Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 133,446, settled in 1777.
Santa Clara is a city of 133,446, and it grades B overall, 148th among California's 841 graded towns. It is healthier than 97% of U.S. towns and its schools rank ahead of 84% of California towns. The trade-offs: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top, and the typical home is worth about $1.6 million, 10.1 years of the San Jose metro’s $162K median household income. 66% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Santa Clara, above both California’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). Only 70 of California’s 1,063 towns score higher on walkability. Santa Clara is home to Santa Clara University.
Where Santa Clara beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Its founding year, 1777, comes before those of 99% of the California towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 2,416 in 1880, 127,647 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 6 maps from 1889 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Santa Clara is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Santa Clara. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big drawin town Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
4 mi Stadium & arenaSAP Center
3 mi Stadium & arenaPayPal Park
Big draw34 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaChase CenterLevi's Stadium: Matthew Roth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · California's Great America: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · SAP Center: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · PayPal Park: Jbburgess0, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Santa Clara, 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 Santa Clara.
Santa Clara draws workers from San Jose and beyond and fares better on crime within California than nationally, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
At 10.1 years of the San Jose metro’s $162K median household income, the typical home (about $1.64M) costs more against local pay than in 78% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $9,234, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Santa Clara’s median rent is $3,016 a month.
| Santa Clara | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,016 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 41% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 37% | 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 $1.64M.
Its public schools are run by the Santa Clara Unified school district. Three of its 34 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Cabrillo MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 796 | – |
| Santa Clara HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,663 | A− |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 453 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 5.5% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide. Against the 1,393 U.S. towns with household incomes like Santa Clara’s, it is healthier than 76%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
8.7% of Santa Clara adults report frequent physical distress. Santa Clara beats the California average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 39% of Santa Clara adults feel lonely.
| Santa Clara | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 29% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 31% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Santa Clara | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 10.6% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.8% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 66.3% | 71.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
118,510 jobs are based in Santa Clara, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 22.6 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Most working residents leave Santa Clara for work: only 14% work in town. The median household income in Santa Clara is $179,000. Since 2013, Santa Clara has added 28,088 jobs, to 118,510 in 2023.
| Santa Clara | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $179,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 26% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 1979, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Santa Clara.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 34.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 63% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 3,965 to 3,685 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Santa Clara has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 40° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
7.7 miles of trail in 38 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Central Park, at 48 acres.
| Santa Clara | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ulistac Natural Area | 1 mi | 39 |
| 2. Central Park | 0.9 mi | 48 |
| 3. Earl R. Carmichael Park | 0.5 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
19 within 15 miles of the center of Santa Clara
About 11 of every 100 Santa Clara residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
2 colleges in town.
7 places in Santa Clara on the National Register of Historic Places.
61 notable people were born in Santa Clara.
City in California, United States
Santa Clara ( SAN-tə KLAR-ə; Spanish for 'Saint Clare') is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Located in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, it was founded by the Spanish in 1777 with the establishment of Mission Santa Clara de Asís under the leadership of Junípero Serra. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Santa Clara's population at 133,446 as of July 1, 2025. Santa Clara is located in the center of Silicon Valley and is home to the headquarters of companies such as Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Nvidia. It is also home to Santa Clara University, the…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Santa Clara.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara | #148 | B | D | C− | A− | A+ |
| San Jose | #293 | C+ | D | D | B+ | A− |
| Sunnyvale | #82 | B+ | D | C | A | A+ |
| Cupertino | #26 | A− | D | B− | A+ | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Santa Clara grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #148 of 841 in California. It grades A+ for health, C− for safety and A− for schools. Hazard risk 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.
61 notable people were born here, including Susan Wojcicki and Michelle Akers.
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