What it's like to live in Mountain View
Mountain View is a smaller city in California with unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, crime rates well below the national average, and a highly educated workforce. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Mountain View deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and larger class sizes than the national average.
The good
- Low unemployment
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Low crime rates
- Highly educated workforce
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- High home prices
- Air quality concerns
- High student-teacher ratio
How Mountain View compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Mountain View
Based on Mountain View's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$6,124
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $122,480 a year
- 37% of Mountain View renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$385,400
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $192,700
- Homes cost 10.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 117% above US
$3,062/mo median rent
Rent is expensive here, at $3,062 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are steep, with a median around $1,927,000. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.
Median home value $1,927,000 · 37% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▼ 16% below US
3.6% unemployment
Unemployment here is 3.6%, a little below the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 37% below US
208 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 2410/100k · Mountain View Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 10% below US
23 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 23.3 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 6 in 10 workers drive to work; 31% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are comfortable, with highs around 77°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 43°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 4.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▲ 108% above US
75% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a highly educated city, with over half the adult population holding a college degree. That tends to shape the job market and the broader culture, and it's a solid indicator of a strong professional scene.
Schools
15 public schools inside the boundary
There are 15 public schools inside the boundary and 11 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 19:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site (30 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Mountain View's strongest points are unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($3,062/mo) equals 19% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit anyone prioritizing low crime, remote workers (31% of workers here already work from home), and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.
See all the data for Mountain View →·All California cities →
Other places near Mountain View
All California guides →Moving to Los Altos →
2 mi away · pop. 30,698
Rent $3,500+/mo · Income $250,000+
Compare with Mountain View →Moving to Sunnyvale →
3 mi away · pop. 154,236
Rent $3,039/mo · Income $186,170
Compare with Mountain View →Moving to Palo Alto →
3 mi away · pop. 67,237
Rent $3,484/mo · Income $231,101
Compare with Mountain View →Moving to Stanford →
5 mi away · pop. 18,662
Rent $1,976/mo · Income $75,208
Compare with Mountain View →Not sure Mountain View is the one?
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