2026 Compare Cities Economy:
Los Altos, CA vs Petaluma, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Petaluma, is 60% less than it is in Los Altos and is 31% above the National Average.
- Los Altos unemployment rate is 3.9%.
- Petaluma unemployment rate is 5.0%.
 Los Altos, CAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.7%1.6%
 Future Job Growth38.9%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$124,369  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$100,379$69,021
 Family Median Income$250,001  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Los Altos, CAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K0.3%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock5.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K1.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.0%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K2.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.2%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K3.9%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock19.8%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K8.0%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock17.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Los Altos, CAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance35.3%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.6%6.5%
 Community, social services0.8%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.3%1.2%
 Education, library6.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology9.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.2%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement0.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.3%5.4%
 Building maintenance0.4%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.6%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support10.5%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.4%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair0.9%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock9.5%13.1%
Reviews for Los Altos    2 Reviews

Over 18 years ago

Expensive but worth  More

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Over 18 years ago

the quality of life here is very high however the cost of living is also high. extremely high as a matter of fact. I'd like to look at other communities that are less  More

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Reviews for Petaluma    16 Reviews

I agree with the low star reviews. Been here for 25 years, raised a family and seen everything turn to the left and worse. Weather is glorious, love the old Victorians  More

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We’ve lived here for 3 years and we love it. It has taken some time to grow on us. We moved from SF where we had lived over 15 years, we were not used to one year leases  More

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I’ve lived here a couple of years (after living in others parts of the Bay Area for 15+ years) and I love it! Great neighborhoods, friendly folks, good schools with  More

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