How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
San Mateo, CA
103,006 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 0668252 · Census profile · mayors: being verified · the council picks the mayor (36 of 20 years on record)
Overall in 2023, San Mateo ranked #95 of 340 cities and 8th of 14 in its peer group, on 7 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is San Mateo and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Orange CA, Torrance CA, Bellevue WA, Centennial CO, Simi Valley CA, Rancho Cucamonga CA, Huntington Beach CA, Carlsbad CA, Santa Clarita CA, Irvine CA, Edison NJ, Antioch CA, Elk Grove CA · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #95 of 340 cities · 8th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #174 | #219 | #257 | #81 | #149 | #187 | #99 | #119 | #88 | #69 | #54 | #104 | #234 | #230 | #57 | #230 | #274 | #187 | #95 | #75 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 91,972 | 92,282 | 93,069 | 94,707 | 96,327 | 97,383 | 98,518 | 99,816 | 101,323 | 102,695 | 103,509 | 104,357 | 104,389 | 104,885 | 104,430 | 105,658 | 102,900 | 101,956 | 102,098 | 103,006 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #273 of 340 cities · 11th of 14 in its peer group | -1.4 | -1.4 | -0.8 | +0.1 | +0.2 | — | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.1 | -0.1 | -0.3 | -0.9 | -1.0 | -0.9 | -1.2 | -0.3 | -3.5 | -2.5 | -1.5 | -0.8 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #222 of 271 cities with data · 9th of 12 in its peer group with data | 0.2 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.0 | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #68 of 340 cities · 4th of 14 in its peer group | 20.8% | 22.4% | 21.0% | 20.1% | 22.4% | 22.2% | 22.9% | 25.6% | 24.0% | 21.6% | 23.5% | 23.5% | 27.5% | 24.8% | 21.2% | — | 22.9% | 21.6% | 23.6% | 21.0% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #139 of 304 cities with data · 9th of 10 in its peer group with data | 4.3 | 2.2 | — | 1.1 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | 1.9 | 1.0 | — | — | 1.9 | 3.8 | — | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.9 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #47 of 295 cities with data · 8th of 10 in its peer group with data | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8.8 | 18.4 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 40,928 | 40,264 | 41,103 | 42,629 | 39,857 | 39,359 | 41,085 | 44,568 | 46,610 | 51,252 | 58,718 | 57,830 | 55,940 | 56,173 | 60,959 | 57,401 | 56,164 | 58,637 | 59,573 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #103 of 329 cities with data · 5th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | +1.3 | -3.0 | -0.6 | +2.3 | -2.6 | -2.5 | +1.3 | +6.1 | +0.9 | +6.5 | +9.9 | -4.8 | -4.5 | -2.1 | +7.6 | +1.0 | -1.3 | -2.9 | +0.9 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 53,270 | 53,401 | 54,262 | 55,614 | 56,720 | 59,022 | 55,719 | 57,250 | 60,690 | — | 53,888 | 55,411 | 57,597 | 55,039 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #26 of 340 cities · 1st of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9.3% | 8.8% | 6.6% | 5.2% | 3.7% | 2.0% | 3.5% | 4.6% | 3.0% | — | 6.6% | 2.4% | 2.9% | 3.1% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #232 of 340 cities · 11th of 14 in its peer group · 2022 | 24% | 27% | 21% | 13% | 18% | 6% | 15% | 16% | 32% | 32% | 31% | 33% | 27% | 34% | — | — | — | 14% | — | — | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #334 of 340 cities · 14th of 14 in its peer group · 2022 | $3,450 | $3,268 | $3,099 | $2,861 | $2,773 | $2,619 | $2,339 | $2,189 | $2,062 | $2,390 | $2,617 | $2,547 | $2,736 | $1,612 | — | — | — | $15,909 | — | — |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for San Mateo. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.