Welcome to Palo Alto!

Palo Alto gracefully blends a burgeoning business community, tree-lined residential neighborhoods, excellent educational facilities, and a low crime rate with a nearly limitless selection of recreational, cultural, and social pursuits. Our community is built by and for people who value a high quality of life.

Palo Alto’s high living standard trickles down to every facet of our community, from education to health care to social and religious facilities. Our public schools serve over 9,000 K-12 students in an academic year and have earned an international reputation for excellence. For those with hungry appetites for reading, Palo Alto has six public libraries and more than a dozen local bookstores. More than 50 churches and houses of worship serve the citizens’ spiritual needs, and world class medical institutions such as Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Stanford University Medical Center tend to the city’s health issues.

Palo Alto encompasses an area of approximately 26 square miles, one-third of which is dedicated to open space such as the Baylands Nature Preserve and Foothills Park. Palo Alto is ideally situated between cosmopolitan San Francisco (35 miles to the north) and downtown San Jose (14 miles to the south). For those with an adventurous spirit, countless natural and man-made attractions are within driving distance of Palo Alto, and the city boundaries extend from the San Francisco Bay to the Skyline Ridge of the coastal mountains.

With our beautiful climate, strong history of education, and high living standards, Palo Alto is the ideal place to grow a family or a business – or both! If you have any questions about our wonderful city, please contact the Chamber of Commerce today.