Silicon Valley - Home Equity Index

Jan 31, 2019

This interactive chart visualizes ownership and home equity data for the area commonly known as "Silicon Valley", expansively defined to include the area extending to Hayward in the northeast, down to San Jose in the South, and then right up to the border with SF in the northwest.

In this area, the three Zip Codes of 94010 (Burlingame / San Mateo), 95014 (Cupertino) and 95070 (Saratoga) have the highest aggregate home equity, at approximately $22-23 billion each. Generally the SV area has a low rate of paid-off mortgages, in the bottom 20% nationwide. Zip Code 94027 (Atherton) has far and away the highest median home value, at $7.5 million using data for the last 6 months of 2018.

For earners on the lowest end of the income scale, Silicon Valley is unaffordable despite a minimum wage approximately twice the Federal requirement, according to our housing affordability ratio. All major Real Estate research firms agree that renting in Silicon Valley and investing the difference yields a better long-term return on investment than buying in 2019.

The Walletwyse Home Equity Index estimates positive equity in owner-occupied homes for U.S. states, cities and Zip Codes. This includes median home values and mortgage balances, the percentage of homes owned free and clear, and aggregated total equity. The release schedule for our city maps is published here, along with the methodology for the index.

While you're visiting, calculate the cost of home ownership in your area with our progressive Home Purchase Calculator. Choose from Basic, Advanced or "Wyse" modes to understand everything from the fundamentals to complex concepts like the opportunity cost of buying a home.

Our goal at Walletwyse is the thoughtful curation of financial information to help you make informed, bias-free decisions, so we are unaffiliated with lenders and brokerages.