Mountain View

Nestled between the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Francisco Bay, Mountain View is located in the heart of the Silicon Valley, just 10 miles north of San Jose and 35 miles south of San Francisco. The City is home to 72,200 residents and to many nationally and internationally known corporations. Mountain View covers 12 square miles, with an average elevation of 97 feet. The City enjoys an average of 106 days of clear skies each year. Daytime temperatures are moderate, often in the fifties and sixties in the winter and the seventies and eighties in the summertime.

Once covered in orchards and vineyards, Mountain View began as a stagecoach stop and an agricultural center for the lush Santa Clara Valley. The town was incorporated in 1902 with a population of fewer than 1,000 people. After World War II, The City's population exploded with the growth of the electronic and aerospace industries.

Today, Mountain View is a modern, high-tech city operating under a council/manager form of government, with a 7-member City Council. While Mountain View is keeping pace with new ideas and innovations, the City is also committed to the traditional values of strong neighborhoods and citizen involvement. Mountain View is made up of a variety of distinct, locally organized nieghborhood and homeowners associations that help identify our community's needs and shape the City's future. The mission of the Mountain View city government is to provide quality services and facilities that meet the needs of a caring and diverse community in a financially responsible manner.

In recent years, the City of Mountain View has developed some of the finest recreation facilities the Bay Area has to offer. The City's extensive City park system not only provides an outstanding array of neighborhood parks, but includes an innovative regional park created from reclaimed landfill. Shoreline-at-Mountain View Park, built along San Francisco Bay, features an 18-hole golf course, a sailing lake and a wild life interpretive trail. The Civic Center, built around downtown's Pioneer Park, has one of the finest theater facilities in Northern California as well as a new, 60,000 square foot state-of-the-art library.

One of Mountain View's greatest assets is its people. The resident population of Mountain View is approximately 72,200. The daytime population grows to more than 100,000. More than half the population is between 20 and 44, while nearly 25% of our population is in the 25 to 34 year age bracket. The median age is 32.8 years old.

The City of Mountain View website is full of information about the programs and services offered throughout the City. Visit the Community Development Department page and you'll learn about the City's pioneering on-line permitting program. Go to the Police Department's page and you'll read about the award-winning Dreams and Futures Youth Program. Or stop by the Fire Department's page and you'll learn about the new citywide paramedic services.

Please take time to explore the City's website and get to know Mountain View. We think you'll discover what our residents already know---Mountain View is a great place to live and work.