CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

38.01° N · 122.12° W · GEOID 0649651

Mountain View

Contra Costa County, California · part of the San Francisco, CA metro

Limited data population under 5,000

CaliforniaMountain View, CAMountain ViewMountain View

The short answer

Mountain View is home to 2,418 people. Median household income is $94,046 a year and median rent is $2,018 a month, 25.7% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is moderate. The median home is valued at $590,100, about 6.3x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$2,018
48% above the median place
Median household income
$94,046
17% above the median place
Median home value
$590,100
85% above the median place
Unemployment
6.5%
33% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Mountain View

  • Half the homes were built before 1949, older housing than in 94% of the 2,479 places under 10,000 people we track.
  • Counting remote workers as zero, the average worker spends about 225 hours a year commuting, more than in 91% of places its size.
  • Owning with a mortgage costs about $1,192 a month more than the median rent, a wider gap than in 91% of places its size.
  • The median home is worth 6.3 years of the median household's income, more than in 91% of places its size.
  • The median rent takes 25.7% of the median household's income, a bigger share than in 85% of places its size.
01

Moving to Mountain View

Contra Costa County loses about 5.4 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in42,982
Moved out48,284
Net−5,302

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Alameda County, CA12,8317,605+5,226
Solano County, CA2,1473,871−1,724
San Francisco County, CA3,5542,309+1,245
Santa Clara County, CA3,2451,540+1,705
San Mateo County, CA2,4281,317+1,111
San Joaquin County, CA1,3661,931−565
Sacramento County, CA1,0661,960−894
Los Angeles County, CA1,3061,396−90

Within California, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within CaliforniaOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$133K
Leavers$131K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Contra Costa County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
5.0% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 0.9% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Contra Costa County report $133,200 a year in income on average; those leaving, $131,300.
Income you would need
$80,700 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $2,018 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $3,210 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $590,100.
Getting to work
34 minutes each way on average; 14.6% work from home; 5.4% take transit.
If it is close but not quite
Charter Oak, CA matches it on character. Compare the two
Income of households moving out7
$131,341
87% above the median place
Income of households moving in7
$133,160
89% above the median place
Moved from another state1
0.9%
54% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureMountain ViewAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure5.0%14% below
Moved from another state1County figure0.9%54% below
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure-5.4below (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$133,16089% above
Income of households moving out7County figure$131,34187% above
02

What it costs to live here

Median year built is 1949, 1% below the median place.

Mountain View25.7%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$80,720
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
25.7%
26% above the median place
Home price to income
6.3x
65% above the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
26%
just under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$70,200
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Mountain View, $2,018 a month, and local prices for everything else (99.4 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Mountain View, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Waller, WA21.1% vs 25.7%$7,500Compare
Tracyton, WA21.5% vs 25.7%$10,800Compare
Bogota, NJ22.5% vs 25.7%$5,800Compare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Mountain View.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Mountain View? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Median year built1
1949
1% below the median place
Owner costs with a mortgage1
$3,210
71% above the median place
Median home value1
$590,100
85% above the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureMountain ViewAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$2,01848% above
Rent to income125.7%26% above
Property tax rate10.8%14% below
Home price to income16.3x65% above
Prices vs US average2Metro figure115.615% above
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$2,80574% above
HUD area median income4County figure$162,80052% above
Property tax paid (median)1$4,60641% above
Median home value1$590,10085% above
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure-0.0%below (median 3.2%)
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure30.5%41% below
Homeownership164.6%3% below
Renters paying 30%+157.2%13% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$3,21071% above
Vacant homes1County figure3.5%51% below
Median year built119491% below
03

Work and pay

Mean commute is 34 min, 38% above the median place.

Mean commute1
34 min
38% above the median place
Income per person1
$54,311
36% above the median place
Median household income1
$94,046
17% above the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureMountain ViewAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$94,04617% above
Income per person1$54,31136% above
Unemployment1County figure6.5%33% above
Average annual pay6County figure$87,20032% above
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure1.1%70% below
Jobs6County figure374,448149% above
Poverty rate1County figure8.4%22% below
Mean commute134 min38% above
Works from home114.6%17% above
Commutes by transit1County figure5.4%above (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Household size is 2.3, 8% below the median place.

Household size1
2.3
8% below the median place
Homes with broadband1
90.6%
2% below the median place
Median age1
39.6
2% above the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

High school or higher92.0% −0%
Born abroad8.4% −5%
Bachelor's or higher31.7% −1%
All 8 people measures
MeasureMountain ViewAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population12,4186646th largest
Median age139.62% above
Bachelor's or higher131.7%1% below
High school or higher192.0%0% below
Household size12.38% below
Born abroad18.4%5% below
No health insurance1County figure4.6%28% below
Homes with broadband190.6%2% below
05

Life in Mountain View

51 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi17.4 83.0×

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars18.8 −10%
Shops20.2 −33%
Arts, recreation and fitness4.0 −2%
Doctors' offices and clinics21.3 +5%
Child care centers3.3 +43%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Shops per 10k8
20.2
33% below the median place
Public schools11
279
above the median place (median 9)
Students per teacher11
22.5
46% above the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureMountain ViewAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11County figure279above (median 9)
Public school students11County figure167,423above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher11County figure22.546% above
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure18.810% below
Shops per 10k8County figure20.233% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure4.02% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure21.35% above
Child care centers per 10k8County figure3.343% above
Parks per 10k90.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k90.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k90.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k90.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails90.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi917.4above (median 0.2)
National Register listings10County figure51292% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

Natural hazard risk is 99.5, 8% above the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Mountain View. Larger places are fetched first.

Natural hazard risk13
99.5
8% above the median place
Wildfire risk13
97.6
59% above the median place
Annual precipitation12
19.3 in
56% below the median place
All 8 weather and risk measures
MeasureMountain ViewAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure86°F1% below
January average low12County figure40°F60% above
Average temperature12County figure60°F10% above
Annual precipitation12County figure19.3 in56% below
Natural hazard risk13County figure99.58% above
Tornado risk13County figure49.939% below
Wildfire risk13County figure97.659% above
Heat wave risk13County figure98.39% above
08

Mountain View in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 26% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 26% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$2,018/mo (2024)$2,590/mo$2,120 to $3,150/mo+4.2%
Median household income$94,046 (2024)$119,500$101,000 to $141,500+4.1%
Median home value$590,100 (2024)$842,000$611,000 to $1,159,000+6.1%

The median home would be worth 7.0 years of the median income in 2030, against 6.3 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Mountain View

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Charter Oak, CA$1,900$88,393Compare
Vallejo, CA$2,073$90,171Compare
Star, ID$1,924$97,936Compare
Port Chester, NY$2,028$92,222Compare
Port Chester, NYStar, IDVallejo, CACharter Oak, CAMountain View, CAMountain ViewCharter OakStarPort ChesterMountain ViewCharter OakStarPort Chester

Common questions

Is Mountain View a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Half the homes were built before 1949, older housing than in 94% of the 2,479 places under 10,000 people we track. Counting remote workers as zero, the average worker spends about 225 hours a year commuting, more than in 91% of places its size. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Mountain View expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 25.7% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $590,100.

What salary do you need to live in Mountain View?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $80,720 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Mountain View?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Charter Oak, CA, Vallejo, CA, Star, ID and Port Chester, NY.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Mountain View with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Mountain View itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/mountain-view-contra-costa-county-california

Citytistics. “Mountain View, California.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/mountain-view-contra-costa-county-california/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.