
Los Gatos (; ; ) is an
incorporated town
An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation.
Canada
Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government.
United States
An incorporated town o ...
in
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the
2020 census. It is located in the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
just southwest of
San Jose in the foothills of the
Santa Cruz Mountains
The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...
. Los Gatos is part of
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
, with several
high tech
High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the state of the art, cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the ...
nology companies maintaining a presence there.
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
, the streaming service and content creator, is headquartered in Los Gatos and has developed a large presence in the area.
Etymology
''Los Gatos'' is Spanish for "The Cats". The name derives from the 1839
Alta California
Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...
land grant that encompassed the area, which was called ''
La Rinconada de Los Gatos'' ("The Corner of the Cats"), where the ''cats'' refers to the
cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...
s (mountain lions) and
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...
s that are
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
to the foothills in which the town is located. The pronunciation is often anglicized to , although one also hears pronunciations truer to the original Spanish, .
History
Overview
The first inhabitants of the area that is now Los Gatos were the
Ohlone
The Ohlone ( ), formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the l ...
Native Americans. At the time the first settlers arrived in the area, it was estimated that approximately 5,000 indigenous people were living in the
Valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
, and noted that the relationship between the settlers and natives was very good. The first settlers to enter the Valley proper were two soldiers that had strayed from their
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
group on November 2, 1769. By 1777, there were between 1,500 and 2,000 Native Americans living in the mission compound.
The town's founding dates to the mid-1850s with the building of a flour-milling operation,
Forbes Mill, by
James Alexander Forbes along Los Gatos Creek, then called Jones's Creek. The mill's two-story stone storage annex still stands.
The settlement that was established in the 1860s was originally named for the mill, but the name was changed to Los Gatos after the Spanish land grant. The town was
incorporated in 1887 and remained an important town for the logging industry in the
Santa Cruz Mountains
The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...
until the end of the 19th century. Despite being nearby to logging communities, Los Gatos itself only served as a stopping point for those heading into the mountains. With the creation of the Los Gatos Turnpike road, the town was placed in a strategic position on the journey between San Jose and Santa Cruz, and it became an attractive location to live in. Soon, the town was booming. In 1852 only one
adobe
Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...
home existed in the area; by 1868 Los Gatos held the Mill, a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
shop, a stage depot, a lumber yard, a temporary schoolhouse, a hotel, a post office, and several houses. The town began to rapidly gain prominence after the town of
Lexington lost its importance with the fall of the
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
industry in the area.
In the early 20th century, the town became a thriving agricultural town with
apricot
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
s,
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
s and
prune
A prune is a dried plum, most commonly from the European plum (''Prunus domestica'') tree. Not all plum species or varieties can be dried into prunes. Use of the term ''prune'' for fresh plums is obsolete except when applied to varieties of ...
s being grown in the area. By the 1920s, the Los Gatos area had a local reputation as an arts colony, attracting painters, musicians, writers, actors and their bohemian associates as residents over the years. The violinist
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...
lived there as a boy; the actresses
Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress best known for her roles in Hollywood films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Fontaine appeared in ...
and
Olivia de Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
(sisters) were graduates of
Los Gatos High School
Los Gatos High School (LGHS) is a high school in Los Gatos, California. It was founded in 1908 and is part of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, which in 2021 was ranked the best high school district in California
The scho ...
; John Steinbeck wrote ''
The Grapes of Wrath
''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award
and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...
'' there (the location is now located in
Monte Sereno); Justin Goodsell, a renowned quantum mechanics spectroscopy scientist, was born in this town, and a prominent Beat hero
Neal Cassady
Neal Leon Cassady (February 8, 1926 – February 4, 1968) was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic and counterculture movements of the 1960s.
Cassady published only two short fragments of prose in his lif ...
lived there in the 1950s. Along with much of the
Santa Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...
, Los Gatos became a suburban community for
San Jose beginning in the 1950s, and the town was mostly built out by the 1980s.
Architecture
Downtown Los Gatos has retained and restored many of its
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literatur ...
-era homes and commercial buildings. Notable buildings include the
Forbes Mill annex, dating to 1880 and formerly housing a history museum; Los Gatos High School, which dates from the 1920s; and the Old Town Shopping Center, formerly the University Avenue School (the school was established in 1882; the current buildings date to 1923).
