El Cerrito

El Cerrito sits wedged between hillside canyons and the bay shoreline, with the walkable El Cerrito Plaza serving as its social and commercial hub. The city was an early pioneer of curbside recycling in the 1970s, and that same quietly progressive streak still shapes its calm, civic-minded character today.

Two BART stations — El Cerrito Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte — give residents some of the easiest transit access in the East Bay, and the annual El Cerrito Free Folk Festival is a good snapshot of the town’s low-key, community-first personality. Hillside parks and easy access to the Bay Trail add to the appeal for anyone who wants nature close by without leaving the flatlands entirely.

Housing runs from mid-century homes and Craftsman bungalows in the flatlands to larger view properties in the hills, with newer transit-oriented developments clustered near the BART stations. It’s consistently a smaller, more affordable alternative to neighboring Berkeley and Albany — just a few minutes up the road, with many of the same walkable, small-city advantages.