Get to know San Mateo

Located midway up the San Francisco Peninsula, San Mateo is the largest city in its namesake county, with more than 100,000 residents. On a good day, it’s about a 25 to 30 minute drive from San Francisco or San Jose, which are also reachable by CalTrain. It’s also the west end of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, allowing breezy travels to Oakland and the rest of the East Bay. Its convenient location, coupled with its sizable and exciting downtown, makes San Mateo one of the most attractive transit-oriented communities in the Bay Area. You’ll find a balance of higher-density residential and single-family neighborhoods fanning in all directions. At the heart of downtown lies 16-acre Central Park, with its Japanese garden, miniature train ride, and seasonal ice rink. The Shoreview section of town enjoys direct access to San Francisco Bay, where you’ll find Coyote Point Beach, the Poplar Creek Golf Course, and a sizable marina.

Nearby Neighborhoods:

Daly City

Get to know our homes for sale in San Mateo

Living on the San Francisco Peninsula

With the exception of its northern tip, which is occupied by the city itself, the San Francisco Peninsula lies almost entirely within San Mateo County — the second-most populous in the Bay Area, after San Francisco County. By sharing the only land border with San Francisco, the towns and villages of the Peninsula form a literal and figurative mainline to the city. Beginning with the railroad’s arrival in the 1860s, the towns along the bayshore side of the Peninsula developed into San Francisco’s first commuter suburbs, and they’ve only grown since. They’re separated from the coast by the rugged, redwood-flanked slopes of the Coast Range, which effectively split the Peninsula — and county — into two distinct moods. The towns along Highway 1 move to a slower beat, from rustic Pescadero to the gnarly breaks of Half Moon Bay, home to the world-famous Mavericks big wave surfing competition.