The Lyndon Hotel was another location of significance in the town from its establishment in the 1890s until it was razed in 1963.The building was located on the site of a previous hotel. One that had changed hands numerous times over the previous years. But primarily under the ownership of one of the most esteemed Los Gatos business owners at the time. John Weldon Lyndon.
A number of brick buildings in downtown Los Gatos were destroyed or seriously damaged in the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz Cou ...
, though the district was quickly rebuilt and has made a full recovery.
Rail transportation
Rail transport played a large role in Los Gatos's historical development, but the city, as of 2020, has no regular passenger train service of any sort. The
South Pacific Coast Railroad
The South Pacific Coast Railroad (SPC) was a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow gauge steam railroad running between Santa Cruz, California, and Alameda, California, Alameda, with a ferry connection in Alameda to San Francisco, California, San Franci ...
, a popular
narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...
line from
Alameda
An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to:
Places Canada
* Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan
** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan
Chile
* Alameda (Santi ...
(and San Francisco via ferry) to
Santa Cruz in the late 19th century, stopped in Los Gatos. Southern Pacific took over this line in 1887. Los Gatos was also near the Southern Pacific resort town of
Holy City
A holy city is a city important to the history or faith of a specific religion. Such cities may also contain at least one headquarters complex (often containing a religious edifice, seminary, shrine, residence of the leading cleric of the religi ...
, along the rail line in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The last Southern Pacific passenger train to Santa Cruz left Los Gatos on February 26, 1940. In town, the rail line used to run along the shore of Vasona Reservoir to the present-day location of the Post Office, following the path of what is now a continuous string of parking lots between Santa Cruz Ave. and University Ave. There was also a streetcar-type rail line called the
Peninsular Railway with service to Saratoga and San Jose that started about 1905 and ended about 1933. San Francisco commuter trains continued into downtown until 1959, and Vasona Junction until 1964. The site of the old railroad station is now occupied by Town Plaza and the post office.
While VTA had originally planned to extend their
Green Line to Vasona Junction and bring back passenger rail to the city, the extension was cut short to Winchester due to the high cost of the extension, minimal expected ridership gains, and the difficulty of sharing rail right-of-way to Vasona Junction with Union Pacific freight trains.
Oil boom

Between 1891 and 1929, about 20 oil wells were drilled in and around Los Gatos, starting a minor oil-drilling boom.
About 1861, small
amounts of oil were discovered in streams, springs, and water
wells in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the vicinity of Moody
Gulch, about south of the Los Gatos Post Office.
An intense search for oil ensued,
resulting in the drilling of many wells and establishment of
the Moody Gulch oil field.
[ The
Moody Gulch oil field, however, never met expectations, and
it was abandoned sometime around 1938 after producing a total of about of oil
and of gas.][ In 1891, one of the Moody Gulch drillers, R.C.
McPherson, found oil in a well along San Jose Road (now Los
Gatos Boulevard) in the Santa Clara Valley flatlands, about northeast of the Los Gatos Post Office.][ Although commercial production was never established, small amounts of oil
were produced for use as fuel, lubricant, and road tar by local
residents.][
]
Geography and environment
Los Gatos is located at (37.236044, −121.961768). Los Gatos is bisected by State Route 17, which runs through the town from south to north.
State Route 85 roughly marks the northern boundary of the town, although a few pockets of homes to its North are included. Highway 9 (Los Gatos-Saratoga Road) from the coast terminates at Highway 17. Downtown Los Gatos, the area on and around Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street, is located in the southwest quadrant of town. A left exit on northbound Highway 17 becomes the south end of South Santa Cruz Avenue, leading into downtown. The area around Los Gatos Boulevard, east of Highway 17, is much more typically suburban than downtown, with medium-sized shopping centers clustered at major intersections of the multilane boulevard. Although the town has generally a quiet setting, its principal noise
Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...
generators are State Route 17 and Los Gatos Boulevard. Sound levels within one hundred and fifty feet of Los Gatos Boulevard exceed 60 db CNEL (Community Noise Equivalent Level), a generally unacceptable range for residential living.
