Los Gatos vs. Saratoga: Downtowns, Eichlers, Rules and the Market

Los Gatos and Saratoga are neighbors at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, about 4 miles apart center to center. Neither has a train station, and both get electricity from the same provider. The differences show up in their downtowns, their older houses, a few local rules and the market. Here’s the comparison, with a live-market snapshot from our City Match-Up.

The basics

• Town and city. Los Gatos is a town, incorporated in 1887. Saratoga is a city.
• Trains. Neither has a Caltrain, BART or light rail station. The closest VTA light rail stops are in neighboring Campbell: Winchester, Downtown Campbell and Hamilton.
• Downtowns. Downtown Los Gatos centers on North Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street; Saratoga Village runs along Big Basin Way. See Homes Near Downtown for homes within a short walk of each.
• Parks and campuses. Vasona Lake is in Los Gatos; Hakone Gardens, Villa Montalvo and West Valley College are in Saratoga. Netflix has its headquarters in Los Gatos. See Homes Near Parks and Homes Near Tech Campuses.
• Electricity. Both get power from Silicon Valley Clean Energy, delivered by PG&E.
• School districts. Check the district’s boundary lookup for any address.

At closing

Neither adds a city transfer tax, so a $2 million sale carries only the county’s $2,200 in either place. See our transfer tax guide.

Homes and rules

• Victorians. Los Gatos has design guidelines for five historic districts: Almond Grove, Broadway, Fairview Plaza, University-Edelen and Downtown. See Los Gatos Victorian and Edwardian homes.
• Eichlers. Saratoga has one Eichler tract: 35 homes designed by Claude Oakland on De Havilland Drive, Shubert Drive and Columbine Court, built in 1964–65. Los Gatos has none; the nearest is Sereno Foothills, 16 Eichlers on Via Sereno in neighboring Monte Sereno. See Silicon Valley Eichler tracts.
• Single-story zoning. Saratoga has a single-story overlay for the Saratoga Woods neighborhood; we found none in Los Gatos. See overlays by city.
• Rentals. Los Gatos runs a rental dispute program for properties with three or more units: one increase a year, with 5% presumed valid and larger increases open to tenant petitions. See rent rules by city.

The market, in a snapshot

From our City Match-Up on October 18, 2026, for houses, condos and townhomes, with sales from the previous 90 days:

• Homes for sale: 129 in Los Gatos, 50 in Saratoga.
• Sales in 90 days: 98 in Los Gatos, 72 in Saratoga.
• Median sale price: $2.14 million in Los Gatos, $3.8 million in Saratoga.
• Median price per square foot: $1,001 in Los Gatos, $1,520 in Saratoga.
• Median sale-to-list: 98.3% in Los Gatos, 100.0% in Saratoga.
• Median days on market, homes for sale now: 54 in Los Gatos, 32 in Saratoga.
• Months of supply: 3.9 in Los Gatos, 2.1 in Saratoga.

Medians follow the mix of homes, and these numbers change daily, so open the live City Match-Up and switch to houses only to compare like with like.

More comparisons: Saratoga vs. Los Altos, Campbell vs. Saratoga, Los Gatos vs. Los Altos, Saratoga vs. Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos vs. San Jose and Cupertino vs. Los Gatos.

Weighing the two? Call the Boyenga Team at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.