On this page
By almost any measure, Palo Alto households earn far more than the California average. The typical household brings in more than twice the statewide median. Yet the city also has several thousand residents below the poverty line. The income gap between the top and the bottom is wide.
This page sets out what the official data says. Most figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2020 to 2024 5-year estimates, stated in 2024 dollars. The 2025 1-year estimates came out on October 29, 2026; we stick with the 5-year series because its margins of error are smaller for a city this size. Income limits come from the state housing department and property values from the city's financial report. This is general information, not financial advice.
Household income
| Measure (ACS 2020 to 2024) | Palo Alto | Santa Clara County | California |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $231,101 | $164,281 | $99,122 |
| Margin of error | plus or minus $9,859 | small | small |
| Mean household income (our calculation) | about $315,700 | about $227,000 | about $140,400 |
| Median family income | $250,000 or more (top-coded) | $187,890 | $113,346 |
| Per capita income | $123,939 | $80,312 | $49,513 |
The mean is our arithmetic: aggregate household income divided by the 26,021 households in the same survey. A mean well above the median signals a long tail of very high incomes.
The median family income line shows a quirk of the data. The Census Bureau publishes medians only up to $250,000. When the true median is higher, it reports "250,000+." Palo Alto's family median hits that ceiling, so the real figure is unknown but above it.
The ACS 2024 1-year estimate, a single-year snapshot with a wider margin of error, put the household median at $228,517, plus or minus about $21,600. That is statistically the same as the 5-year figure.
How incomes are spread
A median hides the shape of the curve. The 2020 to 2024 survey sorts households into income brackets:
| Household income | Palo Alto | California |
|---|---|---|
| Under $50,000 | 13.4% | 25.8% |
| $50,000 to $99,999 | 11.3% | 24.6% |
| $100,000 to $149,999 | 11.0% | 17.8% |
| $150,000 to $199,999 | 9.4% | 11.3% |
| $200,000 or more | 55.0% | 20.5% |
Source: ACS table B19001; brackets combined by us. More than half of Palo Alto households sit in the top bracket the survey publishes. Still, about one household in eight earns under $50,000. The survey does not say who they are. The group can include retirees with low cash income who own their homes outright, students and tenants in subsidized apartments.
Quintiles and inequality
The ACS also divides households into five equal groups. In Palo Alto, the poorest fifth had a mean income of $36,529. The middle fifth averaged $229,504. The richest fifth averaged $818,259 and the top 5 percent averaged $1,330,610.
The Gini index, a standard inequality score from 0 (everyone equal) to 1 (one household has everything), was 0.4918 for Palo Alto. That is a little higher than Santa Clara County at 0.4764 and close to California at 0.4889. In other words, Palo Alto is richer than the state at every level, but its gap between top and bottom is about as wide.
Earnings from work
For employed residents 16 and older, the ACS reports median earnings of $140,767. Earnings vary by job. Medians for computer and mathematical occupations were $210,417 and for management occupations $217,500. Service occupations had a median of $26,507, a number that includes many part-time workers. The economy and jobs page covers where residents work and what industries they work in.
Sources of household income go beyond paychecks. In the same survey:
- 49.7 percent of households reported interest, dividends or net rental income, compared with 21.2 percent statewide.
- 28.2 percent received Social Security and 22.1 percent had retirement income.
- 14.6 percent had self-employment income.
- 3.0 percent received CalFresh (SNAP) food benefits, 3.0 percent received Supplemental Security Income and 2.2 percent received cash public assistance.
Poverty
The federal poverty line is the same everywhere in the country, which makes it a low bar in a high-cost place like Palo Alto. Even so, the ACS counts 4,003 residents below it, plus or minus 1,035.
| Measure (ACS 2020 to 2024) | Palo Alto | Santa Clara County | California |
|---|---|---|---|
| People below poverty | 6.0% | 7.1% | 12.0% |
| People below half the poverty line | 3.3% | 3.7% | 5.8% |
| People below twice the poverty line | 10.1% | 15.7% | 27.3% |
| Families below poverty | 3.4% | 4.4% | 8.5% |
Sources: ACS tables B17001, C17002 and B17010. The ACS 2024 1-year estimate had a poverty rate of 6.6 percent, with a margin of error so wide that it is not a meaningful change.
By age, the survey puts roughly 1,000 of the people below poverty at 65 or older and roughly 1,000 under 18, each with wide margins of error. The count can also include graduate students and others with low cash income but outside support. Local help is listed on our pages on food assistance, utility bill discounts and homelessness services.
What "low income" means here
Housing programs do not use the federal poverty line. They use income limits based on area median income, which the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) publishes each year for every county. HCD's 2026 state income limits, dated June 23, 2026, list these figures for Santa Clara County:
| Category | 1 person | 2 people | 4 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely low | $43,200 | $49,350 | $61,650 |
| Very low | $71,950 | $82,200 | $102,750 |
| Low | $113,700 | $129,950 | $162,400 |
| Median | $143,850 | $164,400 | $205,500 |
| Moderate | $172,600 | $197,300 | $246,600 |
So a family of four earning $160,000 counts as low income for affordable housing in Santa Clara County. These limits decide who qualifies for below market rate homes and several city discounts.
Wealth: what can and cannot be measured
No official agency publishes household net worth for an individual city. The Federal Reserve's wealth surveys are national. What exists are indirect signals:
- Investment income. Half of Palo Alto households report interest, dividends or rental income, more than double the state share.
- Home equity. The ACS caps home values at "$2,000,000 or more" and Palo Alto's median owner-occupied value hits that cap. Among owner households, 41.7 percent have no mortgage. Recent sale prices are on our home prices page.
- Property tax base. The city's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal 2025 put Palo Alto's assessment roll at $51.9 billion, up 4.8 percent from the year before. Because of Proposition 13, assessed values run well below market value for long-held homes.
Treat any website that claims a precise "average net worth" for Palo Alto with caution. It is a modeled estimate, not a measured one.
Good to know
- ACS income is self-reported and covers the 12 months before each survey response, adjusted to 2024 dollars.
- Medians at or above $250,000 are shown as "250,000+" and the true value is unknown.
- Stanford students living on campus are outside city limits and not in these figures.
- The 2021 to 2025 5-year ACS is scheduled for release around the turn of the year.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median household income in Palo Alto?
The Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2020 to 2024 puts it at $231,101 in 2024 dollars, with a margin of error of about $9,900. Santa Clara County's median is $164,281 and California's is $99,122.
What is the poverty rate in Palo Alto?
The 2020 to 2024 survey counts about 4,000 people below the federal poverty line, 6.0 percent of residents for whom poverty is measured. The margin of error is about 1,000 people. The county rate is 7.1 percent and the state rate 12.0 percent.
Is Palo Alto the richest city in California?
It is among the highest-income cities of its size, but rankings depend on the measure. Nearby Atherton, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Woodside all have 2020 to 2024 household medians at the Census Bureau's $250,000 cap, above Palo Alto's. Because of that cap, the survey cannot rank them against each other.
What counts as low income in Palo Alto?
Housing programs use the state's income limits for Santa Clara County. For 2026, the California Department of Housing and Community Development lists $162,400 as the low-income limit for a family of four and $102,750 as very low income. The county's area median income for four people is $205,500.
How much wealth do Palo Alto residents have?
No official source publishes net worth for a single city. The best signals are indirect: about half of households reported interest, dividend or rental income in the 2020 to 2024 survey. The city's assessment roll was $51.9 billion in fiscal 2025.