San Mateo County is currently characterized by geographic contrasts and by demographic change. Formerly a semi-rural county, the dense urbanization of the Bay Side Corridor of the County stands in contrast to the continuing rural and agricultural aspects of the Coastside areas. Although the size of the county’s population is increasing, its rate of growth (2.0% in 1996-7) is just average for Bay Area counties and is roughly comparable to the 1.8% overall rate of growth in California during that same period.

More important perhaps, is the continuing change in the racial/ ethnic make-up of the county’s population, and the significant degree of change projected in that same measure by the state government over the next 20-30 years. Specifically:

· The proportion of the population classifiable as Hispanic, accounting for about 18% of the total in 1990, is expected to increase to 35% by the year 2030 and to thus become the single largest ethnic component in the county’s population. (POP1-2)

· Blacks are expected to remain between 4-6% of the population, while the White, non-Hispanic population is expected to decline from 60% to 33% in that same time span. (POP1-2)

· The county passed through a point around 1990 when the ‘baby boomer’ cohort constituted its largest share of the population. In concordance with national trends, this cohort represents a large proportion of the population which will enter old age in two or three decades, causing an ’evening-out’ of the usually expected pyramidal shape of the age-distribution graphs for 2010 and 2030. Despite this flattening effect, a slight deficiency in the numbers of those in the ‘baby-bust’ group born in the mid- to late 1970’s will continue to be visible. (POP1-2)