MODERN URBAN LIVING IN HISTORIC SAN MATEO

One of the largest cities on the San Francisco Peninsula, San Mateo now boasts many options for recreation, dining and entertainment with its revitalized downtown. Historically, what is now the Bay Meadows neighborhood was once a horse racing track from 1934 to 2008. It was built on an old airfield and was the longest continually operating thoroughbred racecourse in California. Many of the street and community names in Bay Meadows were chosen during its redevelopment to acknowledge historically important people from the racetrack era.

However, the first inhabitants of what is now the City of San Mateo were members a tribe of the Ohlone Indians (called Coastanoans by Spanish explorers). This Tribe lived in the area from South San Francisco to Belmont for at least 4000 years before explorers first arrived on the Peninsula. Downtown San Mateo's mild climate and fresh water creek made the area ideal for its first inhabitants and a large village once stood at today's Laurel Creek and El Camino Real. Spanish explorers came to present-day San Mateo on a 1776 scouting trip and named the creek they slept beside San Mateo Creek. In 1863, the railroad arrived in San Mateo, so it became an ideal place for building summer and weekend homes for people who worked in San Francisco. These estates were built for some of the most powerful people in the West. The resulting population that developed in San Mateo was largely made up of those employed in the service of these mansion owners. During this period, the wealthy estate owners bought up large parcels of land, keeping the majority of San Mateo property owned by only a few families.

Today, approximately 101,000 people call the city of San Mateo 'home'. The median household income is $149,152,000 and the median home value is about $1,509,000 according to 2018-2022 United States Census Bureau data. Of San Mateo’s 39,916 housing units, 52 percent are owner occupied.