Palo Alto, California is regarded as the "Birthplace of Silicon Valley." The city was founded by the American industrialist Leland Stanford in 1894, when he founded Stanford University in honor of his son Leland Stanford Jr. Palo Alto borders East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park, and includes portions of Stanford University. At the time of the 2020 census, the city's population was 68,572. Palo Alto is one of the most costly cities to live in the United States, and its residents are among the most educated in the country.

The city of Palo Alto was named after a magnificent 1,000-year-old (not 250-year-old) coastal redwood tree along San Francisquito Creek, where early Spanish explorers established a settlement. The combination of corporate and residential districts, anchored by a thriving downtown, characterizes Palo Alto's distinctive personality. Palo Alto's tree-lined streets and ancient buildings represent the city's California past in a pleasant way. At the same time, Palo Alto is renowned globally as a leader in technology innovation.

As one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto is home to the headquarters of multiple tech companies, including HP, Space Systems/Loral, VMware, PARC, and Houzz. Palo Alto has also served as headquarters or the founding location of several other tech companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook, Logitech, Tesla, Intuit, IDEO, Pinterest, and PayPal; Ford Motor Company and Lockheed Martin each additionally maintain major research and technology facilities within Palo Alto.