What is the Best Neighborhoods USA ranking for Downtown North?
Downtown North is ranked #12 of 26 eligible neighborhoods in Palo Alto; #259 of 1,814 eligible neighborhoods in CA; and #2,934 of 14,967 eligible neighborhoods in the United States.
Neighborhood Profile
Downtown North
Palo Alto, CA | Santa Clara County
Scored premium profile
Best Neighborhoods USA Index
63.5
Stability and Strength
64.7
Value Opportunity
44.7
Momentum
87.8
Score note: Rankings show denominators so users always see the size of the eligible cohort.
| Context | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Palo Alto, CA |
| County | Santa Clara County |
| National rank | #2,934 of 14,967 |
| State rank | #259 of 1,814 |
| City rank | #12 of 26 |
| County rank | #22 of 95 |
| National percentile | 80.4 |
| National band | TOP_25_PERCENT |
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Housing and local fundamentals
| Housing and market metrics | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Zillow home value | $3,188,022 |
| Year-over-year home value change | 4.7% |
| Month-over-month home value change | 0.90% |
| Home value to income ratio | 30.43 |
| Median household income | $104,773 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 71.4% |
| Civilian unemployment rate | 0.0% |
| Homeownership rate | 27.3% |
| Housing vacancy rate | 17.4% |
| Rent burden 30% or higher | 43.0% |
How to read this profile
- Ranks are always shown with denominators.
- Momentum reflects both year-over-year and month-over-month housing change.
- Stability and Strength and Value Opportunity are governed composite scores.
- Identity composition is descriptive intelligence and is not a scoring component.
Questions and Answers
Questions About Living in Downtown North
Is Downtown North one of the best neighborhoods in Palo Alto?
Downtown North has a Best Neighborhoods USA Index of 63.5 and a city ranking of #12 of 26 eligible neighborhoods in Palo Alto.
How much are homes worth in Downtown North?
The current Zillow Home Value Index for Downtown North is approximately $3,188,022.
Are home values rising or falling in Downtown North?
Zillow neighborhood values changed 4.7% year over year and 0.90% month over month.
What is the Neighborhood Momentum Score for Downtown North?
Downtown North has a Neighborhood Momentum Score of 87.8. Momentum is 70% year-over-year and 30% month-over-month Zillow housing change.
What is the median household income in Downtown North?
The NDS-derived neighborhood median household income is approximately $104,773.
How affordable is Downtown North relative to household income?
The current Zillow home-value-to-household-income ratio is 30.43. Price-to-income affordability is a major Value Opportunity input.
Is Downtown North primarily homeowners or renters?
The NDS-derived homeownership rate is approximately 27.3%.
What is the unemployment rate in Downtown North?
The NDS-derived civilian unemployment rate is approximately 0.0%.
How educated are residents of Downtown North?
Approximately 71.4% of residents age 25 and older are estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What share of renters in Downtown North face high rent burden?
Approximately 43.0% of the applicable renter-household universe is estimated to spend 30% or more of household income on gross rent.
How does Best Neighborhoods USA score Downtown North?
The overall index combines 40% Stability and Strength, 35% Value Opportunity, and 25% Momentum. Race, ethnicity, and identity composition are not scoring components.
Governed ranking context
How this neighborhood ranks
HMDA Mortgage Intelligence
Neighborhood Mortgage Market
Modeled neighborhood-level mortgage activity allocated from governed HMDA tract data using Zillow neighborhood geometry. These neighborhood values are nonadditive and do not enter the Best Neighborhoods USA Index.
Activity year2024
Estimated applications45
Estimated originations28
Home-purchase applications20
Origination rate63.1%
Home-purchase share44.6%
Average application loan$1,982,331
Total application loan amount$88,291,014
National application rank#7,705 of 14,874 rankable neighborhoods
Geometry coverage100.0%
Recent trend: Applications 70.7% YoY; originations 139.9% YoY
Mortgage methodology
HMDA is natively reported at tract and other lender-reporting geographies, not Zillow neighborhood or ZIP geography. This module uses the certified NDS HMDA-to-Zillow tract-vintage crosswalk and area-weighted allocation. Rankings require governed geometry coverage. Applicant demographics are excluded. Neighborhood values may overlap and must not be summed to reconstruct ZIP or national totals.