Living in Los Altos, CA
Suburb in California
Los Altos is a suburb in California, home to about 31,000 people, with 4.3 million living within 31 mi. Day to day, much of daily life is walkable. Life moves at a fast pace, and homes are mostly houses with yards.
Is Los Altos a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Strong healthcare: 12 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Mild summers: highs around 77°F
- Easy flying: SJC is 9 mi away
- Strong public schools: test results well above the US average
👎 Cons
- Pricey housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $4.13M, 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 Los Altos ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Los Altos: common questions
What is the cost of living in Los Altos?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $4.13M, 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 Los Altos?
California collects about $3,279 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.5% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Los Altos safe?
Violent crime is well below the national rate (0.2× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Los Altos?
Public schools in Los Altos test well above the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 21 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Los Altos?
Los Altos has mild winters: winter days average around 60°F and summer days around 77°F.
Does Los Altos get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from earthquakes and flooding: 5 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.23 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Los Altos?
The nearest major airport is SJC, about 9 mi away.
How Los Altos scores
Each bar compares Los Altos 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 Los Altos
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 Los Altos right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.