east palo alto · san mateo county
East Palo Alto Real Estate & Neighborhood Guide
East Palo Alto is a 2.5-square-mile city on flat bay land at the southeast corner of San Mateo County, between Menlo Park and San Francisquito Creek, the Palo Alto line. US 101 splits it: the Westside lies between the freeway and the creek, and the larger east side runs from University Avenue to the bay. The city's history page lists ranching, shipping, brick making, farming and flower growing among early land uses, and a 1922 county history says the developer Charles Weeks began selling one-acre poultry-farm lots at Runnymede in 1916. The city incorporated on July 1, 1983. The 2020 census counted 30,034 residents and 8,110 housing units: single-family grids east of the freeway, small-lot subdivisions, apartment buildings, and new office and housing space planned along Bay Road.
population, 2020 census
land area
zip codes
incorporated
neighborhoods
East Palo Alto neighborhoods
Our six East Palo Alto guides follow the city's main dividing lines: US 101, University Avenue, Bay Road and Pulgas Avenue. West of US 101, the Westside runs between the freeway and San Francisquito Creek. East of the freeway and west of University Avenue are Palo Alto Park, south of Bay Road, and Kavanaugh & Newbridge, north of it. East of University Avenue are University Village & Ravenswood, north of Bay Road out to Cooley Landing; Four Corners, Weeks & Runnymede, south of Bay Road to Pulgas Avenue; and The Gardens, east of Pulgas Avenue along the creek and the bay. County parcel records show no unincorporated parcels with East Palo Alto addresses. Lots on the single-family grids east of University Avenue typically run about 5,000 to 6,000 square feet, with about 2,300 to 3,300 square feet in some small-lot subdivisions (county parcel records).
Westside
The part of East Palo Alto on the creek side of US 101: apartment blocks along E. O'Keefe Street, Euclid Avenue and Woodland Avenue, a few houses and townhouses, and the University Circle offices.
Palo Alto Park
The triangle of East Palo Alto between Bay Road, University Avenue and US 101: mostly detached houses on Menalto, Ralmar, Oakwood, Dumbarton and Glen Way, with Bell Street Park at the University Avenue end.
Kavanaugh & Newbridge
The East Palo Alto blocks north of Bay Road and west of University Avenue, from Newbridge Street at the Willow Road edge to the Kavanaugh Drive courts: mostly detached houses, many from the 1950s.
University Village & Ravenswood
East Palo Alto's grid of college-name streets north of Bay Road, plus the Ravenswood bay lands along Bay Road out to Cooley Landing, the Bay Trail and Midpen's Ravenswood preserve.
Four Corners, Weeks & Runnymede
The middle of East Palo Alto east of University Avenue: the Four Corners civic center at Bay Road, the streets of the old Runnymede poultry colony, and the blocks down to US 101.
The Gardens
East Palo Alto's flower-name streets east of Pulgas Avenue, between Bay Road and San Francisquito Creek, with the creek levee and the Bay Trail at the end of the block.
schools
East Palo Alto public schools
Elementary and middle
- Ravenswood City School District (K-8). Serves the whole city on the Census school-district maps; the district also runs Belle Haven Elementary in Menlo Park. Schools listed on the district site: Costaño School of the Arts (on Fordham Street in University Village), Los Robles-Ronald McNair Academy (2033 Pulgas Ave), Ravenswood Middle School and Belle Haven Elementary. District office: 2120 Euclid Ave.
High school
- Sequoia Union High School District. Serves the whole city. East Palo Alto Academy, a district school, is at 1050 Myrtle St; the district's other high schools are outside the city, so check assignment and enrollment options with the district.
property nerd note
Census school-district maps put every county parcel in the city in the Ravenswood City School District and the Sequoia Union High School District. ZIP 94303 also covers Palo Alto addresses in Palo Alto Unified, so go by the city on the listing, not the ZIP, and confirm the exact address with each district. Start with our Silicon Valley schools guide.
zip codes
East Palo Alto ZIP codes
All of East Palo Alto. The same ZIP covers much of Palo Alto across San Francisquito Creek, which is a different city with a different school district (Palo Alto Unified), so check the city name on a listing.
getting around
Getting around East Palo Alto
US 101 and the bridges over it
US 101 runs through the city with an interchange at University Avenue; Willow Road in Menlo Park and Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto are the next interchanges (public maps). Walkers and cyclists cross on the Clarke Avenue overcrossing, completed in July 2019, and on the bridge at the University Avenue interchange, which opened in November 2025.
Caltrain
There is no station in the city. Palo Alto station on University Avenue is about 2.4 miles straight-line from the Four Corners, and Menlo Park station about 2.6 miles straight-line; SamTrans Route 281 runs to the Palo Alto Transit Center.