Vasona Park
Vasona Lake County Park is a park located in Los Gatos, California and part of the Santa Clara County Parks system. Vasona Park surrounds the Vasona Reservoir. Adjacent to the park are the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, a ridable miniature railway ...
, a county park, and neighboring Oak Meadow Park, which belongs to the town, are located in what is roughly the geographic middle of the town, bordered on the south by Blossom Hill Road, on the east by Highway 17, on the west by University Avenue, and reaching at the north end not quite all the way to Lark Avenue. Located in the parks is the popular William "Billy" Jones Wildcat Railroad. In Vasona Park is the trail to Prune Ridge. Los Gatos Creek begins in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of the town and runs through the town parallel to Highway 17 all the way through neighboring Campbell and San Jose to the Guadalupe River, which flows into San Francisco Bay. A walking, jogging, and biking trail called the Los Gatos Creek Trail
The main segment of the Los Gatos Creek Trail is a 9.7-mile (15.6 km) pedestrian and bicycle trail that runs through western Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara County in California. It runs from Lexington Reservoir in Los Gatos, C ...
runs alongside much of the creek from Lexington Dam through Vasona Park and Campbell to Meridian Avenue in San Jose. In Los Gatos, the trail passes the 1854 Forbes Mill.
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of . of it is land and of it, comprising 0.71%, is water.
Los Gatos is surrounded by several mountain bike
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...
trails. Cyclists can leave from downtown on a loop through the Santa Cruz Mountains. From downtown, El Sereno mountain stands to the southwest; El Sombroso
The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...
stands to the southeast. The El Sereno Open Space Preserve and the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve
Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve is managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in Santa Clara County, California. It is approximately in area. The preserve is named for the Sierra Azul or "Blue Mountains", the name the colonizing S ...
open the top and upper flanks of each of these mountains to hiking and cycling.
Though the official total area of the town is 11.2 square miles, approximately of the surrounding Los Gatos Mountains (within the Santa Cruz Mountains range) has a Los Gatos address and uses the 95033 ZIP code (primarily) for U.S. Postal Service mail delivery (among other purposes).
The principal cemetery is the Los Gatos Memorial Park
Los Gatos Memorial Park is the principle cemetery of Los Gatos, California, established in 1889. It occupies some thirty acres, with the main entrance at 2255 Los Gatos-Almaden Road, San Jose, California 95124.[warm-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...]
, like much of California. Los Gatos rarely gets a hard frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
. Los Gatos gets the slight winter chill that is needed to grow grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
s and have vineyard
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
s. Types of banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
s that ripen within three months grow well during the summer.
The record high temperature was on June 14, 1961, and the record low temperature was on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 27 days annually with highs of or higher and an average of 5 days annually with lows of or lower. Rainfall averages annually and falls on an average of 59 days annually. The wettest year was 1909 with 51.77 inches and the driest year was 2007 with . The most rainfall in one month was 26.56 inches in December 1955 and the most rainfall in 24 hours was 8.48 inches on December 23, 1955. Although snow sometimes falls in the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains, it is very rare in Los Gatos. The most snow on record was 2.0 inches in February 1976. Los Gatos averages 330 sunny days per year.[
]
Economy
The following companies are headquartered in Los Gatos:
* BrightSign
* Buongiorno
* Cryptic Studios
Cryptic Studios is an American video game developer specializing in MMORPG, massively multiplayer online role-playing games. It is headquartered in Los Gatos, California, and was a wholly owned Perfect World (company), Perfect World subsidiary, a ...
* Digital Media Academy
* EverSport
* Facilitron
* ImageShack
ImageShack is a subscription-based image hosting website headquartered at Los Gatos, California.
Although ImageShack always had a subscription service, the majority of its revenue was originally produced from advertising related to its free ima ...
* Impetus Technologies
* Import.io
* Kyvos Insights
* Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
* Par Avion Tea
* Smashwords
Smashwords, Inc., based in Los Gatos, California, is a platform for self-publishing e-books. The company, founded by Mark Coker, began public operation in 2008 and was acquired by Draft2Digital, LLC in 2022.
Authors and independent publishers ...
