Los Altos property owners paid 0.4% of their home’s value in property taxes during the fourth quarter of 2025, which is less than half the national average, BlockShopper.com reports.
Data from 56 homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2025 show a median sale price of $4,562,500 in Los Altos. The median city tax bill for that year was $19,687, totaling 0.4% of the median assessed home value.
The national average effective property tax rate was 0.888% in 2024.
Within Santa Clara County, Gilroy recorded the highest effective property tax rate.
This article’s calculations for 2025 effective property tax rates use estimated inflation figures and 2021 county tax data. Actual effective rates may differ somewhat from these figures.
According to Redfin data, U.S. home prices kept climbing in 2025, with the national median hitting approximately $447,000 in June—a 1.13% gain compared to the earlier year. The data indicate a wide gap between available supply and demand, with 36% more sellers than buyers, equating to a difference of 508,715 homes. A market is considered balanced by Redfin when seller and buyer numbers are no more than 10% apart.
The table below presents a comparison of Gilroy and other Santa Clara County cities by their median effective property tax rates, calculated from sales and tax numbers from the fourth quarter of 2025.
| City | Q4 2025 Sales | Q4 2025 Median Price | Median tax 2025 | Effective tax rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilroy | 85 | $950,000 | $8,281 | 0.9% |
| Lexington Hills | 4 | $1,014,000 | $8,124 | 0.8% |
| Burbank | 8 | $1,075,000 | $8,317 | 0.8% |
| Morgan Hill | 86 | $1,207,000 | $9,228 | 0.8% |
| Los Altos Hills | 24 | $5,095,000 | $35,273 | 0.7% |
| Milpitas | 85 | $1,280,000 | $8,613 | 0.7% |
| Alum Rock | 8 | $965,000 | $6,521 | 0.7% |
| East Foothills | 13 | $1,500,000 | $10,197 | 0.7% |
| San Jose | 1,343 | $1,400,000 | $9,139 | 0.7% |
| Mountain View | 134 | $1,705,000 | $11,275 | 0.7% |
| Fruitdale | 2 | $1,247,500 | $8,209 | 0.7% |
| Campbell | 69 | $1,680,000 | $10,338 | 0.6% |
| Los Gatos | 66 | $2,222,500 | $14,293 | 0.6% |
| Monte Sereno | 10 | $4,277,500 | $24,139 | 0.6% |
| San Martin | 7 | $1,500,000 | $8,998 | 0.6% |
| Loyola | 11 | $4,300,000 | $25,195 | 0.6% |
| Palo Alto | 138 | $3,200,000 | $15,267 | 0.5% |
| Sunnyvale | 173 | $1,830,000 | $9,601 | 0.5% |
| Saratoga | 62 | $4,137,500 | $19,271 | 0.5% |
| Cupertino | 73 | $2,850,000 | $13,570 | 0.5% |
| Cambrian Park | 4 | $2,300,000 | $9,799 | 0.4% |
| Los Altos | 56 | $4,562,500 | $19,687 | 0.4% |
| Santa Clara | 26 | $2,225,000 | $8,768 | 0.4% |
This article sources information from BlockShopper.com. Source data is available here.
