Los Altos

Welcome to Los Altos

Los Altos is a prestigious, private Silicon Valley community that has been ranked among the nation’s most expensive zip codes and most affluent communities. Growing out of a rural landscape of orchards in the latter half of the 20th century, Los Altos has preserved a semirural atmosphere with a civic center set in an orchard and downtown arterial roads designed to funnel traffic away from its idyllic Main Street. The road layout also provides convenient access to other Silicon Valley tech hubs, making Los Altos an ideal commute.

 

Homes within this sought-after community have a minimum lot size of one-quarter of an acre. The eclectic real estate mix ranges from charming mid-century modern and elegant contemporary single-family homes to breathtaking modern architectural masterpieces exhibiting the very finest design inside and out.

 

There are numerous shops and restaurants in the Los Altos Village, a triangular six-block downtown stretch flanked by the Foothill Expressway and San Antonio Road. Try the wood-fired rotisserie chicken and house-smoked salmon at Los Altos Grill, an array of cuisines at the community food-hall, State Street Market, and delicious Italian dishes at Pompeii Ristorante. To Los Altos’ north, the San Antonio Center features big-box retailers, such as Kohl’s and Walmart, along with great restaurants, such as authentic Chinese cuisine at Chef Chu’s.

 

Los Altos Festival of Lights Parade is a beloved local tradition that sees the city light up to mark the beginning of the holiday season beginning at 6 p.m. on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. In July, the Los Altos Art & Wine Festival showcases the work of talented artists and craftspeople from across the nation, plus free live music performances and wines from the finest local wineries. A Farmers’ Market brings fresh produce, food trucks, and arts-and-crafts stalls to downtown Los Altos each Thursday evening from spring through fall. Special events and educational programs are held at the Los Altos History Museum, which displays permanent and limited-time exhibitions of the people and events that have shaped the north Santa Clara Valley.

 

Local public schools include Almond, Covington, Oak Avenue, Santa Rita, and Springer Elementary Schools, Egan Junior High School, Georgina P. Blach Middle School, and Los Altos High School.

 

Though Los Altos is only 5 miles from Palo Alto, residents here enjoy a slower pace of life. “People who work in Silicon Valley grind it out and work really hard, but when we go home to Los Altos, it’s very quiet and like a small town,” says Nicholas French, a resident and a broker associate at Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno who’s sold homes here for 23 years. “I always say my blood pressure drops when I come home because I can relax and take a deep breath.” “It’s like middle America,” says Lynn North, a Realtor with The Agency who’s lived in Los Altos (pronounced loss AL-tohs) since 1986. “You see families walking the kids to school morning and night and people walking dogs all the time. If you go to the dog park, we all giggle about how we all know the dog's names, but no one knows the people's names.” Los Altos’ highly rated schools are a big draw for families, and the overall CAP Index Crime Score is 3 out of 10, compared to the national average of 4; violent crime receives a score of 1 out of 10. “Once you’re in Los Altos,” French says, “you tend to stick around.”

 

Walkable downtown Los Altos has a small-town feel, with street parking and rows of locally owned businesses along Main and State Streets. “When you go downtown, you typically run into someone you recognize,” French says. Residents can spend the weekend browsing shops like Linden Tree Books, Viewpoints Art Gallery and Cheeky Monkey Toys. “We’ve got this iconic Chinese restaurant called Chef Chu’s,” North says. “From Ronald Reagan to Justin Bieber, everyone who comes to the Bay Area comes to Chef Chu’s. You never know who you’re going to run into or see.” Asa is another popular restaurant known for Northern California dishes like rainbow trout and mushroom pasta. During the summer, residents can pick up fresh veggies at the Downtown Los Altos Farmers Market, and grocery options include Draeger’s Market and Whole Foods Market.

 

“Our biggest festival is the Festival of Lights Parade,” French says. Since 1977, this nighttime parade has kicked off the holiday season with light-festooned floats, marching bands and Santa Claus. “If you want to feel small-town Los Altos, you come to the Festival of Lights. Our whole downtown is packed for it,” French says. Throughout the year, the downtown area hosts themed strolls where residents can wander between the shops while sipping beer or wine. “It’s a great way to run into neighbors and get to know people,” North says.

 

Los Altos’ winding residential streets lack sidewalks and streetlights, but roads are wide enough for a comfortable evening stroll or bike ride past the neighborhood’s mature trees and landscaped lawns. Midcentury ranch-style homes are most common, and buyers can also find Craftsman, 21st-century modern and Mediterranean-style homes. “The minimum lot size for most residential housing is one-quarter of an acre,” North says, adding that many homeowners build accessory dwelling units to host visiting family members and guests. In April 2024, the median single-family home price was $4.2 million, 17% higher than in nearby Palo Alto. A one-bedroom bungalow can start at $1.1 million, while a five-bedroom 21st-century Craftsman home can cost $8.6 million. Condos are available near downtown and along San Antonio Road; a one-bedroom can start at $775,000, while a three-bedroom penthouse can cost $4.5 million.

 

Local kids can start at Almond Elementary and then attend Egan Junior High; both earn an A-plus from Niche. The A-plus-rated Los Altos High regularly hosts TEDx events with speakers including Stanford University faculty, local entrepreneurs and students. Other popular options include the A-plus-rated Bullis Charter School for kindergarten through Grade 8 and the private A-minus-rated St. Simon School for pre-kindergarten through Grade 8.

 

The 4-acre Shoup Park provides a redwood oasis just across University Avenue from downtown. The park includes a playground and trail to the 6-acre Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, where residents can wander along Adobe Creek as it meanders through the towering, moss-covered trees. “There’s so much nature here,” North says. “Whatever you like, whatever you want to do, it’s here. We’re 30 minutes to the ocean. Wine country is within an hour, and the ski slopes are 3 hours away.” Local schools host local youth athletic programs, including Los Altos Little League and Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club.

 

According to French, the commute to Palo Alto is only 20 minutes. Foothill Expressway and El Camino Real border the neighborhood, and Interstate 280 is to the south. Residents can hop on the regional Caltrain or the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail at the Mountain View Station, 4 miles away. VTA buses stop regularly along Los Altos’ main roads, most of which have dedicated bike lanes. Areas near downtown and along main roads have sidewalks, but some residential streets do not. El Camino Health’s Mountain View Hospital is 3 miles east, and Stanford Medicine and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital are 6 miles west. The San José Mineta International Airport is a 14-mile trip.

 

Los Altos is at low risk for wildfires, but residents may experience reduced air quality from fires in nearby high-risk areas, including the Santa Cruz Mountains to the south. The last major wildfires were in 2020 when almost 90,000 acres burned in Santa Cruz County.