Housing data for Portola Valley, CA
Portola Valley, CA has an estimated 4,305 residents and 1,894 homes (US Census Bureau, 2020–2024 American Community Survey).
It is a town in San Mateo County.
21.2% of households rent.
The median gross rent is $3,500 or more a month.
Its population shrank measurably since 2015–2019 (−6.3%).
Figures last updated on .
- Residents
- 4,305 (±19)
- Housing units
- 1,894 (±191)
- Households that rent
- 21.2%
- Median gross rent
- $3,500 or more
- Residents since 2015–2019
- −6.3%
What stands out in Portola Valley
Working from home: 49.1% (±12.7 points) in Portola Valley, higher than in San Mateo County (24.3%).
Renters paying 30% or more of income: 87.1% (±23.0 points) in Portola Valley, higher than in San Mateo County (48.4%).
Households that rent: 21.2% (±7.8 points) in Portola Valley, lower than in San Mateo County (41.5%).
Homes in buildings of 5 or more units: 13.1% (±7.8 points) in Portola Valley, lower than in San Mateo County (28.7%).
- Commute and cars in Portola Valley
- Rent burden in Portola Valley
- Renters and owners in Portola Valley
- Types of homes in Portola Valley
Housing in Portola Valley at a glance
- Median rent: $3,500 or more median gross rent a month
- Rent by bedrooms: $3,500 or more median gross rent, 2 bedrooms
- Rent burden: 87.1% of renters pay 30% or more of income
- Renters and owners: 21.2% of households rent
- Income and affordability: $250,000 or more median household income
- Home values: $2,000,000 or more median home value
- Homeowner costs: $4,000 or more median monthly cost with a mortgage
- Property taxes: $10,000 or more median real estate taxes a year
- Types of homes: 13.1% of homes are in buildings of 5 or more units
- Bedrooms: 73.4% of homes have 3 or more bedrooms
- Age of homes: 79.2% of homes were built before 1980
- Vacancy rate: 0.0% rental vacancy rate (Small sample: wide margin of error)
- Heating fuel: 76.9% heat with utility gas
- Commute and cars: 19.3 minutes average trip to work
- Growth: −6.3% residents since 2015–2019
- How long people stay: 11.1% moved in since 2020
- Crowding and facilities: 0.9% of homes have more than 1 person per room (Small sample: wide margin of error)
Portola Valley against San Mateo County, its state and the nation
| Portola Valley | San Mateo County | California | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 4,305 (±19) | 742,340 (exact) | 39,287,377 (exact) | 334,922,499 |
| Housing units | 1,894 (±191) | 287,184 (±144) | 14,644,735 (±1,665) | 143,775,355 |
| Households that rent | 21.2% (±7.8 points) | 41.5% (±0.7 points) | 44.1% (±0.2 points) | 34.8% |
| Median gross rent | $3,500 or more | $2,922 (±$40) | $2,036 (±$5) | $1,413 |
| Median household income | $250,000 or more | $158,855 (±$2,851) | $99,122 (±$310) | $80,734 |
| Median home value | $2,000,000 or more | $1,559,600 (±$16,159) | $734,700 (±$1,307) | $332,700 |
| Median real estate taxes (a year) | $10,000 or more | $9,519 (±$153) | $5,124 (±$17) | $3,119 |
| Built before 1980 | 79.2% (±14.9 points) | 72.5% (±1.1 points) | 56.0% (±0.2 points) | 49.7% |
| Average commute | 19.3 minutes (±2.5) | 26.4 minutes (±0.3) | 28.7 minutes (±0.1) | 26.4 minutes |
| Households with broadband | 96.3% (±3.2 points) | 95.7% (±0.4 points) | 93.5% (±0.1 points) | 91.0% |
| Median age of residents | 60.6 years (±9.5) | 40.9 years (±0.2) | 37.9 years (±0.1) | 38.9 years |
Portola Valley covers 9.1 square miles of land, about 474 residents per square mile (Census Bureau Gazetteer).
How Portola Valley has changed since 2015–2019
| 2015–2019 | 2020–2024 | Amount of change | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 4,592 (±21) | 4,305 (±19) | −6.3% | Measurable decrease |
| Housing units | 1,826 (±148) | 1,894 (±191) | +3.7% | Not a measurable change |
| Households that rent | 22.6% (±7.1 points) | 21.2% (±7.8 points) | −1.4 percentage points | Not a measurable change |
| Rental vacancy rate | 0.0% (±8.8 points) | 0.0% (±10.7 points) | 0.0 percentage points | Not a measurable change |
The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.
Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.
The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.
Crime reported to police in San Mateo County
Portola Valley has no police department of its own in the FBI’s figures, so this is the figure for San Mateo County as a whole.
In 2025, the police departments that report for San Mateo County recorded 226 violent and 1,396 property crimes per 100,000 residents.
