Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 32,713, settled in 1870.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Menlo Park grades B+ overall, 109th of 841 graded towns in California. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally. The median household earns $210K and its schools rank ahead of 84% of California towns. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $2.9 million for a typical one and 21.3 times the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income. 73% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Menlo Park, above both California’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). Menlo Park is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 95 of California’s 1,064 towns do better.
Where Menlo Park beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Menlo Park | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.4% | 17.9% |
Census counts: 2,254 in 1930, 33,780 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1918 and 6 maps from 1897 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Menlo Park is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Menlo Park. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw28 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw11 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
Big draw22 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaOracle ParkLevi's Stadium: Matthew Roth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · California's Great America: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Menlo Park, 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 Menlo Park.
Menlo Park draws workers from San Francisco and beyond and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
At 21.3 years of the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income, the typical home (about $2.9M) costs more against local pay than in 97% of California towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 10%. Menlo Park’s going rate for rent stands at $3,239 a month. The share of households in Menlo Park who live in a home they own: 54%.
| Menlo Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,239 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 54% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
That grade comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $2.9M.
Of its 11 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. The 3 public schools in Menlo Park teach 1,473 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillview MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 846 | – |
| Tide AcademyLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 212 | – |
| La Entrada MiddleTop results in townGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 612 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with California is food insecurity: 8.4% of its 25,956 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.9% statewide. Against the 880 U.S. towns with household incomes like Menlo Park’s, it is healthier than 73%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
6.5% of Menlo Park adults smoke cigarettes. Against the California average, Menlo Park comes out ahead on 23 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 1. Among adults here, 9.5% report frequent physical distress and 22% have obesity.
| Menlo Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 29% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Menlo Park | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.4% | 17.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.2% | 10.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
56,498 jobs are based in Menlo Park, 3.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 29,594 in 2013 to 56,498.
For half of commuters, work is under 9 miles away. Jobs in Menlo Park grew by 26,904 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 56,498. Also worth knowing: just 12% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. 32% of workers work remotely from home in the town.
| Menlo Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 32% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $210,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest park or preserve is Ravenswood Open Space Preserve, at 275 acres. Menlo Park’s trail network density is 1.3 miles per square mile. It has 23 parks and preserves, 566 acres in all.
| Menlo Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 24% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bedwell Bayfront Park | 10.1 mi | 163 |
| 2. Flood County Park | 1.2 mi | 24 |
| 3. Ravenswood Open Space Preserve | 0.6 mi | 275 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Since 1978, Menlo Park has seen 16 flood insurance claims paid out. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 90% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 70% come from earthquakes and 29% from inland flooding. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2022.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 43.2°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 73.7°.
The midsummer high for Menlo Park comes to 74°F. Snowfall is close to zero.
| Menlo Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 74°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 43°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 636 to 563 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
For Menlo Park, the property crime rate is 15.3 per 1,000 residents. Within California, it does better than 63% of towns.
| Menlo Park | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.3 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
21 within 15 miles of the center of Menlo Park
About 8 of every 100 Menlo Park residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Where Menlo Park’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Menlo Park on the National Register of Historic Places.
20 notable people were born in Menlo Park.
City in California, United States
Menlo Park ( MEN-loh) is a city in San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. Located at the eastern edge of the county, It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; and Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City to the west. It had 33,780 residents at the 2020 United States census. Part of Silicon Valley, it is home to the corporate headquarters of Meta Platforms, and is where Google, Roblox Corporation, Round Table Pizza, and SRI International were founded. The train station holds the record as the oldest continually operating train station in California. It is one of the most educated c…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Menlo Park.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menlo Park | #109 | B+ | D− | C+ | A− | A+ |
| Palo Alto | #112 | B+ | D− | C− | A+ | A+ |
| East Palo Alto | #477 | C− | D | C− | B | B |
| Redwood City | #160 | B | D− | C− | A | A |
| West Menlo Park | #22 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Atherton | #34 | A− | D− | B | A+ | A+ |
| Stanford | – | A+ | C | — | A+ | A |
| Fremont | #105 | B+ | D− | C | A | A+ |
West Menlo Park and Stanford report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Menlo Park with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. It grades A+ for health, C+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 63% of towns.
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−.
20 notable people were born here, including Henry Cowell and Josie Maran.
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