Homeowners in Palo Alto paid property taxes amounting to 0.5% of their property’s value in the fourth quarter of 2025, which is less than half of the national average rate, reported BlockShopper.com.
According to sales data from 138 properties, the median Palo Alto home sold for $3,200,000 during this period. The median tax bill in 2025 was $15,267, equating to 0.5% of the median assessed home value.
For comparison, the average effective U.S. property tax rate stood at 0.888% in 2024.
Within Santa Clara County, Gilroy recorded the highest property tax rate.
This article’s calculated effective property tax rates for 2025 use estimated inflation figures and property tax data from 2021 provided by the county. Actual 2025 figures may differ somewhat in specific cases.
U.S. home prices climbed further in 2025, with the national median price reaching roughly $447,000 in June—an increase of 1.13% from the prior year, according to Redfin. Their data also highlights a pronounced imbalance between supply and demand, as sellers outnumbered buyers by 36%, or 508,715 homes. Redfin designates markets as balanced when buyers and sellers are within 10% of one another.
The table below displays the median effective property tax rates for Gilroy and other Santa Clara County cities, derived from home sales and property tax data for 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% |
BlockShopper.com provided the information used in this report. Access the original source data here.
