2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Palo Alto, CA vs Oakland, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Oakland, is 56% less than it is in Palo Alto and is 19% above the National Average.
- Palo Alto unemployment rate is 3.5%.
- Oakland unemployment rate is 7.7%.
 Palo Alto, CAOakland, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock7.7%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.4%1.6%
 Future Job Growth40.5%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$105,070  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$85,628$69,021
 Family Median Income$241,579  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Palo Alto, CAOakland, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock10.3%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K1.3%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock6.8%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K2.6%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.7%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K2.6%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock7.0%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K5.4%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock15.7%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K9.9%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock18.0%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Palo Alto, CAOakland, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance26.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock9.6%6.5%
 Community, social services1.0%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock2.2%1.2%
 Education, library10.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock4.9%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.9%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement0.6%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.1%5.4%
 Building maintenance0.4%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.7%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support10.0%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.3%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair1.6%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock10.4%13.1%
Reviews for Palo Alto    8 Reviews

The Bay Area in general, but Palo Alto specifically provides many of the qualities sought by many; the climate is beautiful, there is access to cultural and recreational  More

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Over 17 years ago

Very  More

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Over 18 years ago

VTA and SamsTrans and Caltrain all provide good service and most times frequency of service is  More

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Reviews for Oakland    38 Reviews

I move to Oakland 20yrs ago with high hopes, loved the geography of the city, the diversity is outstanding, and the charm of the older homes is wonderful. When I  More

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Over 4 years ago

Fun place to visit. Little rough is some areas- a lot to do  More

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I moved to Oakland because of its racial diversity in the early eighties although I've seen some ups and downs in this visually beautiful city, it has never been as bad  More

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