Living in East Palo Alto, CA
Suburb in California
East Palo Alto is a suburb in California, home to about 29,000 people, with 4.5 million living within 31 mi. Day to day, much of daily life is walkable. Life moves at a very fast pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
Is East Palo Alto a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Strong healthcare: 18 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Easy flying: SJC is 13 mi away
- Great outdoors: coast or a lake close by
- Mild summers: highs around 79°F
👎 Cons
- Weaker public schools: test results well below the US average
- Pricey housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $974k, and rent is $4,600 a month
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how East Palo Alto ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in East Palo Alto: common questions
What is the cost of living in East Palo Alto?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $974k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $4,600 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are above the US average (index 110, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in East Palo Alto?
California collects about $3,279 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.62% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is East Palo Alto safe?
Violent crime is somewhat above the national rate (1.3× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in East Palo Alto?
Public schools in East Palo Alto test well below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 22 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in East Palo Alto?
East Palo Alto has mild winters: winter days average around 59°F and summer days around 79°F.
Does East Palo Alto get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from earthquakes and flooding: 7 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.88 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to East Palo Alto?
The nearest major airport is SJC, about 13 mi away.
How East Palo Alto scores
Each bar compares East Palo Alto with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like East Palo Alto
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in California.
Is East Palo Alto right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.