This study provides evidence for a non-linear and weakly monotonic relationship between school quality and house prices. Using Fremont, California, as the study area, the regression analysis shows that homeowners are unwilling to pay a premium for an increase in school quality from low to medium quality. However, they are willing to pay a) a large premium when all schools are top-quality schools and b) a premium for access to nationally-renowned schools, which is in addition to the premium for top-quality schools. These findings have important land use policy significance because they provide new insights into the homeowner’s residential location choice and highlight the need to consider school quality in a jurisdiction’s land use and zoning decisions.