Blog > East Palo Alto Neighborhoods by Their Lots: Lot Sizes and Flood Zones
San Mateo County’s public parcel layer gives an outline and a property use code for every parcel. We took the 3,916 parcels with the county’s single-family use code, 1,500 square feet or more, inside our six East Palo Alto neighborhood guides, measured each lot from its outline, checked its center against FEMA’s flood map and checked each lot against CAL FIRE’s fire hazard severity zone maps. The layer has no year built, house size or city-limit line, so this post covers our six guides rather than the city as a whole. Parcel outlines downloaded October 2026; the county’s use codes were last updated in June 2020. There are no addresses or owner details here.
The short answer
- Across our six East Palo Alto guides, the median single-family lot is 5,430 sq ft.
- Largest and smallest lots (guides with at least 150 lots): largest in Kavanaugh & Newbridge (5,760 sq ft) and University Village & Ravenswood (5,630 sq ft); smallest in The Gardens (5,270 sq ft) and Four Corners, Weeks & Runnymede (5,280 sq ft).
- Flood zones: 1,556 of the 3,916 lots (40%) have their parcel center in a FEMA high-risk flood zone (1,535 in AE and 21 in A); the most are in The Gardens (901) and Kavanaugh & Newbridge (277).
- Fire zones: no single-family lot touches a CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone; CAL FIRE’s maps show none in our East Palo Alto guides.
Next steps in East Palo Alto
- What’s my East Palo Alto home worth? Request an estimate, and ask us for the recent sales on your street.
- See East Palo Alto homes for sale, then use Save Search to get new listings by email.
- Book a strategy call with a Property Nerd.
Neighborhood by neighborhood
Largest median lot first. “Single-family lots” counts parcels with the county’s single-family use code whose center falls inside each guide’s outline; no lot falls in two guides. Each name opens its guide.
| Neighborhood | Single-family lots | Median lot | In FEMA high-risk zones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kavanaugh & Newbridge | 564 | 5,760 sq ft | 277 |
| University Village & Ravenswood | 560 | 5,630 sq ft | 136 |
| Westside | 95 | 5,460 sq ft | 33 |
| Palo Alto Park | 731 | 5,290 sq ft | 15 |
| Four Corners, Weeks & Runnymede | 1,009 | 5,280 sq ft | 194 |
| The Gardens | 957 | 5,270 sq ft | 901 |
| All six guides | 3,916 | 5,430 sq ft | 1,556 |
What stands out
- Median lots run from 5,270 sq ft to 5,760 sq ft: smallest in The Gardens, largest in Kavanaugh & Newbridge.
- Most flood-zone lots are in The Gardens: 901 of its 957 lots (94%), in zone AE.
- Every one of our six guides has lots in a high-risk flood zone, from 2% of the lots in Palo Alto Park to 94% in The Gardens.
Flood zones, neighborhood by neighborhood
Single-family lots in FEMA high-risk zones inside each guide’s outline, the share of the guide’s lots they make up, and the zones; most first.
| Neighborhood | High-risk lots | Share of the guide’s lots | Zones |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Gardens | 901 | 94% | AE 901 |
| Kavanaugh & Newbridge | 277 | 49% | AE 277 |
| Four Corners, Weeks & Runnymede | 194 | 19% | AE 194 |
| University Village & Ravenswood | 136 | 24% | AE 136 |
| Westside | 33 | 35% | A 21, AE 12 |
| Palo Alto Park | 15 | 2% | AE 15 |
| All six guides | 1,556 | 40% | AE 1,535, A 21 |
What the flood zones mean
- Zone A: a 1%-a-year chance of flooding, where FEMA hasn’t set a base flood elevation.
- Zone AE: the same 1%-a-year risk, with a base flood elevation set.
- Zone X: moderate to minimal risk, outside the 1%-a-year floodplain.
- Insurance: if the house itself is in an A or V zone, lenders on federally backed mortgages require flood insurance; a flood zone determination for the address settles it. In zone X it’s optional.
Reading it right
- A use code isn’t a zoning district. We counted parcels the county codes as single-family residences, 1,500 square feet or more; the codes date from June 2020, so a few newer houses may be missing or coded otherwise, and townhomes and condos aren’t counted.
- Lot sizes are measured from the county’s parcel outlines, so they can differ from a survey by a few percent.
- We checked the center of each lot against FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer. A lot can straddle two zones, and maps change, so check the current FEMA map for the exact address.
- The flood zone covers the land, not the house. A house can sit above the base flood elevation even in a high-risk zone. An elevation certificate settles it and can lower the insurance price.
- A median isn’t a verdict. It describes the lots, not which neighborhood is right for you.
Go deeper
East Palo Alto Housing Market by the Numbers covers prices and bidding, East Palo Alto Neighborhoods Ranked by Price per Square Foot compares the neighborhoods on price, and The Most Expensive Streets in East Palo Alto goes street by street. Flood & Fire Zones by Neighborhood compares every guide we write, and the East Palo Alto city guide links every neighborhood guide.
The East Palo Alto data series: housing market by the numbers · neighborhoods ranked by price per sq ft · where homes sell over asking · ten years of prices by neighborhood · condos and townhomes · house prices by bedrooms · houses under $1M · houses at $1.4M and up · the best month to sell · the most expensive streets
Buying, selling or rebuilding in a flood or fire zone?
A Property Nerd can pull the zoning, the lot, the flood and fire zones, any elevation certificate and the recent sales on your street before you write an offer, set a price or plan a rebuild. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a strategy call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.