HomeCaliforniaSan Mateo County
San Mateo County, California: commercial real estate data.
San Mateo County, California has a population of 742,340 across 448 square miles, down 2.9 percent since the 2020 census base. County output reached $217.02 bn in 2024, 21,569 establishments operate here, and the SBA record carries 650 7(a) approvals worth $431.4 m.
129 sourced county values · tier FULL · 12 sections · underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency
San Mateo County
How many people live in San Mateo County
- Population742,340
- Households264,419
- Average household size2.81
- Median household income$158,855
- Median age40.9
- Median gross rent$2,922 per month
- Median owner-occupied home value$1,559,600
- Home value to household income9.8 times
- Annual rent as a share of median income22.1 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher53.7 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree24.1 percent
- Adults 25 and over542,805
- Population under 18145,095
- Share under 1819.5 percent
- Population 65 and over132,242
- Share 65 and over17.8 percent
- Working age population, 18 to 64465,003
- Civilian labor force413,189
- Unemployment rate4.8 percent
- Labor force participation, adults 18 and over69.2 percent
- Rank by population among California counties15th of 58
- Rank by population among US county-equivalents89th
San Mateo County is the 15th largest of 58 California counties by population. A median home costs 9.8 times median household income, which is a stretched ownership market and usually shows up as rental demand. Residents under 18 outnumber those 65 and over, at 19.5 percent against 17.8 percent, a household formation profile rather than a retirement one.
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
San Mateo County
Is San Mateo County's population growing?
- Population change since the 2020 census base-2.85 percent
- Census 2020 base population764,659
- Births, 20247,176
- Deaths, 20244,996
- Natural change, 20242,180
- Net domestic migration, 2024-6,006
- Net international migration, 202412,450
- Total net migration, 20246,444
- Cumulative net domestic migration, 2021 to 2024-60,449
- Rank by growth among US county-equivalents2711th
The county has lost 2.85 percent of its population since the 2020 census base. Migration contributed more to 2024 change than births over deaths, so demand here follows people arriving rather than families forming.
US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
San Mateo County
Where are people moving to San Mateo County from?
- Tax returns filed by households arriving22,436
- People arriving, from those returns33,547
- Adjusted gross income arriving$4.75 bn
- Net adjusted gross income movement$0
- Average income of an arriving household$211,636
- Largest single originSan Mateo County Non-migrants (301,797 households)
- Largest single destination (301,797 households)
| Origin | Households | People | Adjusted gross income |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo County Non-migrants | 301,797 | 586,572 | $100.68 bn |
| San Francisco County | 4,913 | 7,784 | $1.16 bn |
| Santa Clara County | 4,213 | 6,543 | $1.60 bn |
| Alameda County | 2,139 | 3,228 | $351.1 m |
| Other flows - Different State | 2,026 | 2,944 | $237.8 m |
| Los Angeles County | 955 | 1,289 | $126.7 m |
| Contra Costa County | 829 | 1,303 | $101.3 m |
| Other flows - South | 771 | 1,151 | $82.2 m |
The largest single source of arrivals is San Mateo County Non-migrants, which is the catchment a retail or multifamily study should look at first.
US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
San Mateo County
What is the San Mateo County economy?
- County GDP, 2024$217.02 bn
- County GDP, 2023$195.27 bn
- GDP change, 2023 to 202411.1 percent
- GDP change over five years42.1 percent
- Rank by GDP among California counties6th
- Rank by GDP among US county-equivalents15th
- GDP per resident$292,343
Output grew 11.1 percent in the latest year and 42.1 percent over five, which is the trend line a lender will read behind any single year figure.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional, table CAGDP2, CAGDP2, through 2024.
