Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been undergoing a shift towards a service and commercial economy since the 1970s. Richmond almost completely surrounds the city of San Pablo and the unincorporated areas of North Richmond, El Sobrante and East Richmond Heights. Along with some neighborhoods in Oakland, Richmond has a reputation for being one of the rougher parts of the Bay area.