East Palo Alto

About East Palo Alto

East Palo Alto, located roughly half way between San Francisco and San Jose, was incorporated as a city in 1983. However, the area historically regarded as East Palo Alto was much larger than the city’s current 2.5 square miles. The population went through different phases, starting with Ohlone / Costanoan Native Americans, then Spanish ranchers, Chinese laborers and African Americans. Today the city possesses a multi-ethnic population which includes a large number of Hispanics and Pacific Islanders. Trade has alternately focused on ranching, transportation and shipping, brick manufacturing, farming, servicing travelers of Bayshore Highway and Dumbarton Bridge, and flower growing. At present there is a mix of small industrial and commercial businesses.

The characteristics that have always attracted people to the area has remained constant: the price of land and housing; a beautiful, rural-like setting; its centralized location; proximity to transportation and San Francisco Bay, and some of the most enviable weather in the nation.

East Palo Alto has several large retailers serving the whole area, among them are IKEA, Nordstrom Rack and PGA Tour Superstore. With closed proximity to some of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto has become an attractive residential area for employees of Facebook, Google, Stanford University and other tech leaders.