SamTrans
Route 281 runs from East Palo Alto to the Palo Alto Transit Center, downtown Palo Alto and Stanford, every 20 minutes on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and every 30 minutes on weekends (Stanford Transportation). The EPX express, running since February 12, 2024, links East Palo Alto and Belle Haven with Redwood City, SFO, San Bruno BART and, on some trips, downtown San Francisco, every 45 minutes on weekdays. Check samtrans.com for current routes and stops.
Bayfront Expressway and the Dumbarton corridor
University Avenue runs north to Bayfront Expressway (SR 84) and the Dumbarton Bridge to the East Bay. The unused Dumbarton freight rail line runs along the city's north edge; SamTrans's 2026 Reimagine Dumbarton study is looking at zero-emission bus service and walking and biking improvements in the corridor, which runs between Redwood City and Union City.
living here
Living in East Palo Alto
The Four Corners
University Avenue and Bay Road meet at the Four Corners. City Hall and the San Mateo County Libraries East Palo Alto branch share the Municipal Services Building at 2415 University Ave, on the northwest corner; the library has been there since 1975, and City Hall has a community room for rent.
Cooley Landing
At the end of Bay Road (2100 Bay Rd), the city's bayfront park sits on a peninsula once used by a county burn dump; the city capped the site and opened about 9 acres in 2012. Later phases added a 3,900 sq ft education center designed by Fog Studio (2015) and an outdoor classroom, picnic areas, signs and trails (2019). It is named for Lester Cooley; the landing once had a brick factory.
Ravenswood Open Space Preserve and the Bay Trail
Midpen's 376-acre salt-marsh preserve lies north of Cooley Landing, with 2.1 miles of mostly paved Bay Trail on a levee and a boardwalk to University Avenue; dogs are not allowed. A salt company diked the marsh in the 1950s; Midpen bought it in 1981, opened it in 1989 and began restoring tidal marsh in 2000. Levee-top trails along San Francisquito Creek connect to the Bay Trail at the south end.
City parks
The city's park list includes Jack Farrell Park (2509 Fordham St; ball field, playground, restrooms), Martin Luther King Jr. Park (435 Daisy Lane; ball field, soccer field, picnic areas), Joel Davis Park (1960 Tate St; playground, picnic areas), Bell Street Park (2159 University Ave; skate park, lawn) and pocket parks on Bay Road at East Bayshore Road and at Newbridge Street.
Creek and shoreline flood projects
The San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority finished widening the creek and rebuilding its levees between US 101 and the bay in 2019, protecting over 1,700 properties from a 100-year creek flood during a king tide, by the JPA's count. Its SAFER Bay project would run a levee along the city's shoreline from the O'Connor Street pump station to the city limits near University Avenue; the JPA board certified the final EIR and approved it on May 28, 2026, and permits, final design and construction come next.
Plans and city rules
The Vista 2035 General Plan was approved on October 4, 2016, and the Westside Area Plan is its Chapter 11. The council updated the Ravenswood/4 Corners specific plan in December 2024, allowing up to 3.3 million more square feet of office and R&D space and 1,600 housing units in the plan area, and approved the 2023-2031 Housing Element on March 19, 2024. The city paused new water connections in 2016 and has since lifted the pause; it updated its water capital fees in March 2023. Rent stabilization is a legal rule here: the 2010 voter-approved ordinance (amended in 2016) covers many rental units, and a 1988 ordinance covers mobile home park spaces; check whether a property is covered with the city's Rent Stabilization Program.
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faq
East Palo Alto real estate FAQ
Is East Palo Alto in a flood zone?
Parts of it. By our count of county parcels on FEMA's current map (panels effective April 5, 2019), about a third of the city's parcels are in special flood hazard zones: zone AE with an 11-foot base flood elevation on the bay side east of University Avenue (nearly all of the Gardens and the eastern part of University Village), more AE in parts of the blocks west of University Avenue, and zone A along the creek on the Westside. About 55% are in zone X. Check the FEMA map for the exact address.
Which school districts serve East Palo Alto?
Ravenswood City School District for K-8 and Sequoia Union High School District for high school, citywide. Public schools in town include Costaño School of the Arts, Los Robles-Ronald McNair Academy, Ravenswood Middle School and East Palo Alto Academy. Check the exact address with each district.
Does East Palo Alto have rent stabilization?
Yes, as a legal rule for owners of rental property. The city's Rent Stabilization and Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance, approved by voters in 2010 and amended in 2016, covers many rental units, and a 1988 ordinance covers mobile home park spaces. Check whether a property is covered with the city's Rent Stabilization Program.
Who provides water and sewer?
About 80% of water connections are on the city system, operated by Veolia with water from the SFPUC; the Palo Alto Park Mutual Water Company and the O'Connor Tract Co-op Water Company serve the rest. Sewer service is mainly the East Palo Alto Sanitary District, with some areas served by West Bay Sanitary District. Confirm the providers for any address.
When did East Palo Alto become a city?
On July 1, 1983, after voters approved incorporation 1,782 to 1,767, according to LAFCo and the county's history of the city. Before that it was unincorporated county land.
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Neighborhood guides in East Palo Alto
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