Blog > Los Altos & Los Altos Hills Neighborhoods by Their Houses: Age, Size, Lots and Stories
Los Altos & Los Altos Hills Neighborhoods by Their Houses: Age, Size, Lots and Stories
by
County assessor records list the year built, living area, lot size, bedrooms and stories for houses in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. We took the 10,335 single-family houses in the City of Los Altos’s parcel records (9,292 inside the city limit and 1,043 in the unincorporated county island around Loyola, the Country Club area and Summerhill, which has Los Altos addresses) and the 3,017 in Los Altos Hills, one record per parcel, and placed each in our neighborhood guide outlines. The figures come from public parcel data as of October 2026. There are no addresses or owner details here.
The short answer
- Los Altos (inside the city limit): the median house was built in 1958 and has 2,506 square feet on a 10,890 sq ft lot. 21% of houses have two or more stories, and 15% were built in 2000 or later.
- Los Altos Hills: the median house was built in 1973 and has 3,814 square feet on 1.1 acres. 48% have two or more stories, and 35% have five or more bedrooms.
- Most rebuilt in Los Altos (2000 or later, guides with at least 100 houses): Montebello Acres (25%), Country Club (25%) and Costello Acres (24%). Least: The Highlands (1%) and Montclaire (7%).
- Single-story zoning: 360 Los Altos houses sit in the R1-S single-story overlay, most of them in North Los Altos (277), South Los Altos (47) and Woodland Acres (29).
- Historic resources: the City of Los Altos flags 75 of these houses as historic resources.
Next steps in Los Altos & Los Altos Hills
- What’s my home worth? Request an estimate, and ask us for the recent sales on your street.
- See Los Altos & Los Altos Hills homes for sale, then use Save Search to get new listings by email.
- Book a strategy call with a Property Nerd.
Los Altos, neighborhood by neighborhood
Oldest first, by the median year built. Some guides sit inside others (Rancho and Costello Acres inside Central Los Altos, for example), so a house can count in two. Each name opens its guide.
| Neighborhood | Houses | Median year built | Built before 1960 | Built 2000 or later | Median size | Median lot | Two or more stories | Five or more bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rancho | 119 | 1950 | 74% | 21% | 2,503 sq ft | 11,760 sq ft | 13% | 22% |
| Montebello Acres | 147 | 1951 | 64% | 25% | 2,909 sq ft | 17,420 sq ft | 21% | 26% |
| Los Benditos & Thurston Park | 123 | 1952 | 67% | 20% | 2,497 sq ft | 11,320 sq ft | 11% | 14% |
| Old Los Altos | 336 | 1955 | 58% | 17% | 2,533 sq ft | 9,580 sq ft | 36% | 17% |
| Central Los Altos | 2,514 | 1956 | 59% | 18% | 2,520 sq ft | 10,890 sq ft | 21% | 20% |
| Costello Acres | 103 | 1956 | 60% | 24% | 3,226 sq ft | 17,420 sq ft | 31% | 29% |
| South Los Altos | 1,680 | 1957 | 67% | 10% | 2,358 sq ft | 10,020 sq ft | 20% | 16% |
| Montclaire | 312 | 1958 | 56% | 7% | 2,537 sq ft | 10,890 sq ft | 29% | 21% |
| North Los Altos | 2,613 | 1958 | 54% | 17% | 2,555 sq ft | 10,890 sq ft | 19% | 19% |
| Loyola Corners | 459 | 1960 | 49% | 19% | 2,517 sq ft | 12,200 sq ft | — | — |
| Santa Rita | 547 | 1962 | 44% | 16% | 2,725 sq ft | 12,200 sq ft | 19% | 19% |
| The Highlands | 315 | 1962 | 20% | 1% | 2,328 sq ft | 10,890 sq ft | 13% | 14% |
| Woodland Acres | 462 | 1962 | 37% | 8% | 2,551 sq ft | 11,760 sq ft | 29% | 20% |
| Fallen Leaf Park | 80 | 1968 | 12% | 1% | 2,523 sq ft | 10,020 sq ft | 29% | 39% |
| Summerhill | 434 | 1968 | 31% | 17% | 2,816 sq ft | 16,120 sq ft | — | — |
| Country Club | 478 | 1973 | 43% | 25% | 3,056 sq ft | 16,990 sq ft | — | — |
| All of Los Altos | 10,335 | 1958 | 53% | 15% | 2,535 sq ft | 10,890 sq ft | 21% | 19% |
Los Altos Hills, area by area
Our Los Altos Hills guides cover the town by area. Oldest first.
