Best PlacesWestern Hills, San Mateo, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Western Hills, San Mateo, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Western Hills, San Mateo ranks 627th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Western Hills, 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.
Western Hills, San Mateo's strengths and weaknesses
Where Western Hills, San Mateo ranks high
- Household income$194,497 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
Where Western Hills, San Mateo ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,233 a month, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Short commute31.4 minutes each way, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Western Hills, San Mateo
A household needs to earn about $510,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Western Hills, San Mateo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $194,497, 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 Western Hills, San Mateo's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 Western Hills, San Mateo
Western Hills, San Mateo runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Western Hills, San Mateo.
Who works in Western Hills, San Mateo, and how
Work in Western Hills, San Mateo centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Western Hills, San Mateo
The coast is about 14 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Western Hills, San Mateo, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Western Hills, San Mateo, month by month
Western Hills, San Mateo sees roughly 224 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 Western Hills, San Mateo
San Francisco International sits about 7 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 Western Hills, San Mateo
Schools across Western Hills, San Mateo average an A, better than 96% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Fox ElementaryA+ · 79% proficient
- South HillsboroughA · 72% proficient
- West HillsboroughA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Crocker MiddleA+ · 78% proficient
- Ralston IntermediateA+ · 77% proficient
- Abbott MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Western Hills, San Mateo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Western Hills, 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 Western Hills, San Mateo against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Western Hills, San Mateo
Is Western Hills, San Mateo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Western Hills, San Mateo ranks 627th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on high incomes, good schools, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Western Hills, San Mateo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $2,000,001. The overall cost of living runs about 75% above the national average. Set against a $194,497 median income, cost of living beats 84% of neighborhoods.
Is Western Hills, San Mateo safe?
Yes, Western Hills, San Mateo is safer than 59% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $427 per resident a year.
Compare Western Hills, San Mateo with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Western Hills, San Mateo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Western Hills, 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.
Western Hills, San Mateo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Western Hills, San Mateo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Western Hills, San Mateo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Western Hills, San Mateo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Western Hills, San Mateo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Western Hills, 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.