Oak Park vs Westlake Village: Prices, Schools and Fit in 2026

Deciding where to live in Conejo Valley often comes down to a short list, and Oak Park and Westlake Village land on most of them.

What Are Median Home Prices in Oak Park vs Westlake Village in 2026?

Pricing between these two markets is closer than most buyers expect, and both sit well above the county median. The median home sale price for Ventura County overall was $850,000 as of early 2026, meaning both Oak Park and Westlake Village trade at a significant premium to the county as a whole.

In Westlake Village, the median sale price over a recent three month window was $1.41M, up 14.4% year over year, with a median price per square foot of $699, up 7.3% from the prior year. Other trackers show even higher figures depending on the sampling window; one recent snapshot put Zillow's average Westlake Village home value at $1,608,558 as of June 30, 2026, up 3.1% over the prior year, while Redfin reported a median sale price of $1,848,894 for May 2026.

Oak Park tells a similar story with more month to month volatility due to lower sales volume. In November 2025, Oak Park home prices were up 35.1% compared to the prior year, selling for a median price of $1.3M, and a separate snapshot showed a median sale price of $1.8M in October 2025, up 8.0% year over year. Brokers who track the community day to day frame it more simply: single family homes generally run $900K to $2M depending on size, condition, and location, while townhomes and condos typically fall in the $600K to $1M range.

At these price points, financing costs matter. As of late July 2026, the average 30 year fixed mortgage rate was sitting in the mid to high 6% range, according to Federal Reserve data, so buyers comparing these two markets should run payment scenarios before falling in love with a specific home. If you are still working out your budget, our guide on how much house you can actually afford in Conejo Valley breaks down real payment math at current rates.

Are Oak Park Schools Better Than Westlake Village Schools?

This is where the two communities genuinely diverge, and it is the reason we hear most often from families who choose Oak Park specifically. Oak Park High School, part of Oak Park Unified School District, is rated A+ on Niche and carries a 10 out of 10 GreatSchools rating. US News ranks it #390 nationally and 49th in California, and it has a long track record to back that up: it is a National Blue Ribbon School and a 2019 California Distinguished School, and its 2012 Academic Performance Index of 929 was among the highest in the state.

Westlake Village students zoned to Westlake High School sit within the much larger Conejo Valley Unified School District, and the results are also strong, just structured differently. Westlake High School also carries an A+ Niche grade and a 10 out of 10 GreatSchools rating. On Niche specifically, it ranks #2 among public high schools in Ventura County, and US News places it at #1,366 nationally and 189th in California, a meaningfully lower national position than Oak Park High School's, though still a strong one.

The structural difference matters more than the rankings themselves. Every child in Oak Park goes through the same K through 12 pipeline of three elementary schools, Medea Creek Middle School, and Oak Park High School, giving families consistency from kindergarten through graduation. Westlake Village families, by contrast, fall inside a much larger district; CVUSD is the largest of the three Conejo Valley districts, with 17 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, and 3 high schools, and elementary school quality varies more by specific neighborhood than in Oak Park's smaller district. That means two Westlake Village addresses just a few blocks apart can feed into different elementary schools of different caliber, a variable Oak Park buyers largely avoid. We cover this district by district breakdown in more depth in our Conejo Valley high schools ranked guide, and you can pull current ratings directly from GreatSchools for any specific address you're considering.

What Is the Lifestyle Difference Between Oak Park and Westlake Village?

Westlake Village is built around water and retail. The Westlake Lake shoreline anchors a walkable cluster of restaurants, and locals gather at spots like The Stonehaus, a vineyard set wine bar and coffee house on the grounds of the Westlake Village Inn, or Paul Martin's American Grill in the Promenade at Westlake. Shopping, dining, golf, and the lake itself are all within a short drive or walk of most Westlake Village neighborhoods, which is a major draw for buyers who want an active, social, resort style daily life. It is also why home values in specific pockets like North Ranch and Lake Sherwood run well above the citywide median, a topic we cover in detail in our Westlake Village luxury enclave guide.

Oak Park is the opposite by design. There is no real Oak Park town center, and while there is some retail and a handful of restaurants, they are not walkable from most neighborhoods; that said, Oak Park is so small and so close to the other Conejo Valley towns that residents are only minutes from the shopping and dining in neighboring towns. What Oak Park lacks in walkable commerce, it makes up for in open space. Parks and open space in Oak Park are managed by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, and the community borders the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, with trails used for hiking, running, and mountain biking. The Medea Creek Natural Park trail system runs directly through the community, and locals grab morning coffee at Cafe Sapientia in the Oak Park Plaza before a trail walk.

Demographically, Oak Park is notably affluent and highly educated even by Conejo Valley standards. Oak Park's median household income is $163,085, about 1.5 times the California figure, and 63.2% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. If proximity to trails, quiet, and school consistency matter more than walkable nightlife, Oak Park wins. Our comparison of Oak Park vs Agoura Hills covers a similar trade off for buyers weighing nearby alternatives.

Which Market Moves Faster: Oak Park or Westlake Village?

Which Community Is the Better Fit for Your Family in 2026?

Choose Oak Park if your top priority is a single, cohesive top rated school pipeline from kindergarten through twelfth grade, you want direct trail access from your neighborhood, and you are comfortable driving a few minutes for dining and shopping. Choose Westlake Village if you want walkable lake life, retail and restaurants within reach, and don't mind that school assignment within the larger CVUSD requires more careful address level research. Buyers who want the best of both sometimes look at Lang Ranch in Thousand Oaks, which is one of the few ways to land inside Westlake High School's boundary at a Thousand Oaks price point.

Whichever direction you lean, it pays to have financing sorted before you start touring. The 30 year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.58% as of July 23, 2026, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, and rates had held in a fairly narrow band through the summer. If you are early in the process, our first time buyer's guide to Conejo Valley walks through the questions to ask before writing an offer in either market, and sellers weighing timing should review our 2026 Conejo Valley seller's guide for current pricing strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions About Oak Park vs Westlake Village