How this Silicon Valley ranking works
Silicon Valley has no official boundary, so we drew one: every city in Santa Clara County, the southern San Mateo County cities from Belmont to Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, and Fremont, Newark and Union City in southern Alameda County. From Redfin's rolling three-month city figures to September 2026, we kept places with at least 30 sales and 10,000 residents. 22 places qualified.
Each place gets a score from 0 to 100, built from two equal parts:
- What buyers pay for the location. Median sale price per square foot, ranked against the other 22 places. Because it adjusts for home size, it captures how much buyers value the address: the employers nearby, the drive to them, the districts they want.
- How hard buyers compete. The average rank on three measures: sale price as a share of list price, median days on market (shorter ranks higher) and the share of homes under contract within 14 days.
Every place in Silicon Valley is competitive by national standards: Redfin's Santa Clara County median sold at 102.3% of list in September 2026, after a median of 19 days. So a low score here means "less frantic than its neighbors", not "slow". We left out school scores and crime rates because they vary by address and belong in official lookups, which we point to further down. Zillow and Redfin measure prices differently; where a city has both, we give them separately.
The regional picture: Redfin's median sale price in Santa Clara County was $1,568,490 in September 2026, -4.7% on September 2025, and San Mateo County's was $1,727,384. Zillow's typical home value for the San Jose metro area was $1,523,615 in September 2026, +0.2% over the year.
Silicon Valley ranking table: the top 15
Redfin, three months to September 2026. The county column shows which county each city is in.
| Rank | City | County | Score | Median sale price | 1-year change | Per sq ft | Days on market | Sale-to-list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palo Alto | Santa Clara | 96 | $3,608,282 | +0.9% | $2,021 | 13 | 107.1% |
| 2 | Los Altos | Santa Clara | 96 | $4,617,801 | +11.9% | $1,970 | 9 | 106.3% |
| 3 | Cupertino | Santa Clara | 87 | $2,848,643 | -6.9% | $1,597 | 13 | 105.4% |
| 4 | San Carlos | San Mateo | 85 | $2,478,820 | +11.4% | $1,374 | 10 | 106.8% |
| 5 | Saratoga | Santa Clara | 73 | $3,863,160 | -2.5% | $1,489 | 18 | 101.5% |
| 6 | Menlo Park | San Mateo | 71 | $2,948,596 | +4.5% | $1,413 | 16 | 102.4% |
| 7 | Mountain View | Santa Clara | 68 | $1,836,625 | +9.7% | $1,095 | 12 | 105.1% |
| 8 | Sunnyvale | Santa Clara | 67 | $1,884,103 | +4.1% | $1,229 | 16 | 104.1% |
| 9 | Redwood City | San Mateo | 66 | $1,949,072 | +8.3% | $1,183 | 14 | 105.1% |
| 10 | Belmont | San Mateo | 66 | $2,323,893 | +3.3% | $1,222 | 17 | 104.2% |
| 11 | Santa Clara | Santa Clara | 48 | $1,643,717 | -0.7% | $1,030 | 20 | 103.0% |
| 12 | Los Gatos | Santa Clara | 48 | $2,438,839 | -3.4% | $1,209 | 26 | 102.4% |
| 13 | Campbell | Santa Clara | 35 | $1,827,740 | -3.2% | $1,041 | 31 | 100.5% |
| 14 | Foster City | San Mateo | 35 | $1,286,887 | -23.1% | $908 | 25 | 101.4% |
| 15 | Fremont | Alameda | 35 | $1,370,347 | -6.5% | $931 | 21 | 101.0% |
Ranked 16th to 22th: Milpitas (33), San Jose (32), Newark (15), Union City (14), East Palo Alto (13), Gilroy (9), Morgan Hill (2).
The best places to live in Silicon Valley, one by one
1. Palo Alto: the highest price per square foot in the valley
Buyers paid $2,021 a square foot in Palo Alto, the most of any place we scored, and still bid 107.1% of list on average. The median sale price was $3,608,282 (+0.9%), and the median home sold in 13 days. It ties Los Altos on 96 and edges it on location premium.
