Ladera is a census-designated place (CDP) in southern San Mateo County, California,[2] adjacent to Portola Valley.

Ladera is located at the bottom of the eastern slope of the Peninsula Range of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

[3] It is bordered on the west by the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve operated by Stanford University, on the east by Alpine Road, and on the north by Webb Ranch.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 0.4 square miles (1.1 km2), all of it land.

The Ramaytush Ohlone peoples occupied the land that is now the community of Ladera, prior to the settlement of California by the Spanish.

Several prominent members of the Stanford and Palo Alto communities joined to develop the fledgling PHA co-op.

[4] Architects Joseph Allen Stein and John Funk were chosen to design several of the earliest model homes.

However, the Federal Housing Administration would not insure loans to co-ops that included African American members - an example of redlining.

[5] Banks would not finance loans or issue mortgages without government approval, so the PHA failed due to financial difficulties after only a few houses had been constructed.

It draws its police services from the County of San Mateo and is a part of Woodside Fire District.