Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 35/100
F
Median home value$909,500
San Jose $1,447,800
Median rent$2,389/mo
San Jose $2,840/mo
Cost-burdened households37%
San Jose 35%
Alum Rock
Santa Clara County10,440 residents2 school districts
52
D+
Suburbgrade score
14th of 16 San Jose suburbs. Strong on amenities and cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
52
San Jose median 68
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Alum Rock yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 52 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Alum Rock is like to live in, by category
Bars show Alum Rock against San Jose. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 37/100
F
Within-state proficiency23rd pct
San Jose median 87th pct
Student–teacher ratio20.6
San Jose median 21.4
Graduation rate88%
San Jose median 92%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 74/100
B
Housing cost index78
San Jose 100
Eff. tax rate0.66%
San Jose 0.68%
Local sales tax9.75%
San Jose median 9.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 51/100
D+
Mean commute27.9 min
San Jose 26.6 min
Under 30 minutes60%
San Jose 62%
Transit stops / sq mi10
San Jose median 10 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 84/100
A−
Restaurants & cafés104
San Jose median 175 · within 2 miles
Groceries13
San Jose median 13 · within 2 miles
Parks77
San Jose median 113 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 47/100
D
Median household income$126,705
San Jose $162,111
Unemployment4.5%
San Jose 4.9%
Professional occupations32%
San Jose 58%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Alum Rock yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Alum Rock on housing & affordability
Alum Rock's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Saratoga13 mi from Alum RockC+ 71 B− Los Altos15 mi from Alum RockC+ 77 B Cupertino13 mi from Alum RockC 75 B Los Gatos12 mi from Alum RockC 66 C+ Palo Alto18 mi from Alum RockC 74 B Sunnyvale11 mi from Alum RockD+ 73 B Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Alum Rock
Is Alum Rock, CA a good place to live?
Alum Rock scores 52 out of 100, 14th of 16 San Jose suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Alum Rock expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $909,500, 37% below the San Jose median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.66%. $2,389/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Alum Rock?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Alum Rock sit at the 23rd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 88% graduation rate and a 20.6 student–teacher ratio. Alum Rock is served by East Side Union High and Alum Rock Union Elementary. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Alum Rock?
The mean commute is 27.9 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 7.7% working from home. Transit density is 10 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Alum Rock?
Within two miles there are 13 groceries, 104 restaurants and cafés and 77 parks, which grades A− on amenities.
Are the homes in Alum Rock old or new?
The median home in Alum Rock was built in 1953 — older than the San Jose median of 1976. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 97% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.