* NEON
Top employers
According to the city's 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Demographics
;2022 American Community Survey
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
estimates, there were people and households. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were housing units at an average density of .[To calculate density we use the land area figure from the places file in ][ The racial makeup of the city was 71.7% White, 17.2% Asian, 2.6% some other race, 1.2% Black or African American, and 0.1% Native American or Alaskan Native, with 7.3% from two or more races.][ Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.2% of the population.][
Of the households, 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.9% had seniors 65 years or older living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 4.8% were couples cohabitating, 12.6% had a male householder with no partner present, and 21.5% had a female householder with no partner present.][ The median household size was and the median family size was .][
The age distribution was 22.9% under 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 31.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was years.] For every 100 females, there were males.[
The median income for a household was $, with family households having a median income of $ and non-family households $. The ]per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
was $. Out of the people with a determined poverty status, 3.9% were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
. Further, 2.0% of minors and 6.4% of seniors were below the poverty line.
In the survey, residents self-identified with various ethnic ancestries. People of German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
descent made up 11.1% of the population of the town, followed by English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
at 10.7%, Irish at 8.0%, Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
at 7.0%, French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
at 3.0%, American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
at 2.5%, Ukrainian at 2.3%, Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
at 2.1%, Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
at 2.1%, Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
at 2.0%, Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
at 1.6%, Portuguese at 1.4%, Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
at 1.4%, Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
at 1.3%, Norwegian at 1.2%, Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
at 1.0%, Hungarian at 0.9%, Danish at 0.8%, Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, of or about Wales
* Welsh language, spoken in Wales
* Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales
Places
* Welsh, Arkansas, U.S.
* Welsh, Louisiana, U.S.
* Welsh, Ohio, U.S.
* Welsh Basin, during t ...
at 0.7%, Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
n at 0.6%, Scotch-Irish at 0.6%, and Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
at 0.6%.[
;2010 census
The 2010 United States Census reported that Los Gatos had a population of 29,413. The population density was . The racial makeup of Los Gatos was 24,060 (81.8%) ]White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 269 (0.9%) African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 86 (0.3%) Native American, 3,203 (10.9%) Asian, 52 (0.2%) Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 462 (1.6%) from other races, and 1,281 (4.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 2,120 persons (7.2%).
The Census reported that 29,063 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 92 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 258 (0.9%) were institutionalized.
There were 12,355 households, out of which 3,775 (30.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,417 (51.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 949 (7.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 435 (3.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 551 (4.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 84 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,695 households (29.9%) were made up of individuals, and 1,464 (11.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35. There were 7,801 families
Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(63.1% of all households); the average family size was 2.96.
The population was spread out, with 6,567 people (22.3%) under the age of 18, 1,442 people (4.9%) aged 18 to 24, 6,722 people (22.9%) aged 25 to 44, 9,417 people (32.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,265 people (17.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
There were 13,050 housing units at an average density of , of which 7,778 (63.0%) were owner-occupied, and 4,577 (37.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.5%. 19,901 people (67.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 9,162 people (31.1%) lived in rental housing units.
;2000 census
As of the census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 28,592 people, 11,988 households, and 7,300 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 12,367 housing units at an average density of . The ethnic makeup of the town was 86.68% Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Common meanings
*Anything from the Caucasus region or related to it
** Ethnic groups in the Caucasus
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus re ...
, 0.79% African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.30% Native American, 7.60% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 1.28% from other races, and 3.27% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 5.21% of the population.
There were 11,988 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the town the population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $126,568, and the median income for a family was $152,940. Males had a median income of $89,420 versus $57,596 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $56,094. About 3.1% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The town is governed by five elected council members with the position of mayor rotating between council members each year. Half the council is elected to a four-year term every two years. There are no term limits for the Town Council.
In the California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, Los Gatos is in , and in .
In the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Los Gatos is in . Los Gatos was in the 18th district until January 3, 2023, when the new district boundaries commenced.
The seal of the town contains an image of the pair of cat sculptures by sculptor Robert Paine that he made for the estate of Charles Erskine Scott Wood
Charles Erskine Scott Wood (February 20, 1852January 22, 1944), also known as C. E. S. Wood, was an American author, civil liberties advocate, artist, soldier, attorney, and Georgist. He is best known as the author of the 1927 satirical bestselle ...
and Sara Bard Field
Sara Bard Field (September 1, 1882 – June 15, 1974) was an American poet, suffragist, free love advocate, Georgist, and Christian socialist. She worked on successful campaigns for women's suffrage in Oregon and Nevada. Working with Alice Paul ...
