Los Altos

Situated in the heart of Silicon Valley is the suburb of South Los Altos, a mostly residential neighborhood with close proximity to some of the country’s biggest names in tech. “A large majority of people in Los Altos and surrounding communities are very tech-oriented; Google is headquartered in Mountain View, Apple has headquarters in Cupertino, and all these areas are within close proximity of each other,” says Ryan Gowdy, a real estate agent with The Agency Los Altos who is also a lifelong resident of Los Altos. He also notes that Apple was actually founded in a garage located in South Los Altos, further cementing this neighborhood in the technology history books. “This area is really at the epicenter of the technology boom; it’s a convenient geographic location for many major employers, and lots of families come here for the fantastic schools,” Gowdy says. Single-family homes here are found on residential roads that wind and curve in snake-like patterns, often leading into cul-de-sacs. “It’s a pretty quiet community, homebuyers often come here for the large lots,” Gowdy says. Common home styles include ranch-style dwellings that feature Spanish and traditional-style architecture. There’s a sense of seclusion and privacy from the nearby hustle and bustle of Los Altos, with many properties having verdant front yards with well-maintained landscaping. Many of the homes here also include paved driveways and attached garages, so street parking isn’t as common. Residences in South Los Altos tend to range in price between $3.2 million and $5 million, with a median price just below $4 million. In the southern half of the neighborhood, students are served by the Cupertino Union School District, which receives an A-minus from Niche. Within this district, young learners can attend the A-rated West Valley Elementary School, which feeds into Cupertino Middle School, rated A-minus. Students in the northern portion of South Los Altos are zoned for Los Altos school districts: “Los Altos School District, or LASD, is only elementary and middle school, which here is also called junior high. When students reach the high school level, they attend the Mountain View-Los Altos Union School District,” Gowdy says. Within LASD, Oak Avenue Elementary School is an A-plus-rated primary institution. Blach Intermediate School is also rated A-plus and was named No. 6 on Niche’s 2024 “Best Public Middle Schools in Santa Clara County” list. Los Altos High School, rated A-plus, was ranked No. 5 on Niche’s “Best Public High Schools in the San Francisco Bay Area” list in 2024. Residents of South Los Altos don’t have to go far to find plenty of outdoor recreation. “There are multiple public parks throughout the neighborhood, such as Grant Park,” Gowdy says. At Grant Park, sports enthusiasts can enjoy a basketball court and softball field, while families can set up picnics and kids can play on the park’s fully equipped playground. “Adjacent to South Los Altos is the Rancho San Antonio Nature Preserve, which has lots of hiking trails and draws lots of outdoor enthusiasts,” Gowdy says. He also adds that the Los Altos Country Club and golf course is situated just over a mile away from the neighborhood: “The country was once the most expensive club in the country; the topography over there is very hilly, it varies quite a bit.” “There are two shopping districts in the area – one is Loyola Corners, which has an excellent bike shop called Bicycle Outfitters and a nice Italian restaurant called Café Vitale. The other is Rancho Shopping Center, which has a new popular restaurant called the Redwood Grill. Then, of course, there’s a plethora of restaurants in the downtown area,” Gowdy says. For groceries, residents can shop at Lucky supermarket located along the Foothill Expressway. A little farther down the expressway is the Foothill Crossing Shopping Center, which features additional grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s and Foothill Produce. South Los Altos is an approximately 4-mile drive from the nearby city of Sunnyvale, and a 12-mile drive from Downtown San Jose. “Highway 85 and Interstate 280 are the major thoroughfares in the neighborhood, but the easiest way to travel through the Los Altos area is using the Foothill Expressway,” Gowdy says. To catch a flight, residents can drive just under 14 miles to the San Jose Mineta International Airport. Fixed bus routes and bus stops located along Foothill Expressway are operated by the Valley Transportation Authority, also known as VTA.