Is Danville a good place to live? The short answer
Four numbers sum up Danville. Zillow's typical home value was $1,821,427 in September 2026, up 64.0% over ten years. The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 survey puts the median household income at $232,216. The San Ramon Valley Unified School District, which serves the whole town, was 71.1 points above standard in English on the 2025 California School Dashboard. And the California Department of Justice recorded 24 violent crimes and 185 property crimes reported by the Danville police in 2025.
Put together, Danville is a stable, owner-occupied town of about 18 square miles with high school results, low reported crime, a historic downtown and a lot of open space. It is also one of the more expensive places to buy in Contra Costa County, with few condos or new homes and a car-based commute. The sections below set out the trade-offs so you can weigh them against your own budget and work.
Pros of living in Danville
Pro: Danville's public school results
Every public school in Danville belongs to San Ramon Valley Unified. On the 2025 Dashboard the district was 71.1 points above standard in English and 58.7 above in math, while California was 8.1 and 42.4 points below. Its graduation rate was 97.7% and chronic absenteeism 6.8%, against 87.8% and 17.1% statewide. School-by-school results are on our Danville schools guide.
Pro: low reported crime in Danville
The Danville police reported 24 violent crimes and 185 property crimes to the state in 2025, according to the California DOJ's OpenJustice Crimes and Clearances data. Using the Census population of 43,401, that is about 0.6 violent and 4.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents, against 3.6 and 17.3 for all agencies in Contra Costa County and 4.3 and 18.0 for California (our calculation from the same two sources). Crime still happens: property crime made up 89% of the town's reported total. Method and lookup tools are on our Danville crime data page.
Pro: parks, trails and Mount Diablo
The Town maintains more than 167 acres of parkland in six community parks, including Sycamore Valley Park, Hap Magee Ranch Park with its dog park, and Oak Hill Park. Beyond them, Danville borders Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, the Sycamore Valley and Sherburne Hills open space preserves and the Iron Horse Trail, and the Town lists Mount Diablo State Park, with its 3,849-foot summit, among its regional parks.
Pro: a historic downtown on Hartz Avenue
Downtown Danville is compact and walkable, with the Village Theatre and Art Gallery, the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, and a Town historic walking tour that takes in the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, the Grange Hall on Front Street and houses along Hartz Avenue. The certified farmers' market runs every Saturday, year-round, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Railroad and Prospect Avenues. The Town also counts Tao House, the home of Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, among its cultural sites.
Pro: settled, owner-occupied streets
The Census counts 85.5% of Danville's occupied homes as owner-occupied, and 89% of residents lived in the same house a year earlier. That points to low turnover: most neighbors stay put, and homes come up for sale less often than in renter-heavy towns.
Pro: home values that held up over ten years
Zillow's typical Danville value rose 64.0% over the ten years to September 2026 and 8.1% over five. Redfin's median sale price was $1,799,143 in the three months to September 2026, up 6.6% in a year, and homes sold in a median of 25 days. Owners who bought before 2020 have built substantial equity.
Pro: Interstate 680 and bus links to BART
Danville sits on Interstate 680 between Walnut Creek and the Tri-Valley. The Town's Sycamore Valley Park and Ride lot, at the I-680 and Sycamore Valley Road interchange, has about 240 spaces and County Connection stops for route 21 and the 95X to Walnut Creek BART, and the 92X ACE Express. County Connection also runs to Dublin/Pleasanton BART.
Pro: local services under one roof
The Town's police department has 30 officers and 12 civilian staff for about 43,000 residents. Fire and emergency service comes from the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, water from EBMUD and sewer from Central Contra Costa Sanitary District. Residents are enrolled in MCE for electricity by default and can opt back to PG&E.
Cons of living in Danville
Con: the price of a Danville home
At Freddie Mac's 7.24% rate (week of October 29, 2026), 20% down on Zillow's typical Danville value of $1,821,427 is $364,285, and the monthly principal and interest is about $9,930. The 1% base property tax adds about $1,518 a month, before insurance, bonds and HOA dues. To keep those two costs near 30% of gross pay, a household would need roughly $458,000 a year (our calculation).
Con: high rents and few rentals
Zillow's typical Danville rent was $4,324 a month in September 2026, up 2.9% in a year and near its August 2026 peak. The Census median gross rent is reported as $3,500 or more, the top of its scale, and only about 15% of homes are renter-occupied, so choice is limited.
Con: few condos and starter homes
About 77% of Danville homes are detached single-family houses, 15% are attached townhomes, and under 8% are in buildings of two or more units (Census). Redfin's median townhouse sale in 94526 was $1,132,502 in the three months to September 2026, still above most first-time budgets. See our Danville condos guide.
Con: most trips are by car
The Census shows 52.6% of Danville workers drive alone and 2.7% use public transit; 37.3% work from home. The mean travel time to work is 32.5 minutes. There is no BART station in town, so rail commuters drive or take a bus to Walnut Creek or Dublin/Pleasanton.
