Palo Alto, California

"Palo Alto" redirects here. For other uses, see Palo Alto (disambiguation).

Palo Alto, California
City
Baylands Nature Preserve, Ramona Street Architectural District, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto History Museum, Palo Alto Circle
Flag of Palo Alto, California
Flag
Official seal of Palo Alto, California
Seal
Official logo of Palo Alto, California
Logo
Etymology: from Spanish palo alto 'tall stick'
Location in Santa Clara County and California
Location in Santa Clara County and California
Palo Alto, California is located in San Francisco Bay Area
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California is located in California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California is located in the United States
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Coordinates: 37°25′45″N 122°8′17″W / 37.42917°N 122.13806°W / 37.42917; -122.13806
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountySanta Clara
IncorporatedApril 23, 1894[1]
Named forEl Palo Alto
Government
 • TypeCouncil-Manager
 • BodyCity council
members:[2]
 • MayorGreer Stone
Area
[3]
 • Total26.00 sq mi (67.35 km2)
 • Land24.10 sq mi (62.41 km2)
 • Water1.91 sq mi (4.94 km2)  7.38%
Elevation
[4]
30 ft (9 m)
Population
 (2020)[5]
 • Total68,572
 • Density2,871.52/sq mi (1,047.35/km2)
DemonymPalo Altan
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes
94301-94306 & 94309
Area code650
FIPS code06-55282
GNIS feature IDs277572, 2411362
Websitecityofpaloalto.org Edit this at Wikidata

Palo Alto (/ˌpæloʊ ˈæltoʊ/ PAL-oh AL-toh; Spanish for 'tall stick') is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.

The city of Palo Alto was established in 1894 by the American industrialist Leland Stanford when he founded Stanford University in memory of his son, Leland Stanford Jr. Palo Alto later expanded and now borders East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,572.[5] Palo Alto has one of the highest costs of living in the United States,[6][7] and its residents are among the most educated in the country. However, it has a youth suicide rate four times higher than the national average, often attributed to academic pressure.[8]

As one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto is home to the headquarters of multiple tech companies, including HP, Space Systems/Loral, VMware, and PARC. Palo Alto has also served as headquarters or the founding location of several other tech companies, including Apple,[9] Google,[10] Facebook, Logitech,[11] Tesla,[12] Intuit, IDEO, Pinterest, and PayPal. Ford Motor Company and Lockheed Martin each additionally maintain major research and technology facilities within Palo Alto.[13][14]

  1. ^ "California Cities by Incorporation Date". California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on November 3, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  2. ^ "City Council & Mayor". City of Palo Alto. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  3. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "Palo Alto". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Palo Alto (city) QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  6. ^ Scheinin, Richard (March 29, 2016). "Palo Alto, Atherton crack top 10 priciest ZIP codes in U.S." San Jose Mercury News.
  7. ^ White, Martha C. (January 5, 2015). "America's Most Outrageously Expensive Places to Live". Time.
  8. ^ "CDC releases preliminary findings on Palo Alto suicide clusters". The Stanford Daily. July 21, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  9. ^ "Apple – 1 operation manual, 1976" (PDF). S3data.computerhistory.org. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  10. ^ Green, Jason (July 17, 2013). "Google Buys Nearly 15 acres in Palo Alto". San Jose Mercury-News. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  11. ^ "Logitech History" (PDF). Logitech.com. March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference tesla was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Ford Opens New Silicon Valley Research Center to Drive Innovation in Connectivity, Mobility, Autonomous Vehicles | Ford Media Center". media.ford.com. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  14. ^ "Advanced Technology Center". Lockheed Martin. August 4, 2021.