.
Infrastructure
;Transportation
The town of Los Gatos is served by the VTA, (Valley Transportation Authority) which also serves the majority of the county of Santa Clara, including San Jose.
The two Los Gatos Community Buses run from Santa Cruz and Main to the Winchester Transit Center, the 49 via Los Gatos Boulevard and the 48 via Winchester.
For railroad transportation the nearby city of Santa Clara has the closest train station served by Caltrain
Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a commuter rail line in California, serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose, California, San Jose at the Tamien station with weekday r ...
, and nearby in the city of Campbell provides access to VTA light rail
The VTA light rail system serves San Jose, California, San Jose and nearby cities in Santa Clara County, California. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and has of network comprising three main lines on stan ...
via the Winchester
Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, Downtown Campbell, and Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
stations.
For air travel, the closest international airports are San Jose International Airport
San José Mineta International Airport —officially Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport—is a city-owned public airport in San Jose, California. Located northwest of Downtown San Jose, the airport serves both the city and the Sa ...
(SJC), San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport is the primary international airport for the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. Owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco, the airport has a San Francisco mailing ...
(SFO), and Oakland International Airport
Oakland International Airport is an international airport in Oakland, California, United States. The airport is located south of downtown Oakland and east of San Francisco, serving the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The airport is ...
(OAK). All these airports are used for air travel by people across the Bay Area.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
* Lakeside Joint School District
* Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary School District
Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary School District is a public school district based in Santa Clara County, California, United States.
Residents of this school district are zoned to high schools in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High Scho ...
* Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District
The Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District (formerly Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District) is a high school district in the greater San Jose, California
San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, ...
** Los Gatos High School
Los Gatos High School (LGHS) is a high school in Los Gatos, California. It was founded in 1908 and is part of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, which in 2021 was ranked the best high school district in California
The scho ...
* Los Gatos Union School District
** Raymond J. Fisher Middle School
** Daves Avenue Elementary School
** Louise Van Meter Elementary School
** Blossom Hill Elementary School
** Lexington Elementary School
* Union School District
In some U.S. states, a union school district or union high school district is a school district that has been established by the consolidation of "two or more school districts situated in the same county". A Joint union school district is simi ...
** Alta Vista Elementary School
*Campbell Union & Campbell High School District
= Raymond J. Fisher Middle School controversy
=
In 2017, the school district attracted attention for a dress code that targeted specific groups disproportionately.
Private schools
*Roman Catholic
** St. Mary's School
*Jewish
** Yavneh Day School
*Secular
** Hillbrook School
** Stratford School
** Fusion Academy
Public libraries
The Los Gatos Public Library is operated by the Town of Los Gatos and is not part of the Santa Clara County Library system. The library is located at 100 Villa Ave, Los Gatos, CA in the town Civic Center. Any California resident with proper identification and verification of their mailing address may have borrowing privileges.
Museums
The New Museum
The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum at 235 Bowery, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker.
History
The museum originally opened in a space in the Graduate Center of the then-nam ...
(NUMU), formerly called Museums of Los Gatos, offers exhibitions and programs on Los Gatos and San Francisco Bay Area art and history.
Outdoor recreational activities
Los Gatos offers a variety of outdoor activities such as mountain biking, road cycling, trail running, kayaking, hiking. The Los Gatos Creek Trail is nearby and Vasona Lake Park is located in the center of the town.
Sister cities
Los Gatos has five official sister cities
A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there ar ...
:
* Zhonghe District
Zhonghe District (, Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tiong-hô Khu), also spelled Jhonghe, is an inner city district in New Taipei City in northern Taiwan (ROC).
Zhonghe was founded in 1946 as an urban township in what then known as Taipei County in Taiwan Pro ...
, Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
* Liaoyang
Liaoyang ( zh, s=辽阳 , t=遼陽 , p=Liáoyáng) is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is hom ...
, People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
* Listowel
Listowel ( ; , ) is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the third large ...
