Best PlacesSouth Los Altos, Los Altos, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Los Altos, Los Altos, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Los Altos, Los Altos ranks 240th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Los Altos, Los Altos
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
South Los Altos, Los Altos' strengths and weaknesses
Where South Los Altos, Los Altos ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Household income$221,003 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 238 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of neighborhoods
Where South Los Altos, Los Altos ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,106 a month, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Los Altos, Los Altos
A household needs to earn about $497,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Los Altos, Los Altos home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $221,003, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses South Los Altos, Los Altos' effective rate of 0.62%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Los Altos, Los Altos
South Los Altos, Los Altos runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Los Altos, Los Altos.
Who works in South Los Altos, Los Altos, and how
Work in South Los Altos, Los Altos centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in South Los Altos, Los Altos
The coast is about 30 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across South Los Altos, Los Altos, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Los Altos, Los Altos, month by month
South Los Altos, Los Altos sees roughly 238 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 51° | 44° |
| April | 70° | 58° | 49° |
| July | 76° | 66° | 59° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 54° |
Flying in and out of South Los Altos, Los Altos
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 8 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 67 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around South Los Altos, Los Altos
Schools across South Los Altos, Los Altos average an A, better than 98% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stevens Creek ElementaryA+ · 85% proficient
- West Valley ElementaryA+ · 81% proficient
- Montclaire ElementaryA · 72% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cupertino MiddleA+ · 71% proficient
- Georgina P. Blach Junior HighD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Monta Vista HighA+ · 95% proficient
- Homestead HighA+ · 88% proficient
- Mountain View HighA+ · 86% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Los Altos, Los Altos school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Los Altos, Los Altos measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare South Los Altos, Los Altos against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Los Altos, Los Altos
Is South Los Altos, Los Altos a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Los Altos, Los Altos ranks 240th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on an educated workforce, high incomes, and good schools, and lowest on childcare costs and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Los Altos, Los Altos expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,950,580. The overall cost of living runs about 110% above the national average. Set against a $221,003 median income, cost of living beats 80% of neighborhoods.
Is South Los Altos, Los Altos safe?
Yes, South Los Altos, Los Altos is safer than 90% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $250 per resident a year.
Compare South Los Altos, Los Altos with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Los Altos, Los Altos. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Los Altos, Los Altos represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
South Los Altos, Los Altos detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Los Altos, Los Altos: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Los Altos, Los Altos: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Los Altos, Los Altos: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Los Altos, Los Altos: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Los Altos, Los Altos detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.