Living here
Cost of living in Palo Alto
Housing is much more expensive than the US average. Rents, home prices, taxes and how far a paycheck goes.
Median rent
$3,328/mo
147% above US
Median home value
$2,000,001
559% above US
Median household income
$220,408
181% above US
Rent as share of income
18%
US 21%
Home price to income
9.1×
US 3.9×
Sales tax
9.75%
Rent by number of bedrooms
HUD 2027 fair market rents for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA HUD Metro FMR Area (gross rent including utilities, near the 40th percentile of local rents). Source: HUD USER.
How Palo Alto compares
- Palo Alto$3,328
- California$1,956
- United States$1,348
- Sunnyvale$3,065
- Santa Clara$2,985
- San Mateo$3,079
- Pleasanton$3,017
- San Ramon$2,916
- Livermore$2,640
- Walnut Creek$2,613
- Richmond$1,895
- Palo Alto$2,000,001
- California$695,400
- United States$303,400
- Sunnyvale$1,816,600
- Santa Clara$1,527,900
- San Mateo$1,563,200
- Pleasanton$1,432,300
- San Ramon$1,359,100
- Livermore$1,038,600
- Walnut Creek$1,031,100
- Richmond$650,100
Taxes
Compare with nearby cities
Life in Palo Alto
Questions
Is Palo Alto expensive to live in?
Housing in Palo Alto is much more expensive than the national average: median rent is $3,328 (147% above US) and the median home value is $2,000,001 (559% above US).
How much is rent in Palo Alto?
The median gross rent is $3,328 a month. HUD’s 2027 fair market rents for the area are studio $2,458, 1 bedroom $2,778, 2 bedrooms $3,272, 3 bedrooms $4,396, 4 bedrooms $4,688.
How much of their income do renters spend in Palo Alto?
At the median, a year’s rent ($39,936) equals about 18% of the median household income ($220,408); nationally it’s about 21%.
What are taxes like in Palo Alto?
Sales tax is 9.75% and property taxes run about 0.50% of home value a year.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; HUD fair market rents; CDTFA California City & County Sales & Use Tax Rates.