Blog > Portola Valley vs. Los Altos Hills: Home Prices, Sizes and the City Line (2026)
Portola Valley vs. Los Altos Hills: Home Prices, Sizes and the City Line (2026)
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Portola Valley and Los Altos Hills sit about 5 miles apart, center to center, Portola Valley in San Mateo County and Los Altos Hills in Santa Clara County. Here’s how they compare on what houses, condos and townhomes sold for in the 12 months to October 27, 2026, and on the things that change at the city line: trains, electricity and transfer tax.
The short answer
- Houses: the median sale was $4.03M in Portola Valley and $5.61M in Los Altos Hills, so a typical Los Altos Hills house cost 39% more than one in Portola Valley.
- Per square foot: $1,424 in Portola Valley and $1,595 in Los Altos Hills; the median house was 3,320 sq ft in Portola Valley and 3,769 sq ft in Los Altos Hills, on a 1-acre lot versus a 1.11-acre lot.
- Competition: 35% of Portola Valley houses sold over asking, against 37% in Los Altos Hills.
- Condos and townhomes: Portola Valley and Los Altos Hills had fewer than 10 sales each, so this comparison is about houses.
- At the city line: they differ on electricity (WestLight Energy in Portola Valley, Silicon Valley Clean Energy in Los Altos Hills), and they’re in different counties (San Mateo and Santa Clara).
See it live
- Open Portola Valley vs. Los Altos Hills in the City Match-Up: homes for sale now and the last 90 days of sales, side by side.
- Talk to a Property Nerd about the streets that fit in either city.
Houses, side by side
Houses (MLS property type “single family home”) sold in the 12 months to October 27, 2026. The last three rows count listings whose description says so, so they undercount.
| Portola Valley | Los Altos Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 71 | 102 |
| Median price | $4.03M | $5.61M |
| Median per sq ft | $1,424 | $1,595 |
| Median size | 3,320 sq ft | 3,769 sq ft |
| Median lot | 1 acre | 1.11 acres |
| Median bedrooms | 4 | 4 |
| Sold over asking | 35% | 37% |
| Median sale vs. asking | 1.4% under | 0.4% under |
| Sold for $2 million or less | 8% | 0% |
| Listing says single-story | 14% | 14% |
| Listing mentions a pool | 28% | 48% |
| Listing mentions an ADU or in-law unit | 13% | 22% |
At the city line
Some costs and services follow the city, not the mailing address.
| Portola Valley | Los Altos Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| County | San Mateo County | Santa Clara County |
| Caltrain | none | none |
| BART | none | none |
| VTA light rail | no | no |
| Electricity | WestLight Energy, delivered by PG&E | Silicon Valley Clean Energy, delivered by PG&E |
| Transfer tax on a $2 million sale | $2,200 | $2,200 |
| Eichler tracts | 1 tract on our Eichler index | none on our index |
Electricity is the default provider for most homes; some addresses differ. Transfer tax is the county tax plus any city tax, by the rates on our calculators page; who pays it is set in the contract. School district lines don’t follow city lines, so check the district’s own boundary lookup for any address.
How we counted
Closed sales reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, with repeat records removed (same MLS number and sale date). A sale is placed by the city in its MLS address, so a few homes in unincorporated pockets count under the nearby city. Medians follow the mix of homes, and cities are averages: blocks within each can differ a lot. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home.
Go deeper
- Portola Valley: Portola Valley city guide, Portola Valley neighborhoods compared and Portola Valley home types by the numbers.
- Los Altos Hills: Los Altos Hills city guide, Los Altos Hills neighborhoods compared and Los Altos Hills home types by the numbers.
- More comparisons: Los Altos vs. Los Altos Hills, Saratoga vs. Los Altos Hills and Woodside vs. Portola Valley.
Weighing the two?
We’ll compare the homes and streets you’re actually considering, on both sides of the line, and set up a search that catches new listings the day they hit. 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.