Community Assessment - Health & Quality of Life in San Mateo
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key findings

Community residents generally feel positive and optimistic about the county’s social environment, and volunteerism appears to be strong. However, the county faces a host of issues that can only be addressed at the community level. The cost of living ¾ especially the availability of affordable housing in San Mateo County ¾ is a predominant concern. The county’s median housing costs are higher than those of the nation, state, and Bay Area. The implication is that it is necessary for more households to maintain double incomes, exacerbating other community problems such as traffic congestion, overcrowding and child care. As housing demand and costs continue to escalate, home ownership is out of reach for a majority of county residents. Rental costs have also increased dramatically.

The high cost of living is one contributor to homelessness in the county. Currently, the homeless population is approximately 10 times the number of available emergency and transitional shelter beds. Nearly one-third of the homeless are children. Temporary displacement (having to go live with a friend or relative) affected over 30,000 families last year.

Furthermore, San Mateo County is fast becoming one of the most traffic-congested counties in the region, with a 400% increase in driver delays between 1994 and 1996. The expanding economy is creating more traffic, with no addition to the capacity of the highway system. During commute hours, most commuters drive alone, and public transit is used minimally.

While crime and violence remain a top concern for community residents, San Mateo County crime rates are well below California and the Bay Area, whether measured by violent crime or by all types of crime. In looking specifically at juvenile arrest rates for violent crimes, it appears youth violence has subsided somewhat in recent years in San Mateo County.

Qualitative research (focus group) findings corresponding to this section can be found beginning on the Appendix A: Community Issues page.

social environment

evaluation of community social environment

In the 1998 San Mateo County Quality of Life Survey, the social environment of San Mateo County was described as the sum of the friendliness of community residents, the way people respect and help one another, and the willingness of people to work for the good of the community. The following survey findings relate to the social environment of San Mateo County in this context:

• In San Mateo County, 46.6% of the residents surveyed evaluate the social environment as "excellent" or "very good." On the other hand, 18.9% see the county’s social environment as "fair" or "poor." This perception increases notably among Hispanic community members (25.9%), younger residents (25%), those with a high school education or less (22.9%) and those living at lower income levels (21.7%). ³¹⁹

• Over one-third (39.4%) of the San Mateo County residents surveyed believe there are more opportunities for themselves and those of similar background in San Mateo County compared to a few years ago. However, 16.4% see fewer opportunities for themselves and others like them. Those living between 185% and 400% of the poverty threshold more often cite a decline in the opportunities for their peer group (22.3%). ³²⁰

• One-half (52%) of San Mateo County adults participating in the survey rate community pride as "excellent" or "very good." A total of 17.2% of resident adults, however, evaluate pride in their community as "fair" or "poor." This is better than found across the state, where 22.9% evaluate community pride as "fair/poor." ³²¹

San Mateo County enjoys a rich cultural and ethnic mix and this diversity contributes a great deal to the character of the region. Important to this character is the degree of social tolerance in the county:

• Most San Mateo County survey participants give the county high marks for its tolerance of people of different races or cultural backgrounds, with 47.6% evaluating racial and cultural tolerance as "excellent" or "very good" (compared to 41.5% "excellent/very good" across the state). A total of 19.1% of residents evaluated racial and cultural tolerance in the area as "fair" or "poor," much lower than the 25.5% found statewide.³²²

• Racial and cultural tolerance receives its lowest marks among respondents living at the lowest income levels (32.2% "fair/poor"). And, while Whites and the minority Asian population give lower "fair/poor" evaluations, 25% of Hispanics say cultural tolerance in the community is "fair/poor." ³²³

• A total of 36.8% of survey participants evaluate San Mateo County as "excellent" or "very good" in regard to tolerance of differing viewpoints or lifestyles, higher than the 33.1% found statewide. In contrast, 21.6% evaluated this type of tolerance as "fair" or "poor," though this number is lower than the 27.7% "fair/poor" response found throughout the state. Again, "fair/poor" responses are highest among those living below 185% of the federal poverty threshold (35.4%) and Hispanics (30.5%).³²⁴

support network

• The majority (73.5%) of San Mateo County respondents say that they have someone they can turn to "all" or "most" of the time in case they need or want help. However, 9.1% of county residents see themselves as having little or no social support. This is particularly true among low-income groups.³²⁵

• Among San Mateo County survey participants, 61.5% report that they have a priest, minister, rabbi, or other person to whom they can turn for spiritual support, just above the 58.3% found throughout California. A lack of spiritual support is most often noted among the area’s Asian population (46.1% do not have someone available for spiritual support).³²⁶

donations of time & resources

• In the past year, 58.2% of San Mateo County survey respondents have volunteered time to a local charity, organization or activity, slightly higher than the 53% found in Santa Clara County and the 55.5% found throughout California. On average, San Mateo County volunteers donated 102.4 hours to community service in the past year (because of the wide and uneven dispersion of responses, the standard deviation for this mean is 216.25 hours). ³²⁷

• Volunteering is greatest among middle-aged and older adults, Whites, those at the highest income levels, those with education beyond high school, and women. ³²⁸

328  Ibid.

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