The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.4% above the U.S. average in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area.
- More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Loyola to say.
- A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
- Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Mountain View High, about 2 miles away.
- A hospital close byEl Camino Health in Mountain View, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big citySan Jose is about 16 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.
A check means Loyola meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.
What kind of town
Loyola runs into the built-up area around San Jose (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.
The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $2,000,000 or moreU.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 11%Santa Clara County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $3,500 or more a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $250,000 or moreU.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 87%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $10,000 or more a yearCalifornia: $5,124
- Homes built before 1940
- 3%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 9%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 0%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 110.4U.S. average = 100 (the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area)
Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area, not Loyola alone. Check current listings before you budget.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
The people
- Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
- 3,430The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
- Median age
- 48.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 24%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 23%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 88%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 2%U.S.: 6%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Work
- Biggest lines of work
- Professional and business services (26%); schools, health care and social services (24%); manufacturing (18%)
- Unemployment rate
- 6%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 36%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 4%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: El Camino Health, Mountain View, CA, about 2 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.
Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.
Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.
Schools
3 public schools in Loyola, run by Los Altos Elementary and Cupertino Union. The nearest public high school is Mountain View High, about 2 miles away.
Colleges in or next to town: Foothill College (10,000 to 19,999 students).
See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.
Internet
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 99%U.S.: 91%
Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Weather
- January average low
- 42°F
- July average high
- 77°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 9 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 2 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 15.1 inches a year
- Snow
- 0 inches a year
- Elevation
- 264 feet
Weather stations: Moffett Federal Airfield (5 miles away) and Palo Alto (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.
Getting around
Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: El Camino Health, Mountain View, San Jose.
Santa Clara County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area12 miles
- Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site33 miles
- San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park36 miles
- Fort Point National Historic Site38 miles
- Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park41 miles
Campus life. Check Foothill College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.
Read about Loyola's history on Wikipedia.
Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.
Nearby
Straight-line miles.
Small towns
- Los Altos Hills, CA8,400 people, 3 miles
- Portola Valley, CA4,300 people, 7 miles
- West Menlo Park, CA3,600 people, 8 miles
- Atherton, CA7,000 people, 9 miles
- Burbank, CA5,300 people, 9 miles
- Monte Sereno, CA3,600 people, 10 miles
Smaller places
- Ladera, CA (unincorporated)1,297 people, 7 miles
- La Honda, CA (unincorporated)1,269 people, 9 miles
- Fruitdale, CA (unincorporated)986 people, 9 miles
- Loma Mar, CA (unincorporated)309 people, 13 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas
Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.