City, Santa Clara County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 94022, 94023, 94024
Prestige
town. School rankings are right at top in the state. Home prices high, crime
low. Many homes have been remodeled into something bigger and better or torn
down and replaced with larger homes. www.mccormacks.com
Quaint downtown. Streets lined with tall
redwoods, pines and other trees. Woodsy. Police station and civic center hide
behind apricot trees. A demographer in 2005 pronounced Los Altos as the best
family town in the Bay Area.
Sibling
city to Los Altos Hills, the “top drawer” among the county's cities. They share
school districts, shops and some civic projects. Community foundation raises
money for worthwhile projects in both towns.
Click for regional or detailed map
One of the
lowest crime ratings in the state. Zero homicides between 2005 and 1993, one in
1992, three in 1991, zero in 1990 and in 1989. See Crime.
Only
drawback: traffic congests on commercial streets and if you work in San Jose or
up the peninsula, you will get caught in delays — the price of working in
or near Silicon Valley.
Los Altos
started 1990 with 26,303 residents and finished the decade with 27,693, an
increase of 1,390. In its annual guess, the state in 2008 put the population at
28,291. www.mccormacks.com
Just
outside Los Altos, on the south side, is a small unincorporated neighborhood,
about 2,000 residents, built around the Los Altos County Club. Planners include
this section in the Los Altos planning area and give both about 29,800 people
total. Over the next 25 years, planner guess, this number will inch up to
31,600. Los Altos (and Los Altos Hills) are just about built out, and over the
years this may push up property values, already quite high.
Home to
managers, administrators and professionals and, increasingly, retirees. Median
age of residents is 44. About 32 percent are over age 55, about 24 percent are
under age 18, reported 2000 census.
Several small shopping centers. Downtown
has attracted first-class restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, sidewalk cafes,
boutiques and art galleries. Statues spotted here and there. At the corner of
Main and State streets is a spic-and-span plaza decorated with bricks and
stones and a large four-faced clock that looks like it stepped out of London.
Town
started as a summer vacation spot. When railroad arrived, Los Altos took off as
second home of San Francisco wealthy, then as home for upper-middle class.
Over 40
restaurants and salons, a town that likes to dine and get coifed. In an effort
to diversify the town's businesses, the city council in 2004 said no more
salons on two popular streets in the downtown. www.mccormacks.com
Single
homes account for 89 percent of housing stock. Great majority built on about
quarter-acre lots.
In 2008,
the state counted 10,820 residential units — 9,219 single homes, 383
single-family attached, 1,202 multiples, 16 mobile homes. Many of the streets
go without sidewalks, part of the country atmosphere that residents seem to
love.
Despite
the name, Los Altos has few hills but it does slope gently toward the Bay.
All
schools in the Los Altos Elementary District have been designated “distinguished,”
meaning the state thinks they are well run. Junior high and high schools
received similar honors. Day care at elementary schools.
In 1998,
voters passed a $95 million bond to renovate all the schools in the elementary
district and to build facilities. Voters also have passed and renewed and
increased a parcel tax to maintain the quality of electives and academic
programs. This tax is hard to win because it requires a two-thirds vote;
construction tax requires 55 percent approval. www.mccormacks.com
Older
students attend the schools of the Mountain View-Los Altos High School
District, the great majority Los Altos High in Los Altos. Scores in the 90th
percentile, top 10 percent in state. See Schools.
In 1995,
the district passed a $58 million bond. The money was used to remodel and add
classrooms, repair heating and plumbing, and add security lighting. Other funds
are paying for more improvements.
Tax passed
in 1994 and renewed in 2005 to keep libraries in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills
open longer.
Montclair
Elementary is in Los Altos but served by Cupertino School District, which has
passed several bonds. Eight private schools are located either in Los Altos
Hills or Los Altos. Public charter school opened in 2004 (see Los Altos Hills).
Commute
pretty good. Foothill Expressway runs through town. Interstate 280 and Highway
101 are close by. Other freeways, Silicon Valley industries, within a short
drive. Nearby train station with service to San Francisco and San Jose. Traffic
often creeps along the business streets. www.mccormacks.com
Community
Center, skateboard playground, 10 parks, including one with a redwood grove,
adult education and recreation programs at the schools. Little theater that
includes a program for kids. Art and wine festival, antique fairs. Baseball,
soccer, drama, dance, many clubs. Seniors center. Youth center. Library
expanded. Farmers market. Festival
of Lights Parade draws 20,000-30,000. Annual pet parade. In planning, a
community pool to be built at one of the parks. City rec department offers
aerobics and fitness classes, dance, ballet, summer camps, senior and kid
activities and more.
In 1900, a
few progressives started the Sempervirens Fund to buy or conserve forests in
Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, the fund, still rolling, is based in Los
Altos. It has purchased over 21,000 acres. Many people hike the trails on these
lands.
Los Altos
Morning Forum secures pundits and celebrities for its talks. Foothill Community
College, nearby, offers lectures and other activities open to public and stages
plays. For many people, a drive of 10 minutes brings them all that Palo Alto
and Stanford offer.
Chamber of
commerce (650) 948-1455.
• No
gas-powered leaf blowers; only battery and electric. www.mccormacks.com
• Whole
Foods opened in 2006. Trader Joe’s in Mountain View, next town to east.
City web site:
www.ci.los-altos.ca.us
