Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 67/100
C+
Median home value$2,000,000+
San Jose $1,447,800
Median rent$3,501/mo
San Jose $2,840/mo
Cost-burdened households31%
San Jose 35%
Los Altos
Santa Clara County30,698 residents4 school districts
77
B
Suburbgrade score
1st of 16 San Jose suburbs. Strong on amenities and commute & transport, held back by employment & income.
77
San Jose median 68
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Los Altos yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 77 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 Los Altos is like to live in, by category
Bars show Los Altos against San Jose. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 82/100
B+
Within-state proficiency99th pct
San Jose median 87th pct
Student–teacher ratio18.9
San Jose median 21.4
Graduation rate93%
San Jose median 92%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 74/100
B
Housing cost index104
San Jose 100
Eff. tax rate0.65%
San Jose 0.68%
Local sales tax9.75%
San Jose median 9.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 84/100
A−
Mean commute22.3 min
San Jose 26.6 min
Under 30 minutes73%
San Jose 62%
Transit stops / sq mi8.4
San Jose median 10 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 91/100
A
Restaurants & cafés164
San Jose median 175 · within 2 miles
Groceries11
San Jose median 13 · within 2 miles
Parks121
San Jose median 113 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 63/100
C+
Median household income$250,000+
San Jose $162,111
Unemployment4.8%
San Jose 4.9%
Professional occupations86%
San Jose 58%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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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 Los Altos yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Los Altos on employment & income
Los Altos's weakest grade is C+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbEmploymentOverall
Mountain View2 mi from Los AltosB 74 B Cupertino4 mi from Los AltosB− 75 B Palo Alto3 mi from Los AltosB− 74 B Sunnyvale4 mi from Los AltosB− 73 B Saratoga8 mi from Los AltosC+ 71 B− Santa Clara7 mi from Los AltosC+ 70 B− Median household income: ACS 2020–24 · Unemployment: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Los Altos
Is Los Altos, CA a good place to live?
Los Altos scores 77 out of 100, 1st of 16 San Jose suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on employment & income. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Los Altos expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $2,000,000+, 38% above the San Jose median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.65%. $3,501/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Los Altos?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Los Altos sit at the 99th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 93% graduation rate and a 18.9 student–teacher ratio. Los Altos is served by Mountain View-Los Altos Union High, Los Altos Elementary, Fremont Union High School District and Cupertino Union. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Los Altos?
The mean commute is 22.3 min, with 73% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 39% working from home. Transit density is 8.4 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Los Altos?
Within two miles there are 11 groceries, 164 restaurants and cafés and 121 parks, which grades A on amenities.
Are the homes in Los Altos old or new?
The median home in Los Altos was built in 1964 — 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. 87% 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.