, County Kerry
County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
, Ireland
* Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
, Estonia
* Zihuatanejo
Zihuatanejo (), and/or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It was known by 18th-century English mariners as Chequetan and/or Seguataneo. Politically the city belongs to the municipalities of Mexico, m ...
, Mexico
Notable people
Actors
* Olivia de Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
– actress, sister of Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress best known for her roles in Hollywood films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Fontaine appeared in ...
, attended Los Gatos High School
* Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his hi ...
– actor, raised in Los Gatos
* Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress best known for her roles in Hollywood films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Fontaine appeared in ...
– actress, sister of Olivia de Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
, attended Los Gatos High School
* Jason Jurman
Jason Jurman (November 6, 1979 – October 11, 2014) was an American film, television and theater actor. He was best known for his starring role in the 2007 film ''Cougar Club'', opposite Warren Kole, Joe Mantegna, Faye Dunaway, and Carrie Fisher. ...
– actor (''Cougar Club
''Cougar Club'' is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Christopher Duddy. The film details the attempts of two college graduates, Marshall Hogan III and Spence Holmes, to find direction in life. While working as interns for abusive divorce l ...
'')
Artists
* Kari Byron
Kari Elizabeth Byron (born December 18, 1974) is an American television host, best known for her role on the ''MythBusters'' and '' White Rabbit Project'' series.
Byron was born in the Bay Area, California and graduated from San Francisco Stat ...
– sculptor and television personality on MythBusters
''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...
* Marcellite Garner
Edna Marcellite Lincoln ( ; July 3, 1910 – July 26, 1993) was an American artist and voice actress. She is most remembered as the first regular voice of Minnie Mouse during her time working at Walt Disney Productions and has been partially ...
, Disney animation cel painter, voice actress who was the voice of Minnie Mouse, comic strip artist
* Marshall Merritt – impressionist painter
* Gordon Smedt – pop art painter
Athletes and coaches
* Nick Bawden
Charles Nicholas Bawden (born June 22, 1996) is an American professional football fullback. He played college football at San Diego State.
College career
Bawden began his collegiate career as a quarterback at San Diego State. During his freshm ...
– NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
player with New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
, attended Los Gatos High School
* Kiko Alonso
Kristian "Kiko" Alonso (born August 14, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in ...
– NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
player with Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
, attended Los Gatos High School
* Jared Allen
Jared Scot Allen (born April 3, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A five-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro selection, he recorded 136 car ...
– former NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
defensive end, attended Los Gatos High School
* A. J. Allmendinger
Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981), nicknamed "the Dinger,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing.
Allmendinger ...
– race car driver, born in Los Gatos
* Rob Blake
Robert Bowlby Blake (born December 10, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and executive who most recently served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally draft ...
– former Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
player
* Jeff Blauser
Jeffrey Michael Blauser (born November 8, 1965) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs from 1987 to 1999.
Career
Blauser went to Placer High School in Au ...
– former Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
shortstop, born in Los Gatos
* Brent Burns
Brent Burns (born March 9, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted as a right wing (20th overall) at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild, he wa ...
– San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
player, resident
* Joe Cannon – San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...
player
* Hal Chase
Harold Homer Chase (February 13, 1883 – May 18, 1947), nicknamed "Prince Hal", was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball, widely viewed as the best fielder at his position. During his career, he ...
– early 20th Century baseball star, born in Los Gatos
* Megan Cooke – silver medalist rower, born in Los Gatos
* Vincent Damphousse
Vincent François Damphousse (born December 17, 1967) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eighteen seasons. He played centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Ca ...
– San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
player, resident
* Trent Edwards
Trent Addison Edwards (born October 30, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and was selected by the Buffalo ...
– former NFL quarterback, born in Los Gatos
* Peggy Fleming
Peggy Gale Fleming (born July 27, 1948) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1968 Winter Olympic Champion in the ladies' singles, being the only American gold medalist at these Games, and a three-time World Champion (1966–1968) in ...
– Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
gold medalist figure skater
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...
* Dany Heatley
Daniel James Heatley (born January 21, 1981) is a German-born Canadian former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he won the Calder Memorial ...
