Best PlacesSan Mateo, FL 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 coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
San Mateo ranks 41,908th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
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.
San Mateo's strengths and weaknesses
Where San Mateo ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 145 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 82% of towns
Where San Mateo ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of towns
- Household income$51,959 median, better than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in San Mateo
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median San Mateo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,959, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 0.63%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in San Mateo
San Mateo runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
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 transportation & warehousing and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in San Mateo
The coast is about 37 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across San Mateo, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in San Mateo, month by month
San Mateo sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 48. The comfortable stretch runs October through May.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 57° | 48° |
| April | 79° | 70° | 61° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 73° |
| October | 82° | 74° | 67° |
Flying in and out of San Mateo
The nearest airport, Gainesville Regional, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Jacksonville International, about 63 miles away.
The best schools in and around San Mateo
Schools across San Mateo average a C−, better than 18% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Bunnell Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Browning-pearce Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Middleton-burney Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buddy Taylor Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Flagler-palm Coast High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Palatka Jr - Sr High SchoolD · 21% 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 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in San Mateo
Is San Mateo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, San Mateo ranks 41,908th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and civic engagement, and lowest on summer heat and an overheated housing market. 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 $182,570. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $51,959 median income, cost of living beats 35% of towns.
Is San Mateo safe?
San Mateo is safer than 15% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $312 per resident a year.
Compare San Mateo with other towns
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.