Con: wildfire and power shutoff risk
Danville borders several regional open space preserves. The Town publishes fire evacuation plans and a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and lists PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs among local hazards. Check the CAL FIRE hazard zone for any address and get insurance quotes early; see our wildfire zones guide and FAIR Plan guide.
Con: little new housing, slowly approved
Only 110 Danville homes were built in 2020 or later, out of 16,004 (Census). Several subdivisions now in the pipeline were first filed with the Town in 2019. Buyers who want new construction have two communities to choose from; see new homes in Danville.
Con: values still below the 2022 peak
Zillow's typical value peaked at $2,085,629 in June 2022 and was 12.7% lower in September 2026. Values were up just 0.2% over the past year. Someone who bought at the peak may not be able to sell at a profit yet, and a buyer today should plan to stay several years.
What living in Danville is like
Climate and air quality in Danville
Danville sits inland in the San Ramon Valley, about 30 miles east of San Francisco. We did not find an official climate normal published for a Danville station, so for temperatures and rainfall use the National Weather Service Bay Area office, which the Town links from its hazards page. The Town also points residents to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for smoke and air alerts during fire season.
Getting around Danville
Interstate 680 runs through town, and the Town's Sycamore Valley Park and Ride sits at its Sycamore Valley Road interchange. For walking and cycling, the East Bay Regional Park District's Iron Horse Trail is one of the trail systems the Town lists, and the Town has a bicycle master plan and the Diablo Road Trail project. TRAFFIX school buses, funded by the county's Measure J sales tax, carry about 1,800 students to 11 San Ramon Valley schools, and County Connection's 600-series routes are timed to school bells.
Things to do in Danville
Beyond the Saturday farmers' market and downtown restaurants, the Village Theatre stages shows and exhibitions, the Town runs fall and holiday events such as the Scarecrow Stroll, and runs classes and programs for residents. Hikers use Las Trampas, Sycamore Valley Open Space and Mount Diablo State Park.
Salary needed to live in Danville
MIT's Living Wage Calculator, updated February 15, 2026, sets the basic-needs income for Contra Costa County. It assumes a modest county-average rent, so Danville costs run higher.
| Household (MIT, Contra Costa County) | Living wage per hour | Required income before taxes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 adult, no children | $33.01 | $68,652 |
| 2 working adults, no children | $21.43 each | $89,162 |
| 2 working adults, 2 children | $43.97 each | $182,895 |
| 1 adult, 2 children | $86.23 | $179,358 |
MIT's housing figure for a single adult is $25,862 a year. Renting Zillow's typical Danville home at $4,324 a month costs $51,888, about twice that, so a renter household should add roughly $26,000 a year of after-tax income to MIT's numbers. Buying is a different scale: our estimate above puts the income for a typical home near $458,000. The Census median household income in Danville, $232,216, sits between the two.
Who's moving to and from Danville
The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 survey counted 42,979 Danville residents aged one and over. Of them, 89.2% lived in the same house a year earlier, 4.4% moved from elsewhere in Contra Costa County, 3.7% from another California county, 1.7% from another state and 0.9% from abroad. The town's population estimate fell from 44,605 in the 2015-2019 survey to 43,401 in 2020-2024, a drop of 2.7%, while the median household income rose from $160,808 to $232,216 and the median home value from $1,091,900 to $1,681,700. Those changes reflect prices: few homes come up, and buyers need high incomes to win them.
Retiring in Danville
The Town runs a Senior Center at 115 East Prospect Avenue downtown, with a Monday lunch program, free Monday films, bingo, tech help and trips. Homeowners 55 and older who sell elsewhere in California can transfer their Prop 13 taxable value to a Danville replacement home under Prop 19, which can cut the tax bill sharply; see our Prop 19 guide. The school district's Measure Q parcel tax includes senior exemptions; ask the district how to apply. We did not find an age-restricted community selling homes in Danville for this guide; our California 55+ communities guide covers the wider options.
Where to live in Danville
The two ZIP codes are the first split. 94526, west of and along Interstate 680, includes downtown and the Diablo Road and El Cerro areas, with a Zillow typical value of $1,711,410 in September 2026. 94506, east along Camino Tassajara and including Blackhawk addresses, was $1,982,682. Redfin's median sale price was $1,699,501 in 94526 and $2,199,354 in 94506 for the three months to September 2026. Our Danville ZIP code guide compares them, and the Danville homes for sale guide covers areas and buying steps.
Should you move to Danville? A checklist
- Can your budget carry about $11,450 a month in mortgage and base tax for a typical home, or $4,324 a month in rent?
- Does your commute work by car on Interstate 680, or by bus to Walnut Creek or Dublin/Pleasanton BART?
- Have you checked the fire hazard zone, evacuation route and insurance quote for the exact address?
- Have you confirmed school assignment with the San Ramon Valley Unified locator rather than a listing?
- Would you accept a townhome, or an older house that needs updating, to get into the town?
- Will you stay long enough to ride out a flat year like the 0.2% Zillow change to September 2026?
- Have you compared nearby options such as San Ramon, where Redfin's median sale price was $1,449,310?
If most answers are yes, talk to a local agent; our featured partner is on the Danville best agent page.