City of Los Altos, California

City of Los Altos, CA

Most of the city's growth took place from 1950 to 1980 changing the town from an agricultural town with apricot orchards into an affluent bedroom community. Los Altos has less industrial development and a larger average lot size ( 13,000 vs. 8500 sf) than Santa Clara County as a whole. Forbes ranks Los Altos zip codes 94022 and 94024 as the 63rd and 66th most expensive zip codes in the United States. The estimated median household income in 2012 was $155,978. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census.

The Bullis Charter School (BCS) was founded as a reaction to the Los Altos School District (LASD) board's decision to close the Bullis-Purissima Elementary School in February 2003. The BCS has sued the LASD multiple times. Currently the two have agreed to a 5 year "cease-fire".

In 1906 Paul Shoup, an executive of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and some colleagues formed the Altos Land Company and started the development of Los Altos. The company purchased 140 acres of land from Sarah Winchester with the plan of creating a town to take advantage of the Southern Pacific "cutoff" between Mayfield(now part of Palo Alto) and Los Gatos. In March 1907 the Altos Land company sponsored an outdoor land sale and the first town lots were sold. Southern Pacific Railroad began train service through Los Altos on April 19, 1908 with five trains per day along what is now Foothill Expressway. By 1949 many residents were afraid that the town would be annexed by either Palo Alto or Mountain View and decided to try to incorporate. Los Altos became the eleventh city in Santa Clara county on December 1, 1952. By 1964 increased use of automobiles lead Southern Pacific Railroad to cease operations to Los Altos.

U.S. Census Facts for Los Altos

• Total Population: 28,976
• 11,493 housing units - 84.7% owner occupied
• Median household income: $157,907
• Bachelors degree or higher: 84.1%
• Median age: 46.2