Cupertino vs. Saratoga: Apple, Eichlers, Zoning and the Market

Cupertino and Saratoga share a border in western Santa Clara County, about 4 miles apart center to center. Neither has a train station, both get electricity from the same provider, and neither adds a city transfer tax. The differences are in what each city is built around, its housing and its zoning. Here’s the comparison, with a live-market snapshot from our City Match-Up.

The basics

• Trains. Neither has a Caltrain, BART or VTA light rail station.
• Campuses and employers. Apple Park and De Anza College are in Cupertino; West Valley College is in Saratoga. See Homes Near Tech Campuses and Homes Near Universities & Hospitals.
• Parks. Rancho San Antonio and Stevens Creek Park are listed under Cupertino on our parks page; Hakone Gardens and Villa Montalvo are in Saratoga. See Homes Near Parks.
• Downtown. Saratoga Village runs along Big Basin Way. See Homes Near Downtown.
• Electricity. Both get power from Silicon Valley Clean Energy, delivered by PG&E.
• School districts. Cupertino is mostly in the Cupertino Union School District and the Fremont Union High School District. Check the district’s boundary lookup for any address.

At closing

Neither adds a city transfer tax, so a $2 million sale carries only the county’s $2,200 in either city. See our transfer tax guide.

Homes and rules

• Eichlers. Cupertino’s Eichler tract is Fairgrove, zoned R1-e with Eichler design rules. Saratoga’s is 35 Claude Oakland designs on De Havilland Drive, Shubert Drive and Columbine Court from 1964–65. See Silicon Valley Eichler tracts.
• Look-alikes. East Cupertino’s Rancho Rinconada was built in the early 1950s by Stern & Price to designs by Cliff May. See Is It Really an Eichler?
• Single-story zoning. Cupertino’s single-story overlay shows as an “i” at the end of the zoning (for example, R1-10i), limiting homes to one story and 18 feet. Saratoga has one named overlay, for Saratoga Woods. See overlays by city.
• Older houses. Saratoga Village has pioneer cottages and Queen Anne houses from the 1870s to about 1900 on the city’s inventory. See Victorian and Edwardian homes.
• New housing. On the former Vallco mall site, Cupertino lists The Rise as approved for 2,669 homes plus office and retail space. See what Cupertino is known for.

The market, in a snapshot

From our City Match-Up on October 18, 2026, for houses, condos and townhomes, with sales from the previous 90 days:

• Homes for sale: 55 in Cupertino, 50 in Saratoga.
• Sales in 90 days: 79 in Cupertino, 72 in Saratoga.
• Median sale price: $2.92 million in Cupertino, $3.8 million in Saratoga.
• Median price per square foot: $1,605 in Cupertino, $1,520 in Saratoga.
• Median sale-to-list: 100.7% in Cupertino, 100.0% in Saratoga.
• Months of supply: 2.1 in Cupertino, 2.1 in Saratoga.

Medians follow the mix of homes, and these numbers change daily, so open the live City Match-Up and switch to houses only to compare like with like.

Weighing the two? Call the Boyenga Team at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.