Durham, NC vs Palo Alto, CA

Side-by-side comparison of housing, income, commute, safety, and quality of life.

Score Snapshot

No universal winner

Scores summarize the published model. Use the objective metric differences below and your own priorities to choose.

Durham

69.4

#1213 nationally

Palo Alto

67.4

#1429 nationally

Palo Alto leads in median household income ($214,118 vs $67,432). Palo Alto leads in walk score (61 vs 33). Durham leads in average commute (22.8 min vs 23.9 min).

Metric-by-Metric Breakdown

Metric	Durham, NC	Palo Alto, CA
WhereAtHome Score	69.4 (#1213)	67.4 (#1429)
Population	283,506	65,882
Typical Home Value (ZHVI)	$395,976	$3,599,324
Median Household Income	$67,432	$214,118
Average Commute	22.8 min	23.9 min
Walk Score	33	61
Crime Level	Moderate	5.8
School Rating	6.4	N/A
Cost of Living Index	102	N/A
Political lean County 2024 presidential margin — context only, not scored	D+61.9	D+40.0