Piedmont

The wealthiest city in Alameda County, Piedmont is small (1.7 square miles) with a tiny commercial area and a population of about 11,000. It boasts fine, expensive homes on manicured, tree-lined streets. The schools are among the highest-scoring in the state. Perched in the East Bay hills, Piedmont is very family oriented, with lots of sports and activity classes, especially for children. Piedmont has several parks and a community center. Dracena Park features a play structure and two sets of swings, a climbing wall, a waterfall faucet for the sand area, and a cement slide built into a grassy manmade hill. A commuter town, Piedmont relies on Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco for culture and entertainment. The commercial district in the center of town along Highland Avenue includes a gas station, three banks and a grocery store and cafe named Mulberry’s Market. A small number of commercial enterprises also line Grand Avenue near the southern Oakland border.