Best PlacesSan Mateo, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around San Mateo, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
San Mateo ranks 27th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $162,165, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, noise, and taxes.
The best neighborhoods in San Mateo
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in San Mateo
The parts of San Mateo, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the city.
Baywood-Aragon
More adults hold degrees, it is quieter, and more residents vote.
Beresford
Local pay stretches further and incomes run higher.
Western Hills & Baywood Park
Health care is easier to reach, though streets are more car-dependent.
Haywood Park
Schools score lower and disaster risk is higher.
Marina Lagoon & Shoreview
Fewer households have young kids and tree cover is thinner.
Hillsdale & Sugerloaf
More homes sit empty.
North Central San Francisco
Scores close to Hillsdale & Sugerloaf, except that homes cost less here.
East San Mateo & Downtown San Mateo
Scores close to North Central San Francisco, except that biking is better here.
Scores across San Mateo run from about the 43rd to the 100th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
San Mateo's strengths and weaknesses
San Mateo ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. High incomes is the standout, in the top 2% of cities. Population health and clean air follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and taxes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where San Mateo ranks high
- Household income$162,165 median, better than 98% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of cities
- BikingBetter than 94% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 238 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of cities
Where San Mateo ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,233 a month, better than only 1% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 3% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 20% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 21% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in San Mateo
A household needs to earn about $401,000 a year to comfortably buy the median San Mateo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $162,165, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses San Mateo's effective rate of 0.69%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in San Mateo
San Mateo's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for San Mateo.
Who works in San Mateo, and how
Work in San Mateo centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in San Mateo
San Mateo has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of cities and more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. The coast is about 14 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of San Mateo and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in San Mateo, month by month
San Mateo sees roughly 238 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 77 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 51° | 45° |
| April | 68° | 58° | 50° |
| July | 77° | 66° | 58° |
| October | 75° | 63° | 55° |
Flying in and out of San Mateo
San Francisco International sits about 6 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 26.5 million passengers in 2025, with 193 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around San Mateo
Schools across San Mateo average a B+, better than 85% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- College Park ElementaryA+ · 85% proficient
- Central ElementaryA+ · 85% proficient
- Fox ElementaryA+ · 79% proficient
Top middle schools
- Crocker MiddleA+ · 78% proficient
- Ralston IntermediateA+ · 77% proficient
- Borel MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- South San Francisco HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every San Mateo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
San Mateo measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare San Mateo against the other 444 cities.
Who San Mateo suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 25% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 91% of cities and health care access beats 78%.
Common questions about living in San Mateo
Is San Mateo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, San Mateo ranks 27th of 445 cities. It scores highest on high incomes, population health, and clean air, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is San Mateo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,555,404. The overall cost of living runs about 55% above the national average. Set against a $162,165 median income, cost of living beats 82% of cities.
Is San Mateo safe?
San Mateo is safer than 28% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $482 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in San Mateo?
July highs average about 77 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 45. That works out to about 238 pleasant days a year, more than 91% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in San Mateo?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Baywood-Aragon, Beresford, and Western Hills & Baywood Park. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is San Mateo good for families?
Schools beat 85% of cities, crime safety beats 28%, and childcare runs $2,233 a month.
Is San Mateo good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of cities, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 77% of cities. About 25% of workers already work from home.
Compare San Mateo with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to San Mateo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in San Mateo represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
San Mateo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for San Mateo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in San Mateo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of San Mateo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in San Mateo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
San Mateo detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.