The city was incorporated in 1894 and grew up beside Stanford University. It is one of the valley's job centers, with more than 7,000 businesses, and its hilly southern section beyond I-280 holds Foothills Park and the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve. Zillow's typical home value was $3,592,240 (+5.9%) and Zillow's observed rent $4,558 a month. Census median household income in ZIPs 94301, 94306 is $210,000 to $242,006. More in our Palo Alto guide and is Palo Alto a good place to live.
2. Los Altos: the fastest sales in Silicon Valley
Los Altos homes sold in a median of 9 days, the quickest in our set, and 75% went under contract within two weeks. The median sale price rose +11.9% to $4,617,801. Score: 96.
Los Altos is mostly residential. Most of its growth came between 1950 and 1980 on former apricot orchards, and the city still limits commercial development. Adobe, Permanente and Stevens creeks run through it, and the city's 5.9-acre Redwood Grove preserve sits off University Avenue. Owners hold 85% of occupied homes in ZIPs 94022, 94024, where Census median household income is $250,000 or more. Zillow's typical home value was $4,591,005 (+8.4%). See our Los Altos guide.
3. Cupertino: Apple's home city
Cupertino scored 87. Buyers paid $1,597 a square foot and 105.4% of list, and homes sold in 13 days. The Redfin median of $2,848,643 was 6.9% below a year earlier, while Zillow's typical home value rose +2.9% to $2,957,922, a reminder that one quarter's sales mix can swing a median.
Apple is headquartered at Apple Park in the city. The east side is flat valley floor and the west rises into the Santa Cruz Mountains. Much of the housing dates from around 1960, and one area between Stevens Creek Boulevard and Bollinger Road holds 224 Eichler homes. ZIP 95014 has a Census median household income of $230,913. Read our Cupertino guide and Cupertino cost of living.
4. San Carlos: Peninsula bidding wars
San Carlos is the highest-ranked San Mateo County city here, at 85. The median home sold in 10 days for 106.8% of list, and the median sale price jumped +11.4% to $2,478,820.
It is a compact city of 5.4 square miles on the Peninsula, counted as part of Silicon Valley, with employers such as Natera and Check Point based there. ZIP 94070 has a Census median household income of $240,074, and 69% of homes are owner-occupied, high for the Peninsula.
5. Saratoga: hillside estates and wineries
Saratoga's median sale price was $3,863,160 (-2.5%), second only to Los Altos among the 22 places. At $1,489 a square foot, the lots and houses are large. Homes sold in a median of 18 days. Score: 73.
The city covers 12.8 square miles of redwood foothills, vineyard slopes and former orchard land on the valley floor. It is known for Villa Montalvo, the Mountain Winery and Hakone Gardens, and Highway 85 crosses its northeast corner. In ZIP 95070, 87% of homes are owner-occupied, the highest share in this ranking. Zillow's typical home value was $3,974,406 (+4.2%). See our Saratoga guide.
6. Menlo Park: venture capital and the bay shore
Menlo Park scored 71, with a median sale price of $2,948,596 (+4.5%), $1,413 a square foot and a median of 16 days on market.
Meta Platforms has its headquarters here, and the venture capital firms of Sand Hill Road make the city a finance hub for the tech industry. The city is long and narrow, running from the bay, where Bedwell Bayfront Park and the Dumbarton Bridge are, to the hills. Santa Cruz Avenue is the main street. ZIP 94025 has a Census median household income of $216,601.
7. Mountain View: Google's city, mostly renters
Mountain View homes sold fast: a median of 12 days, at 105.1% of list. Redfin's median sale price rose +9.7% to $1,836,625, and at $1,095 a square foot it costs less per foot than its neighbors Palo Alto, Los Altos and Sunnyvale. Score: 68.
