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Towns / California

Pleasanton, California

Pleasanton is a small city of about 75,000 people in Alameda County, California. It has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 8.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, San Jose, is about 26 miles away as the crow flies.

Small city

Population
74,556
down 6.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$1,537,100
Alameda County prices down 0.8% since 2022
Household income
$190,124
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, San Francisco area
115.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley
To San Jose
26 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 15.6% above the U.S. average in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 8.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood90 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 13.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town20 public schools: 12 elementary, 4 middle, 3 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byStanford Health Care Tri-Valley is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Jose is about 26 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 Pleasanton 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

Worth a closer look

Pleasanton has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

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
$1,537,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Down 0.8%Alameda County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$3,060 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$190,124U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
67%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$10,000 or more a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
115.6U.S. average = 100 (the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 down 0.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area, not Pleasanton 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, 2025 estimate
74,5562020: 79,673
Median age
43.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
70%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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 (28%); schools, health care and social services (20%); manufacturing (13%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
29%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley, Pleasanton, CA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

20 public schools in Pleasanton, run by Pleasanton Unified and Dublin Unified.

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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
90%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
98%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
39°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
57 a year
Nights at or below freezing
13 a year
Rain and melted snow
14.6 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
343 feet

Weather station: Livermore (4 miles away). 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: Dublin, San Jose.

Alameda 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site13 miles
  • John Muir National Historic Site25 miles
  • Golden Gate National Recreation Area26 miles
  • Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial28 miles
  • Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park30 miles

Read about Pleasanton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Pleasanton?

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

Smaller places

  • Sunol, CA (unincorporated)847 people, 6 miles
  • Norris Canyon, CA (unincorporated)1,014 people, 8 miles
  • Diablo, CA (unincorporated)1,232 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. 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.