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.

Down paymentRate%

Redondo Beach$8,540/mo

Typical home $1.47M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.67% · or rent about $2,691/mo · Housing →

Mountain View$10,970/mo

Typical home $1.93M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.52%+ · or rent about $3,062/mo · Housing →

The difference: $2,420 a month, about $29,100 a year, between Mountain View and Redondo Beach.

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

Mountain View places higher on 19 of 26 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

C−Redondo BeachSafer than 22% of U.S. towns C−Mountain ViewSafer than 20% of U.S. towns

Schools

B+Redondo BeachBetter than 74% of districts in the state A−Mountain ViewBetter than 76% of districts in the state

Health

A+Redondo BeachHealthier than 98% of U.S. towns A+Mountain ViewHealthier than 99% of U.S. towns

7Redondo Beach

19Mountain View

Lists won, of 26 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Best schoolsSchools · 574 towns #526#5 Highest graduation rateSchools · 720 towns #102#712 Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #604#261 Best libraries for kidsLibraries · 117 towns #62#13 Most library borrowingLibraries · 117 towns #58#14 Most new homesHousing · 438 towns #203#46 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #538#262 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #398#198

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

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

Redondo BeachMountain View

Snow a year0″0″

January low—39°F

July high—79°F

Growing season (days)—310d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)90th 88th

Outdoors & history

Redondo BeachMountain View

Trails4 mi 17 mi

Conserved land2.1%9.4%

National Register places5 2

Archive photos6 18

Famous people born here49 60

Community

Redondo BeachMountain View

Library hours a week46 hrs 62 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 0

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

321 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Redondo BeachCA Mountain ViewCA

Redondo Beach ↔ Mountain View321 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.

Only big differences vs California average

Redondo BeachMountain View

People

Population 69,291Lowest 83,732Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +7.2%Lowest CA: +6.1% +11.2%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 41.1±1Highest 8% above CA 35.5±0.6Lowest 6% below CA

Kids under 18 22.6%±1.7Highest CA: 22% 19.9%±1.4Lowest CA: 22%

Redondo Beach and Mountain View are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 15.8%±1.2Highest CA: 15.7% 12%±0.9Lowest CA: 15.7%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 67%Lowest CA: 37.1% 75%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.4%±0.7Lowest CA: 7.6% 5.8%±0.7Highest CA: 7.6%

Mountain View and Redondo Beach are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $150,245±$9kLowest 52% above CA $189,917±$10kHighest 92% above CA

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $1,279,200±$57kLowest 74% above CA $1,927,000±$92kHighest 162% above CA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,691±$71Lowest 32% above CA $3,062±$93Highest 50% above CA

Property taxmedian, yearly $8,510Lowest 66% above CA $10,000+Highest at least 95% above CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 46.8%±4.8Highest CA: 55.3% 38.4%±3.6Lowest CA: 55.3%

Redondo Beach and Mountain View are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 5.4%Lowest CA: 12% 6%Highest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 53.4%Highest CA: 55.9% 38.6%Lowest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1973Lowest 3 yrs older than CA 1975Highest 1 yr older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 27 minHighest 6% below CA 23 minLowest 19% below CA

Work from home 29.3%±2.4Lowest CA: 17.2% 30.6%±2.3Highest CA: 17.2%

Mountain View and Redondo Beach are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 8.3%Lowest 16.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.3 miHighest 6.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.86Lowest 2.08Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Los Angeles (26%)San Jose (10%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Mountain ViewFew work in Redondo Beach

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.1%Lowest 9.4%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 4.3 miLowest 17.2 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miLowest 1.4 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 15Lowest 33Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 74.3Lowest 107Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #526 of 574 in CA #5 of 574 in CA

School district Redondo Beach UnifiedLos Altos Elementary · Mountain View Whisman

High school in town Redondo Union HighMountain View High

Students per teacherat that high school 25.4Highest 18.5Lowest

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.

Redondo Beach neighborsTown Square →

1 neighbor in Redondo Beach can answer.

Mountain View neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mountain View’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Redondo Beach and Mountain View

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

Bordering Redondo Beach

+ Compare

Torrance142,130 people · $1.07M homes

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Hermosa Beach19,063 people · $2M homes

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Manhattan Beach34,210 people · $2M homes

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Lawndale30,781 people · $782K homes

Towns like Redondo Beach

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Alameda77,238 people · $1.24M homes

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Culver City39,931 people · $1.14M homes

+ Compare

Campbell42,781 people · $1.62M homes

+ Compare

Newport Beach83,845 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.

Redondo Beach vs Mountain View

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $2,420 more a month in Mountain View

Mountain View places higher on 19 of 26 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

321 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Redondo Beach and Mountain View

Bordering Redondo Beach

Towns like Redondo Beach

Post to Redondo Beach

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