Google and Intuit are headquartered here, and Shockley Semiconductor, the first silicon device company in the valley, started here in 1956. Renters dominate: owners hold only 38% of occupied homes in ZIPs 94040, 94041, 94043, so a good share of listings are condos and townhouses. Zillow's typical home value was $1,929,681 and Zillow's observed rent $4,535. See our Mountain View guide and Mountain View cost of living.
8. Sunnyvale: the most sales in the top ten
Sunnyvale had 233 sales in the three months, the most of any top-ten city, and 61% of them closed above list, the highest share in this ranking. The median sale price was $1,884,103 (+4.1%). Score: 67.
The city runs from the bay, with Moffett Federal Airfield and NASA Ames on its northwest edge, south to Cupertino. North of Highway 237 is mostly industrial; the southern half is residential, with 16 tracts holding more than 1,100 Eichler homes. LinkedIn, Fortinet and Intuitive Surgical are among the companies based here. Zillow's typical home value was $2,007,452 (+1.0%). Read our Sunnyvale guide.
9. Redwood City: a port city on the Peninsula
Redwood City scored 66. Its median sale price climbed +8.3% to $1,949,072, and homes sold in 14 days for 105.1% of list.
It sits about 27 miles south of San Francisco and 24 miles northwest of San Jose, and the Port of Redwood City is the only deepwater port on the bay south of San Francisco. Edgewood County Park, known for wildflowers, is on the hill side, and Bair Island Ecological Preserve is on the shore. Incomes vary widely by area: Census medians across ZIPs 94061, 94063, 94065 run from $116,760 to $215,955.
10. Belmont: midway between San Francisco and San Jose
Belmont scored 66 on 55 sales. The median sale price was $2,323,893 (+3.3%), at $1,222 a square foot, and the median home sold in 17 days.
The city covers 4.6 square miles on the Peninsula, on the northern edge of Silicon Valley. Ralston Hall, a historic mansion built by the founder of the Bank of California, is its best-known landmark, and the Alameda de las Pulgas runs through it. ZIP 94002 has a Census median household income of $203,965.
11. Santa Clara: a city-owned power company
The city of Santa Clara scored 48. It is cheaper per square foot ($1,030) than the cities above it, with a median sale price of $1,643,717 (-0.7%) and 54% of homes selling above list.
One cost difference is unusual: the city owns its electric utility, Silicon Valley Power, and its rates are well below those of PG&E, which serves most of Northern California. Santa Clara dates from the 1777 mission and has two train stations. Owners hold 41% of occupied homes in ZIPs 95050, 95051, 95054.
12. Los Gatos: a foothill town
Los Gatos scored 48. The median sale price was $2,438,839 (-3.4%) at $1,209 a square foot, but homes took longer than in most of the valley, 26 days, which pulled the competition score down.
It is an incorporated town in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, split by Highway 17, with a downtown on Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street. Netflix is headquartered here. Zillow's typical home value was $2,597,611 (+4.6%). See our Los Gatos guide.
13. Campbell: next to San Jose, smaller scale
Campbell's median sale price was $1,827,740 (-3.2%), and homes took a median of 31 days to sell. Score: 35.
The city covers about 6 square miles, bordered by San Jose and Los Gatos, with Highways 17 and 85 and I-280 nearby. The Pruneyard Shopping Center is here, and companies such as ChargePoint and 8x8 are based in the city. ZIP 95008 has a Census median household income of $141,131 and median rent of $2,689.
14. Foster City: a planned city on the bay
Foster City's Redfin median fell 23.1% to $1,286,887, the sharpest drop in this ranking. A fall that steep in a small market usually means a different mix of homes sold, so check recent sales of the home type you want. Score: 35.
Foster City is a master-planned city on the bay, and about four-fifths of its official area is water. Gilead Sciences is headquartered here, and the city has 24 parks and a bayside trail. The city has been upgrading its levee with a steel-reinforced wall because of flood risk from the bay, so ask about flood insurance on any purchase. ZIP 94404 has a Census median household income of $192,332.
15. Fremont: the East Bay gateway
Fremont had 351 sales, the second most in our set after San Jose. The median sale price was $1,370,347 (-6.5%), and homes sold in 21 days. Score: 35.
