In the middle of Silicon Valley is Stanford, a census-designated community home to a dynamic academic scene centering around the area’s namesake, Stanford University. Located within the city of Palo Alto, dubbed the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley” because of its global influence on technology, Stanford University is a private research university known to be one of the top collegiate institutes in the world. Its alumni roster includes hundreds of political leaders, tech founders and Olympic athletes, and its sprawling 8,180-acre campus has residential communities with reduced-price housing options for university faculty, staff and students. “Stanford is one of the country’s largest colleges in terms of acreage,” says Caroline Reinhart, a recent alum of the university’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs. “The university owns the Stanford Shopping Center, the Stanford Golf Course and a lot of other places that aren’t on the main campus but are rather spread throughout the Palo Alto area.”
Stanford University's proximity enriches the Stanford Hills community.
Stanford campus is the center of the city of Stanford.
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On-campus and off-campus housing options
According to Pamela Culp, a local Realtor with Compass who has sold multiple Stanford residences, single-family homes located on land owned by the university can only be bought by faculty and staff. Faculty-only homes can be found in two main areas: in the Stanford Hills community and the residential area southeast of the campus center. These single-family homes typically list between $2.5 million and $3 million, but the university offers numerous resources and price reduction plans for qualified faculty and staff homeowners.
Escondido Village is Stanford’s newest on-campus residential community home to more than 4,000 graduate students. It includes several apartment buildings with studio, low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise rental unit options. The university also owns seven off-campus apartment complexes with approximately 2,100 rental subsidized units. University-owned on-campus and off-campus rental units cost about $3,000 to $9,000 per quarter, depending on occupancy and type of unit.
The College Terrace neighborhood borders Stanford’s campus and features gridded streets lined with a blend of Craftsman, Mediterranean and Spanish-style single-family homes. This neighborhood is one of the oldest in Palo Alto; many properties date back to the late 19th century. “Even though it borders campus, College Terrace is technically a part of Palo Alto, so Stanford University doesn’t own that land or control home ownership there,” Culp says. Several Palo Alto residential neighborhoods are within walking distance of Stanford, offering various housing options. Most single-family homes in College Terrace and surrounding Palo Alto neighborhoods range from $1.5 million to $3.5 million.
Craftsman-style homes in Stanford feature a harmonious blend of classic design elements.
Discover spacious homes available near Lathrop Park in Stanford, where you can enjoy comfort and community living at its best.
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Recreational spaces interwoven with the community
Stanford encompasses multiple outdoor spaces, parks and recreation areas accessible to members of the community and the surrounding city. The university’s main campus is dotted with meticulously landscaped lawns and parks, usually full of people hanging out. The university also owns the Stanford Golf Course, Stanford Equestrian Center, several athletic complexes and El Camino Park, the oldest park in Palo Alto. There’s also the Stanford Dish, which Reinhart describes as an outdoor research and recreation area behind the main campus. “There’s a really nice hiking trail there that takes about an hour and a half… if you’re a speedy person,” Reinhart says. “A lot of people also go to nearby Kite Hill to have picnics and watch the sunset.” Southwest of the Stanford community are the Santa Cruz Mountains, a Bay Area coastal range with multi-use trails, scenic overlooks and natural bodies of water across several parks and nature preserves.
Nearby Stanford driving range attracts Stanford Hills golf enthusiasts.
El Camino Park in Palo Alto features soccer and baseball fields.
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Stanford-owned shopping centers and event venues
The Stanford Shopping Center is a massive outdoor mall near the university’s main campus. The mall houses dozens of clothing retailers and chain eateries, as well as specialty shops and department stores. Bordering Stanford along the El Camino Real is the Town and Country Village shopping center, which has supply shops, home goods stores and a Trader Joe’s. Reinhart says that people in this area often dine at the restaurants lining California Avenue and University Avenue, which run through the city and connect to campus. Coupa Café is a popular eatery with multiple locations in Palo Alto and the Stanford campus area.
Several Stanford-owned event venues line Campus Drive, including the Frost Amphitheater, an outdoor live music venue. Right next door is the Bing Concert Hall, an indoor venue for the performing arts, and across the street is a massive sports complex encompassing Stanford’s Maples Pavilion – where the university basketball, volleyball and gymnastics teams compete. The complex includes the iconic Stanford Stadium, a 50,000-seat open-air football arena hosting regular concerts and professional sports games. The stadium was the site of the Super Bowl in 1985 and has hosted six World Cup soccer matches.
