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Moraga vs Lafayette

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: trails (+87% in Lafayette) and home values (+20% in Lafayette).

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Moraga, CAHomes around $1.61MCalifornia · 16,769 people
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Lafayette, CAHomes around $1.88MCalifornia · 25,285 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.

MoragaHomes around $1.61M
Housing$1.61M typical home110% above the CA typical home Schools#145 for schools in CAof 574 towns HealthHealthier than 98%of U.S. towns on CDC estimates All about Moraga →
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 →
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.

Trails+87%
Lafayette has more miles of trail
Lafayette 27.5 miMoraga 14.7 mi
Home values+20%
Homes cost more in Lafayette
Lafayette $2,000,001Moraga $1,663,200
In college+12.3 pts
Moraga is more of a college town
Moraga 16.1%Lafayette 3.8%
Conserved land+11.5 pts
Lafayette has more conserved land
Lafayette 16%Moraga 4.5%
Median age5.6 yrs
Lafayette skews older
Lafayette 45.7Moraga 40.1
Jobs per worker+56%
Lafayette is more of a job hub
Lafayette 0.92Moraga 0.59
★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $1,440 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.

Moraga$9,220/mo
Typical home $1.61M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.60%+ · or rent about $2,895/mo · Housing →
Lafayette$10,660/mo
Typical home $1.88M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50%+ · or rent about $2,892/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,440 a month, about $17,300 a year, between Lafayette and Moraga.

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

Lafayette places higher on 13 of 21 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
A−MoragaSafer than 80% of U.S. towns BLafayetteSafer than 61% of U.S. towns
Schools
A+MoragaBetter than 95% of districts in the state A+LafayetteBetter than 97% of districts in the state
Health
A+MoragaHealthier than 98% of U.S. towns A+LafayetteHealthier than 98% of U.S. towns
5Moraga
13Lafayette

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #383#152 Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #145#22 SafestSafety · 411 towns #13#55 Lowest obesityHealth · 844 towns #121#196 Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #234#185 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #567#506 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #604#547 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 844 towns #53#1

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

Where they are

Moraga and Lafayette share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

MoragaLafayetteMoragaLafayette
Moraga ↔ Lafayette3.1 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
230 Moraga residents work in Lafayette (3.6% of its workers)
178 Lafayette residents work in Moraga (1.9% of its workers)
Work & commute in Moraga →
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
MoragaLafayette
Snow a year1″0″
January low42°F—
July high83°F—
Growing season (days)282d—
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)86th96th
Outdoors & history
MoragaLafayette
Trails15 mi28 mi
Conserved land4.5%16%
Settled—1848
Archive photos1118
Famous people born here811
Community
MoragaLafayette
Library hours a week40 hrs56 hrs
Colleges in town1—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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.

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.

MoragaLafayette
People
Population 16,769Lowest 25,285Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +5.3%Lowest CA: +6.1% +6.3%Highest CA: +6.1%
Median age 40.1±2.3Lowest 6% above CA 45.7±1.4Highest 21% above CA
Kids under 18 22.7%±2.5Lowest CA: 22% 25.7%±2.6Highest CA: 22%
Lafayette and Moraga are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 19.8%±2.2Lowest CA: 15.7% 21.3%±2.2Highest CA: 15.7%
Lafayette and Moraga are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 81.8%Highest CA: 37.1% 79%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 16.1%±3.4Highest CA: 7.6% 3.8%±1.1Lowest CA: 7.6%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $216,193±$21kLowest 118% above CA $228,250±$25kHighest 130% above CA
Lafayette and Moraga are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $1,663,200±$89kLowest 126% above CA $2,000,001Highest 172% above CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,895±$593Highest 42% above CA $2,892±$302Lowest 42% above CA
Moraga and Lafayette are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+ at least 95% above CA $10,000+ at least 95% above CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 60%±16.4Highest CA: 55.3% 35.5%±9.7Lowest CA: 55.3%
Moraga and Lafayette are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 7.3%Highest CA: 12% 2.9%Lowest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 83.1%Highest CA: 55.9% 77.1%Lowest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1972Highest 4 yrs older than CA 1960Lowest 16 yrs older than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 31 minHighest 7% above CA 29 minLowest about the CA average
Work from home 39.8%±3.9Lowest CA: 17.2% 42.9%±4.8Highest CA: 17.2%
Lafayette and Moraga are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 6.3%Lowest 7.3%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 14.8 miLowest 15.8 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.59Lowest 0.92Highest
Top workplaceoutside town San Francisco (19%)San Francisco (19%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 4% work in Lafayette2% work in Moraga
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 4.5%Lowest 16%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 14.7 miLowest 27.5 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.6 miLowest 1.8 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 6Lowest 9Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 42.0Lowest 51.2Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #145 of 574 in CA#22 of 574 in CA
School district Acalanes Union High · Moraga ElementaryAcalanes Union High · Lafayette Elementary
High school in town Campolindo HighAcalanes High
Students per teacherat that high school 19.8Highest 19.5Lowest
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.

Moraga neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Moraga’s Town Square.

Lafayette neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Lafayette’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Moraga and Lafayette

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Moraga

+ Compare
Orinda19,514 people · $1.86M homes

Towns like Moraga

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San Marino12,216 people · $2M homes
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La Cañada Flintridge19,935 people · $2M homes
+ Compare
Piedmont10,945 people · $2M homes
+ Compare
Los Altos30,698 people · $2M 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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