A county-wide figure describes the whole county, not this place; crime varies from one community to the next.
ZIP codes in Portola Valley
| ZIP code | Share of the ZIP’s land in this place | Residents | Median gross rent | Median home value | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94028 | 52% | 6,531 | $3,500 or more | $2,000,000 or more | $250,000 or more |
A ZIP code is a mail route rather than a boundary, so the Census Bureau publishes figures for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas built from census blocks; the share column says how much of each one’s land lies in this place.
Places near Portola Valley
| Place | Distance | Median gross rent | Median home value | Households that rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladera | 3.0 mi | — | $2,000,000 or more | 3.8% |
| La Honda | 3.6 mi | $1,196 | $935,500 | 29.8% |
| Woodside | 4.2 mi | $3,500 or more | $2,000,000 or more | 12.6% |
| West Menlo Park | 5.0 mi | $3,324 | $2,000,000 or more | 21.7% |
| Los Altos Hills | 5.2 mi | $3,500 or more | $2,000,000 or more | 6.6% |
| Palo Alto | 5.4 mi | $3,484 | $2,000,000 or more | 45.4% |
| Stanford | 5.6 mi | $1,976 | $2,000,000 or more | 73.2% |
| Atherton | 6.6 mi | $3,500 or more | $2,000,000 or more | 12.4% |
HUD Fair Market Rent for Portola Valley, fiscal year 2027
| Studio | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,574 | $3,003 | $3,697 | $4,832 | $5,439 |
HUD income limits for Portola Valley, fiscal year 2026
| Household size | Extremely low (30%) | Very low (50%) | Low (80%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $44,150 | $73,550 | $117,700 |
| 2 people | $50,450 | $84,050 | $134,500 |
| 3 people | $56,750 | $94,550 | $151,300 |
| 4 people | $63,050 | $105,050 | $168,100 |
| 5 people | $68,100 | $113,500 | $181,550 |
| 6 people | $73,150 | $121,900 | $195,000 |
| 7 people | $78,200 | $130,300 | $208,450 |
| 8 people | $83,250 | $138,700 | $221,900 |
These are the limits HUD sets for its housing programs in the San Francisco, CA HUD Metro FMR Area, where HUD’s median family income for fiscal year 2026 is $200,800.
A program can use its own limits; tax-credit and local programs often do.
Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.
Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.
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Questions about Portola Valley
What is the average rent in Portola Valley, CA?
The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Portola Valley is $3,500 or more a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.
How much is a one-bedroom apartment in Portola Valley?
The median gross rent for a one-bedroom home in Portola Valley, CA is $3,500 or more a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
Are renters in Portola Valley rent-burdened?
87.1% of renting households in Portola Valley pay 30% or more of their income in gross rent, the share housing researchers usually call rent-burdened (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
How many renters are there in Portola Valley?
Portola Valley has an estimated 375 (±153) renting households, 21.2% of its occupied homes (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
What is the median household income in Portola Valley?
The median household income in Portola Valley is $250,000 or more a year (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
What is the average home value in Portola Valley, CA?
The Census Bureau publishes the median: $2,000,000 or more for owner-occupied homes in Portola Valley (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
Is Portola Valley growing?
In Portola Valley, the number of residents went from 4,592 in 2015–2019 to 4,305 in 2020–2024 (−6.3%), a measurable decrease.
What ZIP codes are in Portola Valley?
The ZIP code that covers Portola Valley is 94028.
What is the median rent in ZIP code 94028?
The median gross rent in ZIP Code Tabulation Area 94028 is $3,500 or more a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
Sources
- Demographic and Housing Estimates (DP05), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Portola Valley town, California
- Selected Housing Characteristics (DP04), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Portola Valley town, California
- Selected Economic Characteristics (DP03), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Portola Valley town, California
- Median Real Estate Taxes Paid by Mortgage Status (B25103), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Portola Valley town, California
- Selected Social Characteristics (DP02), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Portola Valley town, California
- Total Population (B01003), 2015–2019 ACS 5-year estimates — Portola Valley town, California
- Median Gross Rent (B25064), 2015–2019 ACS 5-year estimates — Portola Valley town, California
- HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal year 2027: San Francisco, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
- HUD Income Limits, fiscal year 2026: San Francisco, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
- US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas
- Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, all items, US Bureau of Labor Statistics: annual averages 2019 and 2024
- US Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files
To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Portola Valley town, California (place:58380, in state:06).
Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).
The 2015–2019 figures are B01003_001E, B01003_001M, B25064_001E, B25064_001M from the 2019 release.
The API needs a free key.
DP05_0001E, DP05_0001M, DP04_0001E, DP04_0001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP03_0062E, DP03_0062M, DP04_0089E, DP04_0089M
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.
Figures last updated on .