Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Los Altos grades A overall, 10th among California's 841 graded towns. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates. Its public schools are among the best in California and the median household earns $250K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $4.6 million, 28.3 years of the San Jose metro’s $162K median household income. 88% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Los Altos, against 29% in California’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Los Altos is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. Among 613 California towns, just 4 have a higher typical home value than Los Altos.
Where Los Altos beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Los Altos | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.5% | 10.6% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bullis Charter | K–8 | 997 |
| Montclaire Elementary | K–5 | 442 |
| Covington Elementary | K–6 | 404 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Los Altos is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 19,696 in 1960, 31,625 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2020 and 7 maps from 1897 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Los Altos. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw7 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
Big draw36 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw30 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
3 mi MuseumComputer History Museum
11 mi Stadium & arenaSAP CenterLevi's Stadium: Matthew Roth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · California's Great America: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Computer History Museum: Dzou, CC BY-SA 3.0 · SAP Center: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Los Altos, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Los Altos.
Los Altos fares better on crime within California than nationally, has schools in the top 5% of California and has less no health insurance than most of California.
At 28.3 years of the San Jose metro’s $162K median household income, the typical home (about $4.59M) costs more against local pay than in 98% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Home values rose 28% in five years, to about $4.59M, against 13% across California.
Los Altos’ median rent is $3,501 a month. Typical home values rose 8.4% in the year to September 2026. 82% of Los Altos households own their home.
| Los Altos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #2 of the 847 California towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $4.59M.
Three of its 17 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bullis CharterLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 997 | A+ |
| Los Altos HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,170 | A+ |
| Montclaire ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 442 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 2.5% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide. Against the 436 U.S. towns with household incomes like Los Altos’s, it is healthier than 72%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
11% of adults report frequent mental distress in Los Altos. Only 6 of the 847 California towns we compare have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Los Altos. 8.7% of adults report frequent physical distress in Los Altos.
| Los Altos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 29% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Los Altos | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.5% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.8% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 91% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Los Altos.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Los Altos has mild winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. The July high in Los Altos is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 90% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 338 to 325 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Only 6 of the 437 California towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Los Altos. Los Altos reports less crime per resident than 63% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade.
| Los Altos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.2 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Los Altos has about as many jobs (11,052) as working residents, but only 625 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 22.3 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Most working residents leave Los Altos for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Los Altos grew to 11,052 in 2023, 2,141 more than in 2013. The top destinations are San Jose (11%), Mountain View (10%) and Sunnyvale (8%).
| Los Altos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 39% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $250,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.2% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Los Altos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.7% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Redwood Grove Nature Preserve | 0.4 mi | 6 |
| 2. Rosita Park | 0.1 mi | 5 |
| 3. Grant Park | 0.1 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
20 within 15 miles of the center of Los Altos
About 7 of every 100 Los Altos residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
7 notable people were born in Los Altos.
City in California, United States
Los Altos ( ; Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 census. Most of the city's growth took place between 1950 and 1980. Originally an agricultural town with many summer cottages and apricot orchards, Los Altos is a bedroom community on the western edge of Silicon Valley, serving as a major source of commuters to other parts of Silicon Valley. Los Altos strictly limits commercial zones to the downtown area and small shopping and office parks lining Foothill Expressway and El Camino Real.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Los Altos.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Altos | #10 | A | D− | B | A+ | A+ |
| Palo Alto | #112 | B+ | D− | C− | A+ | A+ |
| Los Altos Hills | #5 | A | D− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Loyola | #78 | B+ | D− | — | A+ | A+ |
| Mountain View | #113 | B+ | D− | C− | A | A+ |
| Sunnyvale | #82 | B+ | D | C | A | A+ |
| Cupertino | #26 | A− | D | B− | A+ | A+ |
Loyola reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Los Altos with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Los Altos grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #10 of 841 in California. It grades A+ for health, B for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
7 notable people were born here, including Lorrie Fair-Allen and Nancy Holder.
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