Unified School District Mount Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) is a public school district in Contra Costa County, California. It currently operates 29 elementary schools, 9 middle schools, and 5 high schools, with 7 alternative school An alternative schoo ...
(K12), the
Acalanes Union High School District Acalanes Union High School District is a public union high school district, high school district in Contra Costa County, located in the Bay Area of California. The district takes its name from Rancho Acalanes, an 1834 ranchos of California, Me ...
(912), the San Ramon Valley Unified School District (K12), and the Lafayette School District (K8). The Walnut Creek and Lafayette districts feed into Acalanes Union HSD. The following public schools are within the city limits of Walnut Creek: ; ;Walnut Creek School District * Buena Vista Elementary * Indian Valley Elementary * Murwood Elementary * Parkmead Elementary * Walnut Heights Elementary * Walnut Creek Intermediate * Tice Creek School ;Acalanes Union High School District * Las Lomas High School * Acalanes Center for Independent Study ; ;Mount Diablo Unified School District * Eagle Peak Montessori (charter elementary) * Bancroft Elementary * Valle Verde Elementary * Walnut Acres Elementary * Foothill Middle * Northgate High School


Private K–12

Walnut Creek is home to several private schools, including: * Berean Christian High School (Grades: 912) * Contra Costa Christian Schools (Grades: PK12) * Fusion Academy Walnut Creek (Grades: 612) * Garden Gate Montessori School (Grades: PKK) * North Creek Academy & Preschool (Grades: PK8) * Palmer School (Grades: K8) * St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception School (Grades: PK8) * The Seven Hills School (Grades: PK8) * Springfield Montessori School (Grades: PKK) * Walnut Creek Christian Academy (Grades: K8) * Wellspring Educational Services


Public libraries

The Walnut Creek Library and the Ygnacio Valley Library of the Contra Costa County Library are located in Walnut Creek.Ygnacio Valley Library
" Contra Costa County Library. Retrieved on April 1, 2010.
The Ygnacio Valley Branch, which opened in 1975, is also known as the Thurman G. Casey Memorial Library. Fundraising and other support is provided by the Walnut Creek Library Foundation. On February 26, 2008, the city demolished the Walnut Creek Library, that was built in 1961 at the southern end of Civic Park. Mayor Gwen Regalia hosted a groundbreaking on the same site for the new library on May 19, 2008. The new library, designed by Group4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc., has and an underground parking garage. Construction was completed in 2010 and the library was officially opened on July 17, 2010.


Economy

Companies based in Walnut Creek include Central Garden & Pet (makers of the AvoDerm, Amdro, Kaytee brands, among others), American Reprographics Company, CSE Insurance Group, Maximum Games, and the
PMI Group The PMI Group is a holding company whose primary subsidiary is the PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. (PMI). The company was founded in 1972 by Preston Martin and is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. PMI has a 50% equity ownership in CMG Mortga ...
.


Points of interest

* Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) * Bedford Art Gallery * Boundary Oak Golf Course * Broadway Plaza Shopping Center * Castle Rock Park * Civic Park, including seasonal outdoor skating rink * Heather Farm Park, including Gardens at Heather Farm and all-abilities playground * Howe Homestead Park * Lesher Center for the Arts * Lindsay Wildlife Museum * Mount Diablo State Park * Open space hiking/biking trails, including Acalanes, Lime Ridge, Shell Ridge (featuring Fossil Hill trail) * Old Borges Ranch * Ruth Bancroft Garden * St. Paul's Episcopal Church, featuring
Carpenter Gothic Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massin ...
chapel * Shadelands Ranch Museum * Walden Park Disc Golf Course * Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society


Media

Walnut Creek is served by the daily newspaper, ''The East Bay Times'' (formerly '' The Contra Costa Times''). The paper was originally run and owned by the Lesher family. Since the death of
Dean Lesher Dean Stanley Lesher (August 4, 1903 – May 13, 1993) was an American newspaper publisher, founder of the ''Contra Costa Times'' and the Contra Costa Newspapers chain. He was also a well-known philanthropist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Life ...
in 1993, the paper has had several owners. ''The Times'', as it is known, has a section called "The Walnut Creek Journal." Walnut Creek TV (WCTV) is the city's government-access television channel, covering local government and community events. WCTV is available in Walnut Creek on Comcast channel 28 (channel 26 in Rossmoor), Astound channel 29, AT&T U-verse channel 99 under the menu option "Walnut Creek Television", and on YouTube. Claycord.com is the widely read independent news and talk blog serving the greater Walnut Creek metropolitan area.


Notable events

The Walnut Creek Art & Wine Festival is an annual festival that usually takes place at Heather Farm Park on the first weekend of June. The festival includes visual and physical art vendors, wine tastings, food stalls and live music. It has free admission and has been held annually for over 40 years, recognized by the Contra Costa Times as "the East Bay’s Best Outdoor Festival" and winner of Walnut Creek Magazine's Best Community Event five times. The festival is held by The Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Bureau.


