Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula (part of the Silicon Valley). The city is located in Santa Clara County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 27,693.

Los Altos is a quiet "bedroom community" suburb serving both San Jose and San Francisco. Most of the city was developed between the 1950s and 1970s. As a former farm town, Los Altos has several unique features. Commercial zones are strictly limited to the downtown area and a few shopping centers and office parks lining Foothill Expressway and El Camino Real. The adjacent town of Los Altos Hills has no commercial zones, post office, or public library, and is dependent upon Los Altos for such services.

Los Altos, by design, strives to maintain a semi-rural atmosphere. Los Altos has no sidewalks except around the commercial zones just mentioned and along the most important arterials like San Antonio Road. Most roads have broad dirt shoulders and little or no street lighting. The civic center sits in the middle of an orchard, a tiny remnant of the large farms which once covered the area. The downtown is a triangle with arterials on all sides that allow most through traffic to bypass Main Street. In contrast, several nearby cities have downtowns that lack adequate bypasses (notably, Palo Alto and Menlo Park). Due to the city's strict low-density zoning, Los Altos has high housing costs.

Los Altos has international sister cities ties with

• Bendigo, Australia
• Skytyvkar , Russia
• Shih Lin , Taiwan.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.4 km² (6.3 mi²). 16.4 km² (6.3 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 27,693 people, 10,462 households, and 8,024 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,683.8/km² (4,360.7/mi²). There are 10,727 housing units at an average density of 652.2/km² (1,689.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 80.35% White, 0.47% African American, 0.17% Native American, 15.42% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 2.77% from two or more races. 2.97% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 10,462 households out of which 33.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.4% are married couples living together, 5.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% are non-families. 18.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.61 and the average family size is 2.98.

In the city the population is spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 44 years. For every 100 females there are 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $126,740, and the median income for a family is $148,201. Males have a median income of $100000 versus $67,332 for females. The per capita income for the city is $66,776. 2.4% of the population and 1.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.2% of those under the age of 18 and 1.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

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