PORTOLA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

'Portola Valley' is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 4,462 at the 2000 census. It was named for Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola, who led the first party of Europeans to explore the San Francisco Peninsula, in 1769.

Contents

Notable Citizens

Geography

Demographics

Schools

External links

Notable Citizens

Bill Lane- Ambassador for the U.S.A. to Australia and Japan, one of the founders of Portola Valley, first mayor of Portola Valley, son of Sunset Magazine founder Lawrence Lane, and much more.

Geography

Portola Valley is located at (37.375023, -122.218635), at the bottom of the eastern slope of the Peninsula Range of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Windy Hill Open Space Preserve lies to its west. It is off Interstate 280, near Woodside, just west of Palo Alto and Los Altos and south of Menlo Park, and is in a mostly wooded area, with some open plains.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 9.2 mi² (23.7 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,462 people, 1,700 households, and 1,268 families residing in the town. The population density was 188.3/km² (487.5/mi²). There were 1,772 housing units at an average density of 74.8/km² (193.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.92% White, 0.40% African American, 0.25% Native American, 3.99% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.96% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.34% of the population.
There were 1,700 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.2% were married couples living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 19.4% from 25 to 44, 33.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $158,217, and the median income for a family was $180,893. Males had a median income of over $100,000 versus $92,585 for females. The per capita income for the town was $99,621. About 1.4% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Schools

The Portola Valley School District has two public primary schools: Ormandale School (with grades K-3) and Corte Madera School (grades 4-8). Student from the town and nearby unincorporated areas, such as Sky Londa attend these schools.
Portola Valley is one of the few (perhaps only) school districts that has a school named after a race horse (Ormond). Ormondale is currently a K-3 school that feeds in to the larger Corte Madera (4-8).
The nearest public secondary school is Woodside High School, located in neighboring Woodside.
Also located within the town is Woodside Priory School, a catholic college-preparatory school with grades 6-12.

External links

★ Portola Valley Public Library - a branch of the San Mateo County Library