California city guide
Palo Alto, CAHousing costs & affordability
Palo Alto has about 67,237 residents. Median gross rent is $3,484 per month, while median household income is $231,101.
Quick answer
What income supports the median rent?
A household would need about $139,400 per year to keep Palo Alto's median gross rent near 30% of gross income. The 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year citywide median-rent-to-median-income benchmark is 18%.
Lower housing-cost benchmarkBefore using these numbers
- Median home value is published as $2,000,000+, an open-ended interval rather than an exact dollar estimate. Ratios, exact gaps and rankings requiring this value are not calculated.
Data scope: figures use 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates. The latest official release was checked Oct 01, 2026 at 03:00 UTC. The benchmark compares citywide medians and is designed for broad relocation research, not an individual budget or a live apartment search.
Some medians are open-ended Margins of error use the Census ACS 90% confidence level. Smaller geographies and subgroups can have wider uncertainty.
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Compare Palo Alto’s median rent with a 30% target based on your gross annual household income.
How Palo Alto compares
Within California, Palo Alto ranks #340 from lowest to highest rent among 340 covered places with usable rent estimates. Median rent is 111% above the dataset median. Household income ranks #4 from highest to lowest among 345 places with usable income estimates.
The citywide rent-to-income benchmark is 20% or less. The rent-to-income benchmark is useful for comparing cities under one formula, but households with different incomes, unit sizes or debt loads will experience costs differently.
Search terms, defined
How to read rent, home price and AMI searches
These distinctions keep the Census estimates comparable and prevent a historical survey measure from being mistaken for a live market quote.
- Average rent vs. median gross rent
- If you searched for the average rent in Palo Alto, the closest consistent Census measure on this page is $3,484 median gross rent. It is the midpoint among renter-occupied homes paying cash rent, not a live average asking rent. Gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated tenant-paid utilities where applicable.
- Home price vs. median home value
- The reported $2,000,000+ median home value is the midpoint of owner estimates for owner-occupied homes. It is not an average sale price, listing price or current automated valuation.
- Household income vs. AMI
- The $231,101 median household income is a Census city estimate. It is not HUD Area Median Income (AMI), an AMI eligibility limit or an affordable-housing contract amount.
Keep comparing
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Questions people ask
What is the median rent in Palo Alto?
Median gross rent is $3,484 per month in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.
What is the average rent in Palo Alto?
This page reports Census median gross rent of $3,484 per month, not a live average asking rent. Median is the midpoint among renter-occupied homes paying cash rent; gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated tenant-paid utilities where applicable.
What income is needed for the median rent?
A gross household income of about $139,400 per year would keep median gross rent near 30% of income. This is a planning benchmark, not a landlord qualification rule.
Is housing affordable in Palo Alto?
The citywide median-rent-to-median-income benchmark is 18%, which this site labels a lower housing-cost benchmark. Individual costs can differ substantially.
Does this page report Area Median Income or AMI?
No. The $231,101 figure is Census median household income for the city. It is not HUD Area Median Income, an AMI limit or an affordable-housing contract amount.
What is the median home value in Palo Alto?
The median value of owner-occupied homes is $2,000,000+ in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.
What is the average home price in Palo Alto?
This page reports a Census median owner-occupied home value of $2,000,000+, not an average sale price, current listing price or real-time market estimate.
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Data sources for Palo Alto
2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates for Palo Alto, California (Census place 0655282). Dollar estimates are in 2024 dollars. MOE means margin of error at 90% confidence.
Scroll the table horizontally on smaller screens to see every source.
| Measure | Estimate | 90% MOE | Census source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross rentUSD / month | $3,484 | ±$157 | B25064_001E |
| Median household incomeUSD / year | $231,101 | ±$9,859 | B19013_001E |
| Median owner-occupied home valueUSD | $2,000,000+ | Not available for an open-ended median | B25077_001E |
| PopulationPeople | 67,237 | ±73 | B01003_001E |
| Occupied housing unitsHousing units | 26,021 | ±635 | B25003_001E |
| Owner-occupied housing unitsHousing units | 14,217 | ±668 | B25003_002E |
Calculated separately: the $139,400 annual income target = $3,484 monthly gross rent × 12 ÷ 0.30, rounded to $100. Owner occupancy = owner-occupied units ÷ occupied units. These are derived benchmarks, not separate Census estimates. Missing or suppressed values are shown as “Not reported”; open-ended medians use a + or an “Under” label and are excluded from exact derived calculations; ranks use usable point estimates and do not establish statistically significant differences.
Good research deserves a source.
MoveCostCompare. “Housing costs in Palo Alto, California.” U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. $3,484 median gross rent per month (90% MOE ±$157). https://movecostcompare.com/city/palo-alto-california. Survey estimate, not live asking rent.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Latest release checked Oct 01, 2026 at 03:00 UTC. Review the definitions and methodology.