SECTION III. SAN MATEO COUNTY PROFILE

A social/demographic overview of the county's population by geographic subareas, age, ethnicity, economics, and public assistance.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. General Profile

A. Introduction/Area
B. Population

II. Age Profile

III. Ethnicity Profile

A. Whites
B. Blacks/African Americans
C. Native Americans
D. Asians and Pacific Islanders
E. Hispanics

IV. Household Profile

A. Type of Household
B. Persons, Households and Families in Poverty
C. Median Income

V. Economic Profile

A. Employment/Unemployment
B. Job Growth

VI. Public Assistance

I. GENERAL PROFILE

A. Introduction/Area

San Mateo County is located just south of San Francisco County on the San Francisco Peninsula. San Mateo County's other borders are the Pacific Ocean to the west, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties to the south, and San Francisco Bay to the east. The Santa Cruz Mountains run north to south, dividing the highly populated western region from the heavily populated eastern corridor stretching from San Francisco in the north to Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley in the south. Because San Mateo County offers a suburban atmosphere and convenient access to nearby employment centers, it has long attracted residents who work in other parts of the Bay Area.

For the purpose of this report, San Mateo County will be divided into the following four subareas: North County, Central County, South County and Coastside.

North County, the most populous subarea in San Mateo County, lies just south of San Francisco County and includes Brisbane, Broadmoor, Colma, Daly City, Pacifica, San Bruno and South San Francisco.

Central County includes those cities between the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Francisco Bay. This subarea includes Belmont, Burlingame, Foster City, Highlands, Hillsborough, Millbrae and San Mateo.

South County borders with Santa Clara County to the south, San Francisco Bay to the west and the Santa Cruz Mountains to the east. Atherton, East Palo Alto, Emerald Lake Hills, Menlo Park, North Fair Oaks, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, West Menlo Park and Woodside are located within this subarea.

Coastside includes those cities and unincorporated areas with in and west of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Pacific Ocean is its western border. El Granada, Half Moon Bay, Miramar, La Honda, Loma Mar, Montara, Moss Beach, Pescadero and San Gregorio are combined to make up the least populated subarea in San Mateo County.

B. Population

Of the five Bay Area counties, San Mateo County is only larger than Marin County in total population. Text Table 1 shows the 1990 U.S. Census population number and percent for San Mateo County distributed by the four subareas and selected places within the subareas.

The total number of San Mateo County residents increased 9.6% between 1980 and 1990 according to the 1990 U.S. Census for a total population of 649,623. The North County subarea is the most populous subarea in the county with 35.6% of the population followed by the Central County subarea with 30.5% of the county's population. The cities of Daly City in the North subarea, San Mateo in the Central subarea, and Redwood City in the South subarea contain the largest number of residents with 14.2%, 13.2%, and 10.2% of the county's total population.

According to the latest population estimates for California Counties by the State Department of Finance, San Mateo's total population as of January 1, 1993 is estimated at 680,900, a 4.8% increase since the 1990 U.S. Census.