San Mateo County
Largest employers in San Mateo County
- Covered employment, annual average416,422
- Establishments reporting31,186
- Average annual pay$196,441
- Average weekly wage$3,778
- Sector 54, employment71,055
- Sector 54, average annual pay$269,835
- Sector 62, employment47,203
- Sector 62, average annual pay$92,649
- Sector 51, employment43,524
- Sector 51, average annual pay$669,097
- Sector 72, employment36,653
- Sector 72, average annual pay$44,003
- Sector 44-45, employment29,358
- Sector 48-49, employment23,390
| Sector | Employment | Establishments | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sector 54 | 71,055 | 4,070 | $269,835 |
| Sector 62 | 47,203 | 9,392 | $92,649 |
| Sector 51 | 43,524 | 688 | $669,097 |
| Sector 72 | 36,653 | 2,060 | $44,003 |
| Sector 44-45 | 29,358 | 1,751 | $57,015 |
| Sector 48-49 | 23,390 | 592 | $87,011 |
| Sector 56 | 21,577 | 1,252 | $91,507 |
| Sector 31-33 | 20,595 | 646 | $186,707 |
The largest sector is the biggest private employer group at 71,055 jobs, 17.1 percent of covered employment. Average pay per job exceeds median household income, which usually means single earner households and a wage base that can carry rent.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
San Mateo County
How many businesses are in San Mateo County?
- Establishments, all industries21,569
- Employment at those establishments477,938
- Annual payroll$87.65 bn
- Establishments per 1,000 residents29.1
These are counts of establishments physically operating in the county, not listings, so they are the supply side a feasibility study measures demand against.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
San Mateo County
Building permits in San Mateo County
- Housing units authorised by permit, 20241,088
- Declared construction value permitted$578.0 m
- Single family units authorised521
- Multifamily units authorised567
- Multifamily share of units52.1 percent
- Average declared value per unit$531,229
- Units authorised per 1,000 households4.1
Multifamily is 52.1 percent of units authorised, so the pipeline is being built for renters rather than buyers.
US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
San Mateo County
SBA loans in San Mateo County (7(a) and 504)
- 7(a) approvals recorded650
- 7(a) gross approval dollars$431.4 m
- Average 7(a) approval$663,628
- Median 7(a) approval$300,000
- 10th percentile approval$31,700
- 90th percentile approval$2,000,000
- Largest single approval$5,000,000
- Jobs reported supported, 7(a)6,569
- Jobs per approval10.1
- Distinct 7(a) lenders active86
- Distinct industries receiving approvals213
- Median 7(a) term120 months
- Share of loans on real estate terms, 240 months or longer18.5 percent
- Loans on real estate terms120
- Loans on working capital terms, 120 months or shorter502
- Franchise loans69
- Franchise share of approvals10.6 percent
- Leading industry by approval countFull-Service Restaurants (46)
- Most active lenderU.S. Bank, National Association (115)
- 504 approvals recorded303
- 504 gross approval dollars$352.5 m
- Average 504 approval$1,163,350
- Median 504 approval$793,000
- Distinct CDCs active12
- 504 jobs per approval10.9
- 504 jobs per million dollars approved9.3
- Most active CDCMortgage Capital Development Corporation (110)
- 7(a) share of SBA approvals68.2 percent
- Combined SBA approval dollars$783.9 m
The average approval of $663,628 sits well above the median of $300,000, so a small number of large deals is pulling the mean up. The median is the better guide to what a typical borrower here actually gets. Only 18.5 percent of approvals run on real estate terms, so SBA credit here is mostly working capital and equipment rather than property acquisition.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30. US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
San Mateo County
SBA loan default and charge-off rates in San Mateo County
Do SBA loans in San Mateo County get paid back?
- Loans with a final outcome recorded111
- Paid in full101
- Charged off10
- Charge off rate on resolved loans9.0 percent
- Status: Paid in full101
- Status: Exempt from disclosure408
- Status: Charged off10
- Status: Cancelled94
- Status: Committed, not yet disbursed37
| NAICS | Industry | Resolved loans | Charged off | Charge off rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 722511 | Full-Service Restaurants | 13 | 1 | 7.7% |
Of the 111 loans that have reached a final outcome, 9.0 percent were charged off. This is computed only over resolved loans, because a loan still running has not yet succeeded or failed and counting it either way would be wrong. Among industries with at least ten resolved loans, Full-Service Restaurants carries the highest charge off rate at 7.7 percent.
