San Francisco / Richmond
Richmond has 115,505 residents (give or take 89) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19), about 3,845 people per square mile.
Richmond is about 40 miles from the Census center point for San Francisco in a straight line and covers 30.042 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Richmond that is 94801, 94803, 94804, 94805, 94806 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
3,845 people per square mile puts Richmond in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
Of the 40,806 occupied homes in Richmond, 65% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 28% with electricity and 2% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 65% of Richmond against electricity at 28%, and a cold-climate heat pump sized for this market replaces the gas system outright, so the usual quote is a whole-home install.
Richmond has about the Contra Costa County oil share of 0% and the same 28% electric share (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US06013, checked 2026-10-19).
Richmond has 42,509 housing units, 11% built before 1940 and 66% before 1980, with 13% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19).
Richmond has 7 points more pre-1940 homes than Contra Costa County as a whole (4%) and 6 points fewer homes built after 2000 than the county's 19% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US06013, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Richmond home was built in 1966 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 4.9 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19).
60% of Richmond homes are single-family detached, 12% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 19% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19).
45% of Richmond homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 60% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
Richmond has 7 points fewer detached houses than Contra Costa County overall (67%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US06013, checked 2026-10-19).
45% of Richmond homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19), so the market splits between resident-led jobs where the occupant picks the system and landlord-led jobs where they do not, and the rebate paperwork differs.
66% of Richmond homes were built before 1980 and only 13% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19), so most of the stock predates modern insulation codes; the installer's heat-loss calculation, not a square-footage rule, decides the tonnage.
No electric utility is on file for Richmond on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
LADWP Consumer Rebate Program heat pump HVAC, run by LADWP, is a live program for California addresses and publishes its terms without one headline figure (registry row 24 verified 2026-10-14, https://www.ladwp.com/residential-services/assistance-programs/consumer-rebate-program, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Richmond address before counting it. With 28% of Richmond homes already on electric heat and 67% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Median household income in Richmond is $95,391 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US0660620, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: 27F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Contra Costa County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 11 to 13 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That 27F figure is the Contra Costa County cold-day number a Richmond heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 27F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 65% of Richmond on gas and 28% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Richmond home has 4.9 rooms and was built around 1966, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Richmond. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Richmond yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.