Neighborhood deep dive · San Mateo, CA

San Mateo.

Mid-peninsula sweet spot. 25 minutes to SF, 25 minutes to Palo Alto, downtown 25th Avenue is becoming the quiet restaurant pick everyone whispers about.

"San Mateo is the answer for people who want SF energy with peninsula schools — and don't want to pay Burlingame prices."
Swati Petkar · April 2026
Median home
$1.95M
▲ 3.5% YoY
Population
105k
Median income
$175k
household
Top school
9 / 10
Borel Middle
DOM
21 days
Walk score
68
car-dependent
Price & market

Five-year price trend.

Median single-family home price for San Mateo.

Median price · 2021–2026 · San Mateo
San Mateo · +33% 5y
Schools

5 schools, 5 rated 8+.

Public schools serving the San Mateo area, sourced from GreatSchools ratings.

8

Sunnybrae Elementary

elementary
9

Borel Middle

middle
8

Abbott Middle

middle
9

Aragon High

high
8

San Mateo High

high
Commute

From San Mateo to where you work.

Average peak-hour drive or transit time.

🍎
28 min
Apple HQ
22 min
Google MV
18 min
Meta MPK
🚇
30 min
SF via Caltrain
Swati's local notes

What I tell my clients about San Mateo.

Where I'd buy

San Mateo Park and Hayward Park — quiet, leafy, walking distance to Caltrain. Best long-term hold areas in 94401.

Where I'd skip

North San Mateo near 101 — freeway noise + flood zone risk you'll pay for in insurance.

The hidden play

25th Avenue corridor. 1940s bungalows, walk-to-restaurant, schools are decent enough, prices have only just started catching up.

Active listings

Homes for sale in San Mateo right now.

Showing 3 from the curated active inventory Swati is tracking.

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