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Compare towns

Highlands vs Woodside

8 miles apart. The biggest differences: trails (13.4× in Woodside) and jobs per worker (4× in Woodside).

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Highlands, CAOne of the healthiest townsCalifornia · 2,450 people
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Woodside, CAHomes around $3.94MCalifornia · 5,126 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $10,980 more a month in Woodside

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Highlands$11,320/mo
Typical home $2M (Census) · tax rate 0.50%+ · or rent about $3,501/mo · Housing →
Woodside$22,300/mo
Typical home $3.94M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50%+ · or rent about $3,501/mo · Housing →

The difference: $10,980 a month, about $131,700 a year, between Woodside and Highlands.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value; “+” means the Census top-codes that town’s bill at $10,000, so its real rate is higher.

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every California ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
HighlandsWoodside
Snow a year0″0″
January low41°F41°F
July high81°F81°F
Growing season (days)333d333d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)84th90th
Outdoors & history
HighlandsWoodside
Trails2 mi28 mi
Conserved land35.8%12.2%
National Register places14
Archive photos122
Famous people born here—6
Community
HighlandsWoodside
Library hours a week—57 hrs
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined01

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

8 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

HighlandsWoodsideHighlandsWoodside
Highlands ↔ Woodside8.3 miles apart
Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

HighlandsWoodside
People
Population 2,450Lowest 5,126Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census — +0.4% CA: +6.1%
Median age 46.3±3.3Lowest 22% above CA 46.4±3.8Highest 22% above CA
Woodside and Highlands are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 21.6%±4.9Lowest CA: 22% 22.1%±4Highest CA: 22%
Woodside and Highlands are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 20.4%±1.2Lowest CA: 15.7% 23.6%±3.3Highest CA: 15.7%
Woodside and Highlands are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 79.6%Highest CA: 37.1% 76.2%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 8.9%±5.3Highest CA: 7.6% 3.4%±1.3Lowest CA: 7.6%
Highlands and Woodside are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $250,001 152% above CA $250,001 152% above CA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $2,000,001 172% above CA $2,000,001 172% above CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $3,501 72% above CA $3,501 72% above CA
Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+ at least 95% above CA $10,000+ at least 95% above CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 33.6%±25.4Lowest CA: 55.3% 68.4%±21.3Highest CA: 55.3%
Woodside and Highlands are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 3.9%Lowest CA: 12% 4.5%Highest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 84.7%Lowest CA: 55.9% 87.4%Highest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1959Lowest 17 yrs older than CA 1965Highest 11 yrs older than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 24 minLowest 16% below CA 29 minHighest about the CA average
Work from home 35.8%±4.4Highest CA: 17.2% 30.5%±7.6Lowest CA: 17.2%
Highlands and Woodside are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 2.2%Lowest 4.2%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 17.3 miHighest 13.8 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.23Lowest 0.91Highest
Top workplaceoutside town San Francisco (19%)San Francisco (10%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WoodsideFew work in Highlands
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 35.8%Highest 12.2%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 2.1 miLowest 28.1 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.6 miLowest 2.5 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Lowest 8Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 47.9Highest 25.2Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#10 of 574 in CA
School district San Mateo-Foster City · San Mateo County Office of EducationWoodside Elementary
High school in town Hillcrest at Youth Services CenterNone in town
Students per teacherat that high school 4.1 —
California average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Highlands neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Highlands’s Town Square.

Woodside neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 1w

Woodside Coffee Favorites

1 neighbor in Woodside can answer.

Add a town

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Bordering Highlands

Towns like Highlands

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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