Increased population has led to the growth of large edge cities such as Alameda, Concord, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek.

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake saw a large number of refugees flee to the relatively undamaged East Bay, and the region continued to grow rapidly.

The addition of the BART commuter rail system in 1972 further encouraged development in increasingly far-flung regions of the East Bay.

Today, the valleys east of the Berkeley Hills contain large affluent suburban communities such as Walnut Creek, San Ramon and Pleasanton.

[4] Beyond the borders of Alameda County, the large population of Tracy is connected as a bedroom community housing commuters traveling to or through the East Bay.

Except for some hills and ridges which exist as parklands or undeveloped land, and some farmland in eastern Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, the East Bay is highly urbanized.

In the inland valleys on the east side of the Berkeley Hills, the land is mostly developed, particularly on the eastern fringe of Contra Costa county and the Tri-Valley area.

The East Bay is the birthplace of many musical acts, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Country Joe and the Fish.

Counting Crows, Yesterday and Today, Digital Underground, Green Day, Operation Ivy, Primus, Rancid, Set Your Goals, Tower of Power (whose debut album is titled East Bay Grease), The Pointer Sisters, MC Hammer, Tony!

Toné!, Tupac Shakur, Too Short, Spice 1, en Vogue, Pete Escovedo and Sheila E, Keyshia Cole, and Mac Dre.

The region is a major center for the development of rock, folk, funk, jazz, hip hop, soul and women's music.

[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] The East Bay is home to many of the restaurants central to the creation of California cuisine, including Chez Panisse.

Today, Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) operates commuter rail services through Niles Canyon to San Jose.

When the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936, Key System cars could make the trip directly to the Transbay Terminal across the lower deck.

Along with the county governments of Alameda and Contra Costa, the largest employers are: Other major companies with headquarters in the East Bay include 10x Genomics, 24 Hour Fitness, Alibris, ANG Newspapers, Clif Bar, Clorox, Columbus Salame, Dreyer's, Ellie Mae, GE Digital, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Gillig Corporation, LeapFrog, Peet's Coffee, Pixar Animation Studios, Ross Stores and Workday.

The East Bay is served by a number of both public and private higher education institutions: Colleges Universities