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Compare towns

Lafayette vs Danville

10 miles apart. The biggest differences: rent (+21% in Danville) and typical home built (20 yrs in Lafayette).

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Lafayette, CAHomes around $1.88MCalifornia · 25,285 people
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Danville, CAHomes around $1.82MCalifornia · 43,401 people
Swap order
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.

LafayetteHomes around $1.88M
Housing$1.88M typical home147% above the CA typical home Schools#22 for schools in CAof 574 towns HealthHealthier than 98%of U.S. towns on CDC estimates All about Lafayette →
DanvilleHomes around $1.82M
Housing$1.82M typical home139% above the CA typical home Schools#204 for schools in CAof 574 towns HealthHealthier than 97%of U.S. towns on CDC estimates All about Danville →
The biggest differences

Where they differ most

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

Rent+21%
Rent runs higher in Danville
Danville $3,501Lafayette $2,892
Typical home built20 yrs
Lafayette’s homes are older
Danville 1980Lafayette 1960
Home values+19%
Homes cost more in Lafayette
Lafayette $2,000,001Danville $1,681,700
Jobs per worker+53%
Lafayette is more of a job hub
Lafayette 0.92Danville 0.60
Homeowners+8.4 pts renters
Lafayette has more renters
Danville 85.5%Lafayette 77.1%
★ What stands out · Report cards

Lafayette places higher on 11 of 22 CA lists

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.

Safety
BLafayetteSafer than 61% of U.S. towns A−DanvilleSafer than 81% of U.S. towns
Schools
A+LafayetteBetter than 97% of districts in the state ADanvilleBetter than 90% of districts in the state
Health
A+LafayetteHealthier than 98% of U.S. towns A+DanvilleHealthier than 97% of U.S. towns
11Lafayette
8Danville

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 422 towns #3#179 Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #22#204 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 844 towns #410#203 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #506#655 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #547#412 Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #332#448 SafestSafety · 411 towns #55#7 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #152#238

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Lafayette’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $190 more a month in Lafayette

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.

Lafayette$10,660/mo
Typical home $1.88M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50%+ · or rent about $2,892/mo · Housing →
Danville$10,470/mo
Typical home $1.82M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.59%+ · or rent about $3,501/mo · Housing →

The difference: $190 a month, about $2,300 a year, between Lafayette and Danville.

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.

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
LafayetteDanville
Snow a year0″1″
January low—42°F
July high—83°F
Growing season (days)—282d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)96th92nd
Outdoors & history
LafayetteDanville
Trails28 mi39 mi
Conserved land16%10.6%
Settled18481982
National Register places—3
Archive photos18—
Famous people born here11—
Community
LafayetteDanville
Library hours a week56 hrs56 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

10 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

LafayetteDanvilleLafayetteDanville
Lafayette ↔ Danville9.8 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.

LafayetteDanville
People
Population 25,285Lowest 43,401Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +6.3%Highest CA: +6.1% +3.7%Lowest CA: +6.1%
Median age 45.7±1.4Highest 21% above CA 45.4±1.7Lowest 20% above CA
Lafayette and Danville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 25.7%±2.6Highest CA: 22% 25.4%±2Lowest CA: 22%
Lafayette and Danville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 21.3%±2.2Highest CA: 15.7% 19.9%±1.6Lowest CA: 15.7%
Lafayette and Danville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 79%Highest CA: 37.1% 73.9%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.8%±1.1Lowest CA: 7.6% 5.6%±1.1Highest CA: 7.6%
Danville and Lafayette are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $228,250±$25kLowest 130% above CA $232,216±$14kHighest 134% above CA
Danville and Lafayette are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $2,000,001Highest 172% above CA $1,681,700±$36kLowest 129% above CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,892±$302Lowest 42% above CA $3,501Highest 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 35.5%±9.7Lowest CA: 55.3% 54.6%±7Highest CA: 55.3%
Below poverty line 2.9%Lowest CA: 12% 3.8%Highest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 77.1%Lowest CA: 55.9% 85.5%Highest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1960Lowest 16 yrs older than CA 1980Highest 4 yrs newer than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 29 minLowest about the CA average 33 minHighest 13% above CA
Work from home 42.9%±4.8Highest CA: 17.2% 37.3%±2.6Lowest CA: 17.2%
Lafayette and Danville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 7.3%Highest 6.8%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 15.8 miLowest 18.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.92Highest 0.60Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town San Francisco (19%)San Francisco (10%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in DanvilleFew work in Lafayette
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 16%Highest 10.6%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 27.5 miLowest 38.7 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.8 miLowest 2.2 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 9Lowest 13Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 51.2Lowest 71.3Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #22 of 574 in CA#204 of 574 in CA
School district Acalanes Union High · Lafayette ElementarySan Ramon Valley Unified
High school in town Acalanes HighMonte Vista High
Students per teacherat that high school 19.5Lowest 22.0Highest
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.

Lafayette neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Lafayette’s Town Square.

Danville neighborsTown Square →

1 neighbor in Danville can answer.

Add a town

Set another town beside Lafayette and Danville

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Bordering Lafayette

+ Compare
Moraga16,769 people · $1.66M homes
S
+ Compare
Saranap5,662 people · $1.45M homes
A
+ Compare
Acalanes Ridge1,006 people · $1.63M homes
R
+ Compare
Reliez Valley3,173 people · $1.74M homes

Towns like Lafayette

+ Compare
Los Altos30,698 people · $2M homes
+ Compare
La Cañada Flintridge19,935 people · $2M homes
+ Compare
San Marino12,216 people · $2M homes
+ Compare
Calabasas22,669 people · $1.5M homes
Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks California towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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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