| Neighborhood | Houses | Median year built | Built before 1960 | Built 2000 or later | Median size | Median lot | Two or more stories | Five or more bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mora Drive & Olive Tree | 366 | 1965 | 34% | 12% | 3,552 sq ft | 1.1 acres | 48% | 26% |
| Town Hall & Fremont Road | 578 | 1967 | 19% | 22% | 3,611 sq ft | 1.1 acres | 41% | 37% |
| Burke Road & Sunset Drive | 209 | 1969 | 30% | 23% | 3,724 sq ft | 1.1 acres | 50% | 33% |
| Arastradero Road & Manuella | 278 | 1972 | 27% | 18% | 4,072 sq ft | 1 acre | 40% | 42% |
| Purissima Hills | 303 | 1973 | 17% | 13% | 3,461 sq ft | 1.1 acres | 49% | 36% |
| Altamont, Taaffe & Moody Roads | 411 | 1975 | 20% | 18% | 3,910 sq ft | 1.2 acres | 53% | 34% |
| El Monte Road & Foothill College | 509 | 1978 | 26% | 21% | 4,075 sq ft | 1.1 acres | 47% | 36% |
| Page Mill Road & Palo Alto Hills | 336 | 1980 | 7% | 9% | 4,006 sq ft | 1.2 acres | 55% | 38% |
| All of Los Altos Hills | 3,017 | 1973 | 22% | 18% | 3,814 sq ft | 1.1 acres | 48% | 35% |
What stands out
- Los Altos Hills houses are about half again as large as Los Altos houses, on lots more than four times as big, and more than twice as likely to have a second story.
- The newest medians: in Los Altos, Country Club (1973) and Fallen Leaf Park (1968); in Los Altos Hills, Page Mill Road & Palo Alto Hills (1980) and El Monte Road & Foothill College (1978).
- The Highlands and Fallen Leaf Park have barely been rebuilt: about 1% of their houses carry a year built of 2000 or later.
Reading it right
- City limit. The City of Los Altos’s parcel layer also covers 1,043 houses in unincorporated Santa Clara County with Los Altos addresses, nearly all in the one county island LAFCO calls the Country Club Area (around Loyola, the Country Club area and Summerhill). The Los Altos figures in the short answer count only the 9,292 houses inside the city limit; the neighborhood rows count every house inside a guide outline, on either side of the line. County zoning and permits apply on the county side.
- Sources. Los Altos year built, size, lot, zoning and historic status come from the City of Los Altos’s parcel layer. Bedrooms and stories, and all Los Altos Hills figures, come from county assessor fields published in the Los Altos Hills County Fire District’s public parcel layer; a dash means too few records had them.
- “Year built” is the record’s year. A house torn down and rebuilt shows the rebuild year; an older house with an addition keeps its original year.
- Assessor records lag remodels. Living area, bedrooms and stories can miss recent additions. Check permits for any house you’re buying.
- A median isn’t a verdict. It describes the houses, not which neighborhood is right for you.
Go deeper
Los Altos & Los Altos Hills Neighborhoods Ranked by Price per Square Foot shows what recent sales brought, The Most Expensive Streets in Los Altos & Los Altos Hills goes street by street, and Los Altos house prices by bedrooms breaks sales down by size. The Los Altos and Los Altos Hills city guides link every neighborhood guide.
The Los Altos data series: housing market by the numbers · neighborhoods ranked by price per sq ft · where homes sell over asking · ten years of prices by neighborhood · condos and townhomes · house prices by bedrooms · houses under $4M · houses at $7.5M and up · the best month to sell · the most expensive streets · Los Altos Hills fire zones · our sales map
Thinking about a rebuild or a second story?
A Property Nerd can pull the zoning, the lot and the recent sales on your street before you plan. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a strategy call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
Selling? Start with selling a home in Los Altos or Los Altos Hills: how we’d price, prepare and launch your sale, and the homes we’ve listed and sold nearby.