3. HISPANIC POPULATION: Up by 56% in the past decade, Hispanics
comprise the largest ethnic population in San Mateo County. The 114,627 Hispanics who live
in San Mateo County comprise 17.6% of the county’s total population. Approximately
one in none Hispanic persons are below the poverty level. The North County subarea has the
largest concentration of Hispanics with 42.8% of the Hispanic population. The South County
subarea with 33.4% of the Hispanic population contains the fastest growing segment of the
Hispanic population in San Mateo.
4. YOUTH: The youth drop-out rate within San Mateo County is 12.8%.
The largest minority population enrolled in the school system (1991-92) are Hispanic youth
(6,061 students). Among minority youth, the Black/African population have the highest
drop-out rate (22.9%) within San Mateo County, second only to San Francisco County. San
Mateo Union High District has the highest drop-out rate among the San Mateo school
districts.
TEEN PARENTS: Since 1986, teen birth rates have been increasing among
U.S. teenagers. In San Mateo County, the teen birth rate per 1000 women (1989-91) has
increased to 2.4%. The California teen birth rate is 4.3%. The rate of low birth weight
children born to mothers aged 15-19 is 5.4%, just below the State rate of 5.9%. Non-white
teenagers have twice the pregnancy rate of white teenagers.
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT: The youth unemployment rate within San Mateo is
14.2% compared with California at 25.1% and 19.5% nationally. Among the minority youth,
Hispanic’s have the highest unemployment rate of 19.1% in San Mateo County.
5. YOUTH AND GEOGRAPHY: In 1990, persons under 18 years comprised
21.9% of San Mateo’s total population as compared to 23.6% in 1980. The North County
subarea contains the largest number of persons under 18 year (54,729 or 38.4% of persons
under 18 years) followed by the South and Central subarea with 29.7% and 26.#%
respectively, of the youth population. Minority youth comprise over 53% of San
Mateo’s youth population.
ELDERLY AND GEOGRAPHY: In 1990, persons 65 years of age and older comprised 12.3% of
San Mateo’s total population as compared to 10.6% in 1980. For elderly persons, the
Central subarea contains the largest population (29,748 or 37.2%) followed by the Central
South subareas with 29.6% and 28.5% respectively of the elderly population.
6. ELDERLY AND POVERTY: The elderly living below or at poverty level
represent 12.4% of total persons in poverty within the county. They represent almost 6.2%
of the elderly population in the county. San Mateo County comprises 16.6% of the total Bay
Area elderly in poverty.
7. FEMALE HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD: There are almost 25,000 female headed
households in the county representing 14.6% of the total households in San Mateo.
Approximately, 12.8% of the female headed households are living at or below the poverty
level.
8. WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: Over 60% of all women over the age of 16
are part of the labor force in San Mateo County. Of this population, 31.5% have children
under 18 years old.
9. HOMELESS: In 1989, the estimated number of homeless persons was
approximately 5,500. Between 1989-91 the estimated number rose to 8,665 an increase of
3,165 or 57.5%. It is estimated there are 2,741 homeless children in the county. There are
2,605 homeless families comprising a total of 8,001 parents and children. Families and
children are the fasting growing segment of the homeless population in San Mateo, the Bay
Area and Nationally.
10. POVERTY: The percentage of San Mateo’s population living
below the poverty level has gone up from 6.1% in 1980 to 6.3% in 1990 representing an
increase of 5,084 persons for a total of 40,405 persons living below the poverty level.
Cities and places having the largest number of persons living below the poverty level
include: Daly City with 6,560 (16.2%); Redwood City, 5,328 (13.2%); San Mateo, 5,186
(12.8%); East Palo Alto, 4,072 (10.1%); North Fair Oaks, 2,333 (5.8%); and Menlo Park,
1,745 (4.3%). East Palo Alto and North Fair Oaks have the largest percent of their total
population living below the poverty level with 17.9% and 17.1%.
11. UNEMPLOYMENT: There are 15,474 unemployed in the county, up by
nearly 6,500 since the 1990 United Way Needs Assessment Report. San Mateo County continues
to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in California.
12. SINGLE PARENTS: There are 12,274 female headed households with
children under 18 years representing 55% of total female households in the county. Of
these households, 19.2% live at or below poverty level. Nationwide, males comprise barely
4% of the single parent population.
13. ABUSED CHILDREN: NEED LOCAL FIGURES
14. BATTERED WOMEN: NEED LOCAL FIGURES
15. ABUSED ELDERS: National estimates state one in twenty-five seniors
may be victims of some form of abuse. Victims of elder abuse tend to be frail and in poor
health therefore, they may be physically unable to report abuse. NEED LOCAL FIGURES.
16. AIDS CASES: The number of reported cases of AIDS in San Mateo has
gone up since 1990 by 160% from 366 to 953 cases. As of March 1993, there were a total of
351 persons living with AIDS in the county. Current estimates of persons infected with HIV
in San Mateo County range from 3,000 to 5,000 persons.
17. PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES: NEED LOCAL FIGURES
18. EX-OFFENDERS: The number of criminal offenders in the county has
increased by 179% since 1989, representing the highest increase of ex-offenders in the Bay
Area. In addition, the number of ex-offenders has increased by 8.7% since 1989.
19. REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS: In San Mateo County, the foreign born
have increased from 105,832 in 1980 to 164,767 in 1990, showing 28% growth increase of the
county’s population.