Palo Alto, CA population, income and ZIP codes

Palo Alto city is a small city in California, with 67,231 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #136 of 1,618 ranked by population — larger than 91% of them. The median age here is 42.5 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. At this size the Census also publishes one-year estimates; the five-year values used here are steadier and let you compare against smaller neighbours on the same basis.

Households in Palo Alto city earn a median of $220,408 a year, 180.6% above the national figure of $78,538 and 142% above the $91,111 median for the 1,050 California cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 5.4% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Palo Alto city is valued at $2,000,001, 559.2% above the national figure and 239% above the $589,600 peer median, while median gross rent runs $3,328 a month, 136.7% above the national figure, or roughly $39,936 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 18.1% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 9.1×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is out of reach on local earnings alone and the ownership market leans on outside income, equity or dual high earners. 54.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

Home values sit at 9.1× median household income, far past the 3.9× national mark, so ownership costs here are set by something other than local wages — second homes, retirees with equity, or commuters earning elsewhere.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.