– former San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
player
* Jason Hinkin – pole vaulter, 5-time All-American
* Tim Hunter – former NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
forward, assistant coach, San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
* Joe Kapp
Joseph Robert Garcia Kapp (March 19, 1938 – May 8, 2023) was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football as a quarterback for the California Golden Bears. Kapp played professionally in the Canadian Footbal ...
– NFL quarterback
* Steven Kwan
Steven Robert Kwan (born September 5, 1997) is an American professional baseball left fielder for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.
Born in Los Gatos, California and raised in Fremont, Califor ...
- MLB player for the Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...
* Andy Levitre
Andrew Steven Levitre ( ; born May 15, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers and was selected by the Bu ...
– NFL offensive lineman
* Roger Maltbie
Roger Lin Maltbie (born June 30, 1951) is an American professional golfer and on-course analyst for NBC Sports.
Early life
Maltbie was born in Modesto, California and grew up in San Jose. He attended James Lick High School where he was a teamm ...
– PGA Tour golfer and TV analyst
* Patrick Marleau
Patrick Denis Marleau (born September 15, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward. With 1,779 NHL games played, he is the List of NHL players with 1,000 games played#1,500 or more games played, all-time l ...
– San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
player
* Steve Mariucci
Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League (NFL) teams, the San Francisco 49ers ( 1997– 2002) and the Detroit L ...
– NFL and NCAA coach, resident
* Ryan Nyquist
Ryan Nyquist (born March 6, 1979) is an American professional BMX rider with 16 X Games medals, 39 X Games competition starts and 60 Dew Tour finals appearances (most all-time). Nyquist is considered one of the greatest and diversely skilled BM ...
– bicycle moto-cross rider
* Elliana Pogrebinsky – figure skater
* Mike Ricci – San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
player, resident
* Jeremy Roenick
Jeremy Shaffer Roenick ( ; born January 17, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 8th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Chica ...
– former San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
player
* Kyle Shanahan
Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta ...
- NFL Head Coach
* Joe Thornton
Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre. He played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). H ...
– San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
player
* Christine Von Saltza, winner of three gold medals and one silver for Swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
at 1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...
attended Los Gatos High School
* Charlie Wedemeyer – football coach
* Doug Wilson – general manager, San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
* Kevin Youkilis
Kevin Edmund Youkilis (; born March 15, 1979), nicknamed "Youk" , is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman, who primarily played for the Boston Red Sox. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he was drafted by the Red S ...
– Major League Baseball player
* Russell Mark Tanner
Russell Mark Tanner (born November 13, 1977) is an American volleyball player. Tanner grew up playing beach volleyball in Northern California with his father, Mark Tanner. Tanner's uncle, Troy Tanner, is an Olympic gold medalist. Tanner was a ...
– Volleyball player
* John Ellis – PGA Tour Golfer and Professional Caddie
Business
* Jeff George
Jeffrey Scott George (born December 8, 1967) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, winning the Samm ...
– NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
program director and engineer
* Jim Goetz – investor in WhatsApp
WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
* Charles Walton – inventor of RFID, founder of Proximity Devices, Inc
* Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary Wozniak (; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname Woz, is an American technology entrepreneur, electrical engineer, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Inc., Apple Computer with ...
– Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...
co-founder
* Chuck Robbins
Charles H. Robbins (born 1965 or 1966) is an American businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems.
Early life
Robbins was born in Grayson, Georgia, and educated at Rocky Mount High School in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. In 1987, he ...
– Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, m ...
CEO
Musicians
*Dredg
Dredg (stylized as dredg) is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Los Gatos, California. The band's lineup consists of vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer and pianist Dino Campanella.
Originally sta ...
– band formed in Los Gatos
* Casey Hensley – blues, swing, and rock and roll singer, songwriter and record producer, born in Los Gatos
*Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...
– violinist
*Trapt
Trapt is an American rock band formed in Los Gatos, California. Nine studio albums have been recorded to date: ''Amalgamation'' (1999), '' Trapt'' (2002), '' Someone in Control'' (2005), '' Only Through the Pain'' (2008), '' No Apologies'' (2 ...
– band formed in Los Gatos
*Bassnectar
Lorin Gabriel Ashton (born February 16, 1978), better known under his stage name Bassnectar, is an American Disc jockey, DJ and electronic music producer. With a career spanning several decades, Bassnectar has gained recognition for his innova ...
