school district · palo alto & stanford
Palo Alto Unified School District: Schools, Boundaries & Homes
Every school in the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD), how to check which school goes with an address, and homes for sale nearby. A Property Nerds® guide from the Boyenga Team at Compass.
grades
schools
serves
high schools
Check an address with a Property NerdHomes for sale in Palo Alto
district map
schools on the map
Maps by Google. Pins show schools near Palo Alto and may include schools in neighboring districts and private schools.
schools
Palo Alto Unified schools
PAUSD is a unified district, so one district covers kindergarten through 12th grade: 12 elementary schools, 3 middle schools and 2 comprehensive high schools.
Elementary
- Addison ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
- Barron Park ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
- Duveneck ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
- El Carmelo ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
- Escondido ElementaryK–5 · Stanford · map
- Fairmeadow ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
- Herbert Hoover ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
- Juana Briones ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
- Lucille M. Nixon ElementaryK–5 · Stanford · map
- Ohlone ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
- Palo Verde ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
- Walter Hays ElementaryK–5 · Palo Alto · map
Middle
- Ellen Fletcher Middle6–8 · Palo Alto · map
- Frank S. Greene Jr. Middle6–8 · Palo Alto · map
- Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle6–8 · Palo Alto · map
High
- Henry M. Gunn High9–12 · Palo Alto · map
- Palo Alto High (Paly)9–12 · Palo Alto · map
Also in the district: Palo Alto Middle College High (high school program at Foothill College) · Greendell (early learning) · Palo Alto Adult School (adult education)
find your school
Which school goes with an address?
PAUSD's School Finder shows the neighborhood school for a home address. District lines are not city lines: some Palo Alto addresses are outside PAUSD, and some homes in Los Altos Hills and Portola Valley are inside it. Students are generally assigned to their neighborhood school, and the district also runs choice programs at the elementary and middle school levels.
Open the district school locatorDistrict website
property nerd note
The school fields on a listing are typed in by the listing agent and are often blank or out of date. Always confirm with the district, in writing if it matters to your offer, and ask whether the school you want has room for new students.
high schools
High school in PAUSD
Because PAUSD is unified, students stay in the same district for high school. The two comprehensive high schools are Henry M. Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School (Paly); the School Finder shows which one serves an address.
homes
Homes for sale in the Palo Alto Unified area
Most PAUSD homes are in Palo Alto, plus Stanford faculty housing and parts of Los Altos Hills and Portola Valley. Start with a city search, then confirm the school for any home you like.
Palo Alto homesLos Altos Hills homesPortola Valley homes
City guides: Palo Alto
buying for schools?
Let the Property Nerds check the schools before you write an offer
Send us an address and we will confirm the assigned schools with the district, pull recent sales inside the same attendance area and flag anything that could change. The Boyenga Team at Compass has helped Silicon Valley families buy and sell since 1996, with more than 2,200 homes sold.
faq
Palo Alto Unified FAQ
Which schools are in the Palo Alto Unified School District?
PAUSD runs 12 elementary schools (Addison, Barron Park, Duveneck, El Carmelo, Escondido, Fairmeadow, Herbert Hoover, Juana Briones, Lucille M. Nixon, Ohlone, Palo Verde and Walter Hays), 3 middle schools (Ellen Fletcher, Frank S. Greene Jr. and Jane Lathrop Stanford) and 2 comprehensive high schools (Henry M. Gunn and Palo Alto High).
Is every Palo Alto home in PAUSD?
No. District lines are not city lines. Some Palo Alto addresses are outside PAUSD, and some homes in Los Altos Hills and Portola Valley are inside it. Check the address with PAUSD School Finder.
How do I find which PAUSD school serves an address?
Use the PAUSD School Finder at residency.school, or ask the Boyenga Team to confirm it with the district for you before you make an offer.
Which high schools are in PAUSD?
Henry M. Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School (Paly). PAUSD also offers Palo Alto Middle College High, a program at Foothill College.
Can the Boyenga Team help me buy a home in a specific school area?
Yes. Tell us the schools you want and we will set up alerts for homes in that attendance area, confirm assignments with the district and show you recent sales nearby. Call (408) 373-1660.
School names, grades and links come from the district and the California Department of Education, checked October 2026. This guide does not include ratings or test scores; see the California School Dashboard for official performance data.
