San Ramon Schools Receive National Recognition
BusinessWeek recently published an article of the 25 most affordable zip codes with the best public schools. San Ramon was ranked #20 in the top 25 for all of the United States. BusinessWeek noted that San Ramon is home to many large companies including the headquarters of Chevron. Additionally, nine out of 10 graduates of the San Ramon school system are admitted to college each year. About 39% of households in their zip code have children, and the median household income is $147,436.
For families with children in schools, the benefits of living in a top school district are obvious. However, many folks have wondered why schools matter for households without children. As this article and many studies have shown: Great Schools = Higher Property Values. In fact, economist Sandra E. Black noted that folks are willing to pay 2.1% more in school zones where test scores are 5% higher. This doesn’t even take into account all of the other factors that help property values.
So what are the take-aways from this article? Here are just a few:
- Great public schools benefit the entire community – not just families with kids in school.
- Schools that have higher parental involvement tend to outperform other schools.
- The fastest and most sustainable approach to improving a community is by improving the image and performance of the local schools.
Congratulations to San Ramon for this well-deserved national attention.
5:58 PM on September 26th, 2009
I’d love to hear who else other than Chevron and AT&T are in San Ramon.
6:16 PM on September 26th, 2009
These two are already enough for a small city like San Ramon. I do not know how they calculate the affordability index though. San Ramon is not that affordable in my opinion.
10:34 PM on September 26th, 2009
Robert Half, PG&E, Irwin Home Equity, Nestle, and a ton of mortgage companies, brokers, and small IT/biotech businesses.
And of course tons of nearby jobs in Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, Walnut Creek, Concord, etc.
8:20 AM on September 28th, 2009
There are also: Cognizant Technologies (a S&P 500 company), Mirion Technologies (a nuclear radiation detection company, not public), Prodiance Corporation, and Grape Networks.
BTW, San Ramon might not be affordable to some, but a median income of $147K is surely not that high in the surrounding area. With a little determination, anyone with just a bachelor’s degree can make half of that amount. I mean that’s about what me and my fiancee makes and we’re only 25. But I have a feeling that a fair amount of those households with the median income of $147K in San Ramon only has one parent working. Or at least that’s what I sense with some of the people I know who commute from San Ramon to the Mountain View area.
11:17 AM on September 28th, 2009
Hi, guys, if San Ramon is so great, why don’t you guys just move there and leave us Dubliners alone? This is supposed to be a Dublin blog. Why do we focus so much on San Ramon?
11:49 AM on September 28th, 2009
San Ramon (Pleasanton as well) is great if you have kids and want to send them to great schools. If not, why pay for HOA in the meantime? We have no kids, and so Dublin is perfectly fine for us. At least that is what our intentions are currently. But this plan may change if/when Tassajara Prep opens up and becomes successful.
12:03 PM on September 28th, 2009
Are you really a property owner in Dublin? HOA has nothing to do with schools. Property tax is the one that is related to schools.
12:19 PM on September 28th, 2009
My mistake. What I meant to say was property tax. I’m not sure why I brought up HOA. Maybe because I’m paying a minimal HOA right now. If you compare the taxes between homes in San Ramon/Pleasanton and Dublin, there is a very large difference.
And yes, I do live in Dublin for the exact reason I mentioned.
11:51 AM on September 28th, 2009
You may like to live in isolation, but I find any news on the Tri-Valley interesting. People live in a city for different reasons – affordability, commute, schools. Recognizing how other cities standout will help Dublin evolve into a better city. Improving the schools is a great start. Attracting more corporation is another.
12:06 PM on September 28th, 2009
I do not want to live in isolation. It is OK to share some news about cities around us. But I do have problems with people keeping talking down Dublin and talking up San Ramon all the time. If so, why do you live in Dublin at the first place?
12:13 PM on September 28th, 2009
Give me one example from all the comments so far that specifically talked down Dublin. It is okay to talk about the merit of neighboring cities.