2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Palo Alto, CA vs San Rafael, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in San Rafael, is 46% less than it is in Palo Alto and is 34% above the National Average.
- Palo Alto unemployment rate is 3.5%.
- San Rafael unemployment rate is 4.7%.
 Palo Alto, CASan Rafael, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.7%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$104,521$69,021
 Family Median Income$241,579  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Palo Alto, CASan Rafael, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock6.3%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K1.3%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock4.6%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K2.6%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock6.0%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K2.6%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock6.8%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K5.4%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock17.7%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K9.9%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock24.3%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Palo Alto, CASan Rafael, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance26.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock7.3%6.5%
 Community, social services1.0%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.7%1.2%
 Education, library10.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock4.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.7%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement0.6%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.2%5.4%
 Building maintenance0.4%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.6%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support10.0%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock1.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair1.6%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock7.1%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 San Rafael    7 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

San Rafael is only 30 minutes from downtown San Francisco, but the weather is completely different. It's sunny most of the year, including in the summer when the city  More

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Over 15 years ago

I feal very safe in this town. I think getting stopped for talking on your cell phone while driving is a big deal here. Thats about all I can  More

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Over 17 years ago

Cost of living too high. Unfriendly  More

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