Compare against the national and state SBA charge-off rates, computed the same way over resolved loans only.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
San Mateo County
SBA lending by place in San Mateo County
- Places in the county with recorded lending29
- SAN MATEO, approvals108
- REDWOOD CITY, approvals90
- SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, approvals74
- San Carlos, approvals59
- DALY CITY, approvals52
- Burlingame, approvals43
| Place | Approvals | Gross approval dollars |
|---|---|---|
| SAN MATEO | 108 | $77,240,200 |
| REDWOOD CITY | 90 | $47,260,500 |
| SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO | 74 | $50,433,600 |
| San Carlos | 59 | $51,712,500 |
| DALY CITY | 52 | $33,891,000 |
| Burlingame | 43 | $25,068,200 |
| SAN BRUNO | 40 | $23,930,300 |
| Pacifica | 35 | $25,650,000 |
SAN MATEO accounts for 108 approvals against 90 in REDWOOD CITY. County level figures average over that gap, which is why a site decision is made at the submarket rather than the county.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
San Mateo County
How large is San Mateo County?
- Land area448 sq mi
- Rank by land area among California counties56th of 58
- Width, east to west24.1 mi
- Height, north to south41.5 mi
- Geographies sharing a boundary4
- Residents per square mile of land1,657
- Establishments per square mile48.15
US Census Bureau county boundary geometry, TIGER, adjacency computed from shared boundary vertices, TIGER county boundaries. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year. US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
San Mateo County
Flood risk in San Mateo County
- Communities in the NFIP Community Status Book21
- Of those, participating in the NFIP21
- NFIP participation rate100.0 percent
- Best Community Rating System class in the county A lower CRS class is a larger flood insurance premium discount.Class 8
- Communities carrying a CRS class6
- Radon levels in San Mateo County, EPA zone predicted average indoor radon screening level from 2 to 4 pCi/LZone 2
The EPA places San Mateo County in radon zone 2, a predicted average indoor radon screening level from 2 to 4 pCi/L. The zone is a screening prediction for the county and does not substitute for a test at an address. The best Community Rating System class in San Mateo County is 8, which carries a flood insurance premium discount for policies written in that community. 100.0 percent of the county's listed communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, per FEMA OpenFEMA, NFIP Community Status Book, Community Status Book, as retrieved.
FEMA OpenFEMA, NFIP Community Status Book, Community Status Book, as retrieved. US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Every item below could be filled with a plausible figure. None of them is. On a page a lender may read, a number that cannot be traced is worse than an absence, so the absences are named.
- Flood zone record counts are not held. The flood coverage export has not landed, so no count is shown rather than an estimated one.
- Traffic counts resolve in the platform, not in this dataset, so no AADT figure is printed here.
- Zoning is in build. Parcel level zoning is not published on this page.
Feasibility studies
When a San Mateo County site needs a document a lender will accept.
The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a San Mateo County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.
- Population742,340
- Households264,419
- Average household size2.81
- Median household income$158,855
- Median age40.9
Common questions
San Mateo County questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in San Mateo County, California?
742,340, in 264,419 households, ranking 15th of 58 California counties. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Is San Mateo County's population growing?
The population has fallen 2.85 percent since the 2020 census base. In 2024 there were 7,176 births against 4,996 deaths, with net migration of 6,444. Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
What is the median household income in San Mateo County?
$158,855. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $1,559,600, which is 9.8 times income, and median gross rent is $2,922 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
How many businesses are in San Mateo County?
21,569 establishments, employing 477,938 people with an annual payroll of $87.65 bn. These are establishments physically operating in the county, not listings. Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
What is the average wage in San Mateo County?
Average annual pay is $196,441, or $3,778 a week, across 416,422 covered jobs. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
How much SBA lending happens in San Mateo County?