Notable people

* Jessica D. Aber (1981-2025), U. S. Attorney for Eastern Virginia * Arthur Adams, comics artist * Matt Anger, professional tennis player * Dan Ashley, journalist * Ruth Bancroft, gardener, landscape architect and creator of the Ruth Bancroft Garden * Jessica Bowman, actress, portrayed Colleen Cooper in '' Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' * Tom Candiotti,
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher * Richard Carlson, psychotherapist, author of ''Don't Sweat the Small Stuff'' * Curt Casali (born 1988), baseball catcher for the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
* Joyce Chin, comics artist * Dr. Alette Coble-Temple, Ms. Wheelchair America 2016, disability advocate * TJ Cox, congressman * Corey Duffel, professional skateboarder * Amit Elor (born 2004), 2024 Olympic champion and 8x world champion freestyle wrestler *
Kyle Gass Kyle Richard Gass (born July 14, 1960) is an American musician and actor, best known for being a member of Tenacious D, a Grammy-winning comedy band. He is also a member of Trainwreck and the Kyle Gass Band. Early life Kyle Richard Gass was ...
, guitarist for
Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles in 1994 by the actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Their music showcases Black's theatrical vocal delivery and Gass' acoustic guitar playing. Critics have described their fusion of ...
, attended Las Lomas High School *
Lee Goldberg Lee Goldberg is an American author, screenwriter, publisher and television producer, producer known for his bestselling novels ''Lost Hills'' and ''True Fiction'' and his work on a wide variety of TV crime series, including ''Diagnosis: Murder'' ...
, writer and television producer, graduated from Northgate High School (1980) * Mary Griffith, LGBTQ+ activist * Ella Halikas, model, body positivity activist, and social media influencer * Miles Hall, a 23 year-old African American unarmed man who was fatally shot by police officers from the Walnut Creek California Police Department * Dan Haren, MLB pitcher * Brandon Harkins, professional golfer * Jack Henderson, artist *
Marya Hornbacher Marya Justine Hornbacher (born April 4, 1974) is an American author and freelance journalist. Her book '' Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia'' is an autobiographical account of her struggle with eating disorders, written when she was twe ...
, author * Sabrina Ionescu, basketball player * Kristian Ipsen, diver, Olympic bronze medalist * Kyle Jensen, baseball player * Bessilyn Johnson, daughter of Hiram Penniman, Shadelands Ranch owner, resident of Scotty's Castle in Death Valley *
Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed, "the Big Unit," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizo ...
,
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
MLB pitcher * Persis Karim (b. 1962), poet, editor, educator; born in Walnut Creek * Matteo Jorgenson, professional cyclist *
Kira Kazantsev Kira Dixon (née Kazantsev; born July 20, 1991) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss America 2015 on September 14, 2014. She is the third consecutive Miss America winner from New York and had won the title of Miss New York on ...
, Miss America 2015 * Alexandra Killewald, professor of sociology at the
Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
* Richard L. Lieber, muscle physiologist * Hans Lineweaver (1907–2009), physical chemist known for popularizing the double-reciprocal plot, died in Walnut Creek at the age of 101 * Tosh Lupoi,
defensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...
for
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
* Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen, NBA player * John A. Nejedly (1914–2006), California State Senator * Kyle Newacheck, co-creator, co-star of
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
's '' Workaholics'' *
Jason Newsted Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam for the first five years of his career before ...
,
bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...
for
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
* Aaron Poreda (born 1986), MLB pitcher * Markie Post, television actress * A.J. Puckett, professional baseball pitcher in the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
organization * Jeff Richards, writer and featured performer on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'', 2001–2004 * Bill Rigney, MLB infielder, Angels' inaugural manager * Lester Rodney, journalist, civil rights activist * Katharine Ross, film actress, graduated from Las Lomas High School (1957) * Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' puppeteer *
Greg Sestero Greg Sestero (born July 15, 1978) is an American actor, filmmaker, model and author. He is best known for his role as Mark in the 2003 cult film ''The Room'', as well as for his well-received memoir '' The Disaster Artist'', detailing his experie ...
, actor, star of cult film ''
The Room ''The Room'' is a 2003 American independent romantic drama film written, directed, and produced by Tommy Wiseau, who also stars in the film alongside Juliette Danielle and Greg Sestero. Set in San Francisco, the film is centered around a ...
'', author of ''
The Disaster Artist ''The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made'' is a 2013 non-fiction book written by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, in which the former details the troubled development and production of the panned 2003 cult ...
'', born in Walnut Creek *
Justin Speier Justin James Speier (born November 6, 1973) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2009 for the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Colorado ...
, MLB pitcher * Joe Starkey, California Golden Bears and former San Francisco 49ers announcer * The Story So Far, pop punk band *
Christy Turlington Christy Nicole Turlington Burns ( Turlington; born January 2, 1969) is an American fashion model. She initially attracted fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a supermodel. She represented Calvin Klein's Eternity campaign in 1989 and aga ...
, supermodel, health activist *
Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician who is the drummer and a founding member of American heavy metal band Metallica. Along with James Hetfield, Ulrich has songwriting credits on almost all of the band's songs, and the ...
, drummer for
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
* Katie Volynets, professional tennis player * Joseph R. Walker, 19th-century wilderness explorer and scout * Johnny Weekly, MLB outfielder * Wayne A. Wiegand, library historian, author, academic * Sherri Youngward, Christian singer and songwriter


Sister cities

Walnut Creek has an active
Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the goal of facilitating partnerships between communities within the United States and other countries by establishing sister cities. Sister cities are agreements of ...
program with two sister cities. Schools in the city have a yearly student exchange with these cities. * Noceto, Italy *
Siófok Siófok (; ; ) is a town in Somogy County, Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton. It is the Somogy County#Municipalities, second largest municipality in Somogy County and the seat of Siófok District. It covers an area of about between Lak ...
, Hungary


See also

* Walnut Creek CDROM *
List of cities and towns in California California is a U.S. state, state located in the Western United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, most populous state and the List of U.S. states and territories by area, third largest by area after Alaska an ...
*
List of cities and towns in the San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a metropolitan region surrounding the San Francisco Bay estuary, estuaries in Northern California. According to the 2010 United States Census, the region has over 7.1 million inhabi ...


Notes


References


Further reading

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External links

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Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce
* The citywide newsletter i
Walnut Creek Spotlight
{{authority control 1849 establishments in California Cities in Contra Costa County, California Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1849