Fremont formed in 1956 from five towns: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose and Warm Springs, which are now its districts. Tesla's factory is the largest employer, with about 25,000 workers in 2024, and I-880, I-680 and the Dumbarton Bridge connect the city to the rest of the valley. Census median household income across ZIPs 94536, 94538, 94539, 94555 ranges from $147,301 to $243,552.
Where Silicon Valley costs less: the San Jose area and south county
If you are searching for the best places to live in the San Jose area on a tighter budget, the lower half of the ranking matters as much as the top. These places had lower prices per square foot and less bidding.
San Jose: the biggest market
San Jose had 1489 sales, more than four times any other city here, and a median sale price of $1,349,357 (-5.0%). Buyers paid $836 a square foot, under half Palo Alto's figure, and homes sold in 22 days. It ranked 17 of 22. San Jose covers about 180 square miles and had an estimated 989,814 residents in 2025, so prices range widely: Census median household income runs from $85,818 to $250,000 or more across its ZIPs. Zillow's typical home value was $1,353,869. Our San Jose guide and San Jose neighborhoods break it down.
Milpitas: tech jobs on the east side
Milpitas ranked 16. Its median sale price fell 9.4% to $1,287,887, at $785 a square foot, while homes still sold in 20 days. More people commute into Milpitas for work than out of it, so traffic on its main roads is heavy at rush hour.
Morgan Hill and Gilroy: south county prices
Gilroy had the lowest price per square foot we scored, $522, with a median sale price of $1,073,989. Morgan Hill's median was $1,281,890 and homes there took 41 days to sell, the longest in our set. Both are a long drive from the northern job centers, which is what the lower price buys you out of. In ZIP 95037, 71% of homes are owner-occupied.
Estate towns with too few sales to score
Several small towns fell below our 30-sale or 10,000-resident thresholds: Atherton (21 sales, median $11,994,288), Los Altos Hills (27 sales, median $6,746,787), Woodside (18 sales, median $4,622,799), Portola Valley (12 sales, median $6,112,089) and Monte Sereno (13 sales, median $4,198,001). With so few sales, a single estate can move the median by millions, so treat those figures as a rough guide. See our Los Altos Hills guide.
How to choose where to live in Silicon Valley
Start from where you work
The valley's big employers are spread out: Apple in Cupertino, Google in Mountain View, Meta in Menlo Park, Tesla in Fremont, Netflix in Los Gatos. A short commute is worth a lot here, which is part of what the price per square foot measures. Map your drive at peak hours, and check whether your employer runs shuttles from your target city.
Plan to pay over list in the top half
In the top ten, the average home sold for between 101.5% and 107.1% of list price. Get fully approved before you tour, and ask the listing agent whether the seller has set an offer date. Our guide to buying a house in California covers offers and contingencies.
Condo or house: the price gap is wide
In Santa Clara County in September 2026, Redfin's median sale price was $1,868,636 for a single-family house, $1,158,024 for a townhouse and $667,393 for a condo. These monthly county figures may still be revised. For a condo, read the HOA's reserve study and ask about balcony inspections; see our California HOA laws guide.
Property tax in Santa Clara County
Your bill is based on your purchase price, so a new buyer next door to a long-time owner can pay several times more. Local bonds add to the 1% base. The Santa Clara County property tax guide walks through a real bill.
Schools: look up the address yourself
District lines in the valley do not follow city lines; parts of San Jose, for example, are served by several districts. Check scores on the California School Dashboard and confirm the assigned school with the district's own lookup before you buy.
What the monthly payment looks like
At the September 2026 Santa Clara County median of $1,568,490, with 20% down and a 7.24% 30-year rate (Freddie Mac, week of October 29, 2026), principal and interest are about $8,551 a month. In Palo Alto, at $3,608,282, the same terms come to about $19,672. Add property tax, insurance and any HOA dues. Our Silicon Valley cost of living guide covers the rest.