Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 85,438, settled in 1854.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mountain View grades B+ overall, ranked 113th of 841 in California. It is among the most walkable places in the country. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally and its schools rank ahead of 93% of California towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $1.9 million, 11.9 years of the San Jose metro’s $162K median household income. 75% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Mountain View, against 29% in California’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Mountain View has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel and Henry A. Rengstorff House.
Where Mountain View beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Mountain View | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.1% | 10.6% |
74,066 counted in 2010 and 82,376 in 2020; an estimated 85,438 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Mountain View is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 5%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 250 in 1880, 82,376 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1942 and 7 maps from 1897 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mountain View. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw6 mi Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
Big draw35 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
in town MuseumComputer History Museum
Big draw29 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
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 · Computer History Museum: Dzou, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · SAP Center: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mountain View, 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 Mountain View.
Mountain View draws workers from San Jose and beyond, has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and fares better on crime within California than nationally.
At 11.9 years of the San Jose metro’s $162K median household income, the typical home (about $1.93M) costs more against local pay than in 85% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
The median rent in Mountain View is $3,062 a month. The typical Mountain View home is worth about $1,930,000, up 2.5% in a year, more than twice the California typical home. 39% of Mountain View households own their home.
| Mountain View | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,062 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 39% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 38% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.93M.
Its public schools are run by the Mountain View Whisman school district. Two of its 22 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Newton Graham MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 860 | – |
| Mountain View HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,187 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 5.1% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide. Against the 1,124 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mountain View’s, it is healthier than 84%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
8.5% of adults report frequent physical distress in Mountain View. Mountain View beats the California average on 24 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 13% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Mountain View.
| Mountain View | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 29% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 31% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Mountain View | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.1% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.7% | 17.9% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 66.1% | 71.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
86,219 jobs are based in Mountain View, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 30.6% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
Most working residents leave Mountain View for work: only 16% work in town. Mountain View’s median household income is $190,000. Jobs based in Mountain View grew to 86,219 in 2023, 10,453 more than in 2013.
| Mountain View | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 31% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $190,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
17 miles of trail in 33 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Shoreline Park, 479 acres with 2.3 miles of trail.
| Mountain View | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.4% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shoreline Park | 2.3 mi | 479 |
| 2. Vista Slope | 2.1 mi | 61 |
| 3. Cuesta Park | 2.1 mi | 36 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Since 1995, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mountain View.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 36.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 69% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 2,490 to 2,295 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Palo Alto weather station, 5 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 310 days, longer than in 97% of U.S. towns. January nights average 40.8°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 79.1°.
Mountain View has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Mountain View | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 79°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 41°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
21 within 15 miles of the center of Mountain View
About 6 of every 100 Mountain View residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where Mountain View’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Mountain View on the National Register of Historic Places.
38 notable people were born in Mountain View.
City in California, United States
Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 census. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the location of many high technology companies. In 1956, William Shockley established Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Mountain View, the first company to develop silicon semiconductor devices in Silicon Valley. Mountain View houses the headquarters of many of the world's largest technology companies, including Google and Alphabet Inc., Intuit, NASA Ames Research Center, and former or existing headquar…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Mountain View.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; Palo Alto (B+) is closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain View | #113 | B+ | D− | C− | A | A+ |
| Palo Alto | #112 | B+ | D− | C− | A+ | A+ |
| Sunnyvale | #82 | B+ | D | C | A | A+ |
| Los Altos | #10 | A | D− | B | A+ | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mountain View grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #113 of 841 in California. It grades A+ for health, C− 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−.
38 notable people were born here, including Brian Boitano and Ena Shibahara.
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