HomeCaliforniaSanta Clara CountyPalo Alto
Palo Alto, California: commercial real estate data.
Palo Alto is a Census city of 67,237 people across 24.05 square miles of land, in Santa Clara County. Median household income is $231,101, 54.6 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 50 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $35.2 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Palo Alto
What Palo Alto is
- Census place typecity
- Land area24.05 sq mi
- Water area1.91 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land2,796
- County holding the largest share of its areaSanta Clara County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palo Alto
How many people live in Palo Alto
- Population67,237
- Median age43.6
- Population under 1814,904
- Share under 1822.2 percent
- Population 65 and over13,369
- Share 65 and over19.9 percent
- Households26,021
- Family households17,628
- Share of households that are families67.7 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palo Alto
Income and work in Palo Alto
- Median household income$231,101
- Per capita income$123,939
- Civilian labor force33,951
- Employed32,617
- Unemployed1,334 plus or minus 269
- Unemployment rate3.9 percent plus or minus 0.8
- Adults 25 and over48,587
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher96.8 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher82.3 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree55.0 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palo Alto
Housing in Palo Alto
- Housing units29,241
- Occupied units26,021
- Vacant units3,220
- Vacancy rate11.0 percent
- Owner occupied14,217
- Renter occupied11,804
- Ownership rate54.6 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$2,000,001
- Median gross rent, monthly$3,484
- Annual rent as a share of median income18.1 percent
- Single family units18,626
- Share single family63.7 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more10,466
- Share in buildings of two or more35.8 percent
- Mobile homes149 plus or minus 148
- Median year structure built1963
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palo Alto
How Palo Alto gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute20,872
- Commuting under 15 minutes5,880
- Share commuting under 15 minutes28.2 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more5,222
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more25.0 percent
- Drove alone44.2 percent
- Carpooled4.6 percent plus or minus 1.3
- Public transport2.0 percent plus or minus 0.6
- Walked4.6 percent plus or minus 1.2
- Worked from home35.4 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Palo Alto
SBA loans in Palo Alto (7(a))
- Approvals50
- Gross approval$35,178,000
- Average approval$703,560
- Median approval$412,100
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,823,670
- Largest approval$4,576,000
- Jobs supported667
- Jobs per approval13.3
- Loans with a final outcome7
- Paid in full6
- Charged off1
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more6.0 percent
- Share to franchises6.0 percent
- Distinct lenders26
- Distinct industries by NAICS31
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Palo Alto, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 7 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Palo Alto
SBA loans in Palo Alto (504)
- Approvals30
- Gross approval$42,626,000
- Average approval$1,420,867
- Median approval$1,095,500
- Largest approval$4,976,000
- Jobs supported464
- Loans with a final outcome15
- Charged off0
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs7
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Palo Alto, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 15 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Palo Alto
Flood risk in Palo Alto
- NFIP communityCity of Palo Alto
- NFIP community number060348
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classClass 6
- Currently effective map date05/18/09
The City of Palo Alto participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 060348 and carries Community Rating System class 6, a flood insurance premium discount for policies written there.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Santa Clara County, not Palo Alto
Santa Clara County context, not Palo Alto figures
- Establishments in Santa Clara County49,154
- Covered employment, Santa Clara County1,116,581
- Average annual pay, Santa Clara County$197,043
- Housing units permitted, Santa Clara County3,834
Every figure in this section is published for Santa Clara County as a whole and is not a measurement of Palo Alto.
All Santa Clara County figures →
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Palo Alto questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Palo Alto, California?
67,237, in 26,021 households. Palo Alto city covers 24.05 square miles of land, which is 2,796 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Palo Alto in?
Santa Clara County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Palo Alto?
$231,101. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $2,000,001. Median gross rent is $3,484 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Palo Alto businesses?
50 7(a) approvals totaling $35.2 m since FY2020, across 26 lenders, median approval $412,100, plus 30 504 approvals worth $42.6 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Palo Alto, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Palo Alto borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Palo Alto. Only 7 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Palo Alto in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Palo Alto appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Palo Alto, city of, community 060348, carrying Community Rating System class 6, which is a premium discount for exceeding the program minimum. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Palo Alto figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Santa Clara County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Palo Alto.
Is zoning published for Palo Alto?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.
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