650 7(a) approvals totalling $431.4 m since FY2020, across 86 lenders, with a median approval of $300,000, plus 303 504 approvals worth $352.5 m. These are approvals recorded in the release, not loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans in San Mateo County get paid back?
Of the 111 loans that have reached a final outcome, 101 were paid in full and 10 charged off, a charge off rate of 9.0 percent. Loans still running are excluded, because they have not yet succeeded or failed.
How many building permits were issued in San Mateo County?
1,088 housing units were authorised by permit in 2024, with a declared construction value of $578.0 m. Multifamily was 52.1 percent of units. Source: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
What is the radon zone for San Mateo County?
Zone 2, a predicted average indoor radon screening level from 2 to 4 pCi/L. Source: US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Where do people moving to San Mateo County come from?
The largest single origin is San Mateo County Non-migrants, with 301,797 households. Arriving households report an average income of $211,636 against null for those leaving. Source: US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Are traffic counts available for San Mateo County on this page?
No. Annual average daily traffic resolves in the platform rather than in this dataset, so no AADT figure is printed here. It is a gap we know about rather than a figure we estimated.
Is zoning published for San Mateo County?
Not yet. The zoning layer is in build. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning, and where a statutory framework applies it is marked as the statewide frame with confirm locally attached.
San Mateo County
Cities and places in San Mateo.
33 Census places lie wholly or partly in San Mateo County. 33 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked. The rest are named here and not linked, because the American Community Survey and the SBA record between them do not carry enough about them to write an honest page. A place existing is itself worth knowing, so nothing in the county is left out.
| Place | Type | Population | SBA approvals | Lies in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo | city | 103,105 | 109 | Wholly in this county |
| Daly City | city | 101,964 | 53 | Wholly in this county |
| Redwood City | city | 82,447 | 91 | Wholly in this county |
| South San Francisco | city | 64,305 | 75 | Wholly in this county |
| San Bruno | city | 42,307 | 40 | Wholly in this county |
| Pacifica | city | 37,261 | 35 | Wholly in this county |
| Foster City | city | 32,792 | 5 | Wholly in this county |
| Menlo Park | city | 32,727 | 31 | Wholly in this county |
| Burlingame | city | 30,525 | 43 | Wholly in this county |
| San Carlos | city | 29,614 | 59 | Wholly in this county |
| East Palo Alto | city | 29,069 | 8 | Wholly in this county |
| Belmont | city | 27,337 | 20 | Wholly in this county |
| Millbrae | city | 22,689 | 20 | Wholly in this county |
| North Fair Oaks | CDP | 13,100 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Half Moon Bay | city | 11,391 | 24 | Wholly in this county |
| Hillsborough | town | 11,099 | 2 | Wholly in this county |
| Atherton | town | 6,993 | 1 | Wholly in this county |
| El Granada | CDP | 5,232 | 7 | Wholly in this county |
| Woodside | town | 5,126 | 5 | Wholly in this county |
| Brisbane | city | 4,692 | 12 | Wholly in this county |
| Broadmoor | CDP | 4,586 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Portola Valley | town | 4,305 | 1 | Wholly in this county |
| Emerald Lake Hills | CDP | 4,235 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| West Menlo Park | CDP | 3,634 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Montara | CDP | 2,917 | 3 | Wholly in this county |
| Moss Beach | CDP | 2,683 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Highlands | CDP | 2,450 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Colma | town | 1,636 | 6 | Wholly in this county |
| Baywood Park | CDP | 1,580 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Ladera | CDP | 1,297 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| La Honda | CDP | 1,269 | 3 | Wholly in this county |
| Pescadero | CDP | 691 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Loma Mar | CDP | 309 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
A further 1,561 SBA approvals in San Mateo County are recorded against borrower cities that match no Census place, the largest being San Francisco, Redwood City, Daly City. Those are postal cities and unincorporated areas rather than incorporated places, so no page claims them, and their lending is counted in this county's totals above rather than under any city.