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Palo Alto

A city of 67,237 people in California
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About Palo Alto

City in California, United States
1894Established
68,572Population
25.8 sq miArea
30 ftElevation

Palo Alto ( PAL-oh AL-toh; Spanish for 'tall stick') is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it is named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The population was 68,572 as of the 2020 United States census. Palo Alto was incorporated in 1894 by the American industrialist Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Stanford, when they founded Stanford University in memory of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr. The city later expanded and now borders East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. Palo Alto has one of the highest costs of living in the United…

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Town numbers

ZIP code94301, 94302, 94303
Area code650
Living in Palo Alto

Housing in Palo Alto

$3.56M▲ 5.5% in a year Typical home value · Zillow

The typical Palo Alto home is worth about $3,564,000, up 5.5% in a year, 366% above the California typical home.

A strong seller's market

Buyer’sBalancedSeller’s
Days on market14
Sale-to-list106.6%
Sold in May68
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →

Safety in Palo Alto

C−

Safety Grade C-

Palo Alto reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 80% report less.

Violent crime per 1,000
Palo Alto 1.6
California 4.3
U.S. 3.3
Property crime per 1,000
Palo Alto 28.6
California 18.2
U.S. 15.5
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Schools in Palo Alto

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A

School Grade A

The public schools Palo Alto’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 94% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

#7Best public schoolsof 574 in CA
DistrictPalo Alto UnifiedSchools37

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within CA. Ratings are from neighbors.

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Palo Alto

California · CA
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