Los Altos (/lɔːs ˈæltoʊs/ ⓘ; Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Originally an agricultural town with many summer cottages and apricot orchards, Los Altos is a bedroom community on the western edge of Silicon Valley, serving as a major source of commuters to other parts of Silicon Valley.

Los Altos strictly limits commercial zones to the downtown area and small shopping and office parks lining Foothill Expressway and El Camino Real.

By 1949, many residents were dissatisfied with the zoning policy of Santa Clara County, and there was a constant threat of annexation by neighboring Palo Alto and Mountain View,[10] so they decided to incorporate.

Santa Clara County undertook a seminal study to calculate the effects of alternate soundwall designs along Foothill Expressway.

[12] The resulting wall brought about the predicted reduction of seven to ten decibels in noise pollution levels experienced by adjacent homes.

[14] On April 15, 2021, Los Altos became home to the world's first consumer flying car showroom.

There were 11,204 housing units at an average density of 1727.1 per square mile (666.9/km2), of which 9,002 (83.8%) were owner-occupied, and 1,743 (16.2%) were occupied by renters.

[20] In 2017, Forbes ranked Los Altos (94022 and 94024) as the 3rd and 48th most expensive ZIP codes in the United States with median home prices of $7,755,000 and $3,431,615, respectively.

[21] In 2018, data from the American Community Survey revealed that Los Altos was the fifth wealthiest city in the United States.

For the 94022 ZIP code, which includes parts of Los Altos Hills, California the median home price is $4.9 million with an average of 120 days on the market.

[25] Since the mid-1990s, downtown Los Altos has experienced mild economic difficulties due to competition from nearby shopping centers and chain stores, as well as its lack of a hotel or movie theater.

[26] According to the City's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,[27] the top employers in the city are: In the California State Legislature, Los Altos is in the 13th Senate District, represented by Democrat Josh Becker, and in the 23rd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Marc Berman.

Adobe Creek flows through Redwood Grove, a 5.9-acre (2.4 ha) nature preserve off University Avenue in Los Altos purchased by the city in 1974.

In October 2009 Los Altos contracted with Acterra to remove non-native plants and revitalize the redwood, oak woodland, riparian and grassland ecosystems by installing native plants, improving soil conditions, and creating habitat for wildlife such as bird houses and native bee boxes.

[38] The coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) were transplanted by the Halsey family from a location on Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains and replaced the native willows.

The city designated Halsey House a local landmark in 1981 and until recently it housed the Florence Fava collection of Coastanoan or Ohlone Indian artifacts from a nearby archeological excavation in Los Altos Hills (now moved to the Los Altos History Museum).

[39] On June 16, 2010, the Los Altos City Council finalized the purchase of 10,000 square feet (930 m2) of creekside property from Delbert and Marlene Beumer, who wanted to provide a safe pathway connecting Shoup Park and Redwood Grove.

However, tidal gates at the mouth of Adobe Creek as well as culverts at the El Camino Real and Interstate 280 overpasses probably preclude the passage of migrating salmonids, even though the reaches upstream from Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills have been judged excellent trout habitat.

"[46] The San Jose Mercury News is the primary daily newspaper serving the town, delivering a Peninsula Section to Los Altans and locations north in lieu of the Local section delivered to those in San Jose and other communities closer to San Jose.Los Altos had four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: The program was run by the non-profit Los Altos Sister Cities, Inc., founded in 1988.