8-K

                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                            Washington, D.C. 20549

                                   FORM 8-K

                                CURRENT REPORT

                      Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of

                      The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

      Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  October 13, 2000
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                           THE KEITH COMPANIES, INC.
                           -------------------------

            (Exact name of registrant as specified in its Charter)


        California                   000-26561                33-0203193
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(State or other jurisdiction        (Commission            (IRS Employer
      of incorporation)             File Number)         Identification No.)


    2955 Red Hill Avenue, Costa Mesa, California                     92626
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      (Address of principal executive offices)                     (Zip Code)

    Registrant's telephone number, including area code      (714) 540-0800
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         (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)


ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS

     Acquisition of Crosby Mead Benton & Associates.
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     On October 13, 2000, The Keith Companies, Inc., a California corporation
(the "Registrant") acquired all of the outstanding shares of common stock of
privately-held Crosby Mead Benton & Associates, a California corporation.  A
copy of the press release issued by the Registrant on October 16, 2000
concerning the foregoing transaction is filed as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is
incorporated herein by this reference.

ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

     Exhibits.
     --------

     99.1        Text of Press Release dated October 16, 2000.



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                                   SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


Date:  October 27, 2000      THE KEITH COMPANIES, INC.


                             By: /s/  Aram H. Keith
                                --------------------------------
                                Aram H. Keith
                                Chairman of the Board of Directors and
                                Chief Executive Officer



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EX-99.1

EXHIBIT 99.1

NEWS RELEASE

The Keith Companies, Inc. (Nasdaq: TKCI), an engineering and consulting services
company, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of privately held
southern California based Crosby Mead Benton & Associates (CMB).  CMB is an
engineering firm specializing in land development design, infrastructure design,
and landscape architecture that employs approximately 65 people mainly located
in Los Angeles and San Diego Counties.  Further details and value of the
transaction were not disclosed.

According to The Keith Companies Chairman and CEO Aram H. Keith, "The closing of
the CMB acquisition better positions the Company to capture a larger share of
the engineering and design work for master planned communities in southern
California.  There is an unprecedented number of residential and retirement
communities slated for development in southern California over the next decade
and we are actively scaling up our resources to meet this demand."

  About The Keith Companies

The Keith Companies, Inc., an infrastructure engineering and design company,
employs approximately 500 professionals and has seven offices throughout the
western United States.  The Keith Companies' professionals provide a wide
spectrum of skilled resources including land planning, engineering, surveying,
mapping, environmental, and water and cultural resources that are needed to
effectively plan, engineer and design state-of-the-art facilities.
Additionally, the Company provides mechanical, electrical, chemical, and other
industrial engineering services to design and improve the efficiency and
reliability of automated and manufacturing processes, production lines, and fire
protection systems.  The Keith Companies benefits from a diverse public and
private client base varying from residential, commercial, and real estate
projects to telecommunications, manufacturing, and processing facilities.  For
more information visit the Company's website at www.keithco.com.
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Any forward-looking statements made in this release represent management's best
judgment as to what may occur in the future.  The Company cautions that a
variety of factors, including but not limited to the following, could cause
business conditions and results to differ materially from what is contained in
forward-looking statements:  changes in the rate of economic growth in the
United States and other major international economies; the ability to
successfully implement our acquisition strategy; the ability to successfully
integrate an acquired company; the ability to retain and hire key personnel;
changes in investment by the energy, power, and environmental industries; the
uncertain timing of awards and contracts; the ability to obtain additional or
follow-on contracts; changes in the regulatory environment; changes in project
schedules; changes in trade, monetary, and fiscal policies world-wide; currency
fluctuations; and increasing competition by foreign and domestic companies and
other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

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