– electronic music producer and DJ from Los Gatos
* Marco Pitruzzella – drummer
Writers and journalists
*Neal Cassady
Neal Leon Cassady (February 8, 1926 – February 4, 1968) was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic and counterculture movements of the 1960s.
Cassady published only two short fragments of prose in his lif ...
– author and iconic figure in Beat Movement of 1950s and 1960s
*Victor Koman
Victor Koman (born August 9, 1954) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and agorist. A three-time winner of the Prometheus Award, Koman is mainly popular in the libertarian community. He is the owner of the publishing house KoPubCo. ...
– science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
writer and publisher
*Ross Macdonald
Ross Macdonald was the main pseudonym used by the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar (; December 13, 1915 – July 11, 1983). He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in Southern California and featur ...
– novelist, born in Los Gatos
*Alice MacGowan
Alice L. MacGowan (December 10, 1858 – March 10, 1947) was an American writer. She and her sister Grace MacGowan Cooke wrote more than 30 novels, about a hundred short stories, and some poetry. Alice produced several best sellers, including '' ...
- author, resident for ten years
*Rudy Rucker
Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known f ...
– author
* Josh Shipp – TV host, journalist and author
*John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...
– author, resident for several years
*Charles Erskine Scott Wood
Charles Erskine Scott Wood (February 20, 1852January 22, 1944), also known as C. E. S. Wood, was an American author, civil liberties advocate, artist, soldier, attorney, and Georgist. He is best known as the author of the 1927 satirical bestselle ...
– author, civil libertarian, soldier, and attorney
* Sandy Hill – author, socialite, and second American woman to complete the Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven.
In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...
Politicians
Other
*Rollo Beck
Rollo Howard Beck (26 August 1870 – 22 November 1950) was an American ornithologist, bird collector for museums, and explorer. Beck's petrel and three taxa of reptiles are named after him, including a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise, ''Che ...
, ornithologist, was born in Los Gatos in 1870
*Mark Bingham
Mark Kendall Bingham (May 22, 1970 – September 11, 2001) was an American public relations executive who founded his own company, the Bingham Group. During the September 11 attacks in 2001, he was a passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93. ...
and Todd Beamer
Todd Morgan Beamer (November 24, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an American passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was aircraft hijacking, hijacked and crashed as part of the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was one of the passenger ...
– passengers of United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The hijackers planned to crash the plane into a feder ...
on 9/11
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, believed to have stormed the cockpit after its hijacking
* Eric Drew – activist and consumer advocate
*Dan Jinks
Dan Jinks is an American film and television producer. In February 2010, Jinks launched his own film and television production company, the Dan Jinks Company. – American Film and Television Producer, Oscar Winner for American Beauty
* David Kinch – chef and restaurateur, owner of three Michelin star-rated Manresa
Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain.
Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...
in Los Gatos
* Charles A. Lockwood – World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Commander Submarine Force Pacific Fleet
* Richard Thacker Morris – chairman of sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
department of UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
*Kenny Ortega
Kenneth John Ortega (born April 18, 1950) is an American director, producer, choreographer, and concert creator. He is best known for his work with Disney Channel, notably the '' High School Musical'' film trilogy, cult classics such as '' Newsi ...
– director, choreographer
*Steve Poizner
Stephen Leo Poizner (born January 4, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the Insurance Commissioner of the state of California from 2007 to 2011. Formerly a Republican, Poizner ran unsuccessfully as an independent cand ...
– State Insurance Commissioner of California, candidate for Governor
* Blessed Miguel Pro – Mexican Jesuit priest and martyr, studied in Los Gatos after fleeing persecution in Mexico.
* Tucker Reed – Feminist author and convicted killer
References
Further reading
Bruntz, George G. (1971). ''History of Los Gatos: Gem of the Foothills''. Valley Publishers. LCCN
The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is a serially based system of numbering cataloged records in the Library of Congress, in the United States. It is not related to the contents of any book, and should not be confused with Library of ...
79–174678.
External links
*
{{SFBayshopping
1887 establishments in California
Populated places in Santa Clara County, California
Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Populated places established in 1887
Silicon Valley