Stanford shopping center is a beautiful place to spend your day near West of the Alameda.
Stanford Stadium is a premier outdoor college football venue situated on the prestigious Stanford University campus, offering an unparalleled experience for fans and athletes alike.
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Getting around the Bay Area
Stanford locals can access several public transportation options, including Caltrain, Amtrak, light rails, bus lines and community shuttles. According to Reinhart, students frequently take the hour-long Caltrain line to San Francisco to go out on the town. Faculty, staff and students can qualify for free university commuter passes and transit benefits.
The Stanford community is bordered by two major thoroughfares: Interstate 280 and California State Route 82, which run from San Jose to San Francisco. The San Jose Mineta International Airport is 16-mile drive south, and the San Francisco International Airport is approximately 22 miles north. Stanford and Palo Alto areas are remarkably walkable and bikeable, Reinhart says.
The award-winning Stanford University Medical Center is a teaching hospital overseeing Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Health. U.S. News & World Report considers the hospital one of the top healthcare facilities in the country. It operates a 24-hour Level I trauma center alongside a dozen specialty health services, including cardiology, orthopedics and neurology.
You will find busy mornings at the Palo Alto Caltrain Station in Stanford.
Highway 280 offers a great way to get around the area.
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Palo Alto Unified School District ranked best in the state
Kindergarten through 12th-grade students living around Stanford community are zoned for the Palo Alto Unified School District, which receives an overall A-plus rating from Niche and was named No. 1 on Niche’s “Best School District in California” 2025 list. There are 12 elementary schools and three middle schools, all of which earn A-plus Niche ratings. For grades nine through 12, students can head to the A-plus-rated Henry M. Gunn High School or Palo Alto High School, another A-plus-rated institution and a two-time National Blue Ribbon School. In early 2024, the Palo Alto Unified School District also began offering Middle College High School, a program for high schoolers allowing them to take college-level courses at Foothill Community College.
Henry M. Gunn High School is situated on an expansive campus, providing ample space for a dynamic learning environment.
Palo Alto High School guides Palo Alto students to achieve their highest potential.
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Yearround Mediterranean climate
Stanford has an arid, Mediterranean climate that doesn’t fluctuate much throughout the year. Temperatures average 70 to 80 degrees in the warmer months and hover in the low 60s in the winters. However, Reinhart says “no matter what month it is, it always gets chillier at night – I would say chilly enough for sweaters and sweatshirts, but not for puffy winter jackets.”
The Stanford/Palo Alto area has a lower risk of wildfires than other places across Northern California, Reinhart says. “We’re not too far inland, and it’s an urban landscape, so we don’t have a lot of susceptible forested areas,” she says. “Wildfires aren’t the concern – the smoke is. The smoke from wildfires happening many miles away can travel far distances and cloud the Stanford area.” The most significant environmental threat that Palo Alto residents face is the risk of flooding from the San Francisco Bay and its San Francisquito Creek offshoot, which runs through many parts of the city. However, Stanford University is far enough inland and away from the creek that Palo Alto does not classify it as an at-risk flood zone.
Stanford residents can stay active on the clean sidewalk in Stanford.
The Stanford community takes fire safety very seriously.
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Served by two police departments
Stanford University has its own on-campus police department called the Stanford Department of Public Safety, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The department provides security and safety services, including law enforcement, security assessments and event security.
The City of Palo Alto Police Department also serves the Stanford community, providing additional law enforcement resources and dispatch services. The police department reported zero instances of homicide or manslaughter in 2022 and 2023. By far, larceny was the city's most reported crime – the second and third most reported crimes were fraud and vandalism, respectively.
According to Stanford Department of Public Safety’s annual crime report for 2022, the rate of overall reported crime increased slightly following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and students' return to campus. The most reported crime in the university report was motor vehicle theft, followed by aggravated assault reports.
Stanford city also is home too the Palo Alto Police Department.
The city of Stanford is fully committed to ensuring the safety and security of its residents.
Hello! I'm Betzahire Pelayo, an agent with Keller Williams. Originally a Central Valley Native who moved out to the Bay Area after being enchanted with the area's true charm. Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to experience the warmth and beauty of all of the many communities in the Bay Area.
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