According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14 km2), all of it land. The city spreads from the mostly flat lowlands nearSan Francisco Bay into the foothills of theSanta Cruz Mountains, which rise to more than 600 feet (180 m) above sea level in Crestmoor and more than 700 feet (210 m) above sea level in Portola Highlands. San Bruno City Hall sits at an official elevation of 41 feet (12 m) above sea level.
Portions of Mills Park, Crestmoor, and Rollingwood are very hilly, featuring canyons and ravines. Creeks, many of them now in culverts, flow from springs in the hills toward San Francisco Bay. Just west ofSkyline Boulevard and outside of city limits isSan Andreas Lake, which got its name from theSan Andreas Fault. The lake is one of several reservoirs used by the San Francisco Water Department, providing water to San Francisco and several communities in San Mateo County, including San Bruno west ofI-280.
San Bruno has a mildMediterranean climate characterized by mild to warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. San Bruno has much milder temperatures than most of the state. Owing to its relatively mild temperatures, the city's climate closely resembles that of anoceanic climate. Since 1927, theNational Weather Service (formerly the U.S. Weather Bureau) has maintained a weather station at the nearbySan Francisco International Airport (formerly Mills Field). According to the official records, January is the coldest month with an average high of 55.9 °F (13.3 °C) and an average low of 42.9 °F (6.1 °C). Freezing temperatures occur on an average of only 1.3 days annually. The coldest winter temperature on record was 20 °F (−7 °C) on December 11, 1932, a day on which 1 inch (2.5 cm) of snow also fell. A week-long cold spell in December 1972 caused hard freezes throughout the area, damaging trees and plants and causing some water pipes to break; the temperature dropped as low as 24 °F (−4 °C) at the airport and 20 °F (−7 °C) in Crestmoor, which also reported snow flurries several times that week. There was 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) of snow at the airport on January 21, 1962, with several inches falling in the hills.
September is the warmest month with an average high of 72.7 °F (22.6 °C) and an average low of 55.1 °F (12.8 °C). Temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on an average of 4.0 days annually. Fog and low overcast are common during the night and morning hours in the summer months, which are generally very dry except for occasional light drizzle from the fog. On rare occasions moisture moving up from tropical storms has produced thunderstorms or showers in the summer. Gusty westerly winds are also common in the afternoon during the summer. The highest summer temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on June 14, 1961, breaking a record of 104 °F (40 °C) set in June 1960. A high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded on July 17, 1988, and a high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded on September 1, 2017. Until August 1, 1993, it had never reached 100 °F (38 °C) in August, which is one of the foggier months in the area. Due tothermal inversions, summer temperatures in the higher hills are often much higher than at the airport.
Thunderstorms occur several times a year, mostly during the winter months, but are usually quite brief. Total annual precipitation, most of which falls from November to April, ranges from 20.11 inches (511 mm) at the nearbyNational Weather Service station at San Francisco International Airport to over 32 inches (810 mm) in the higher hills (according to observations by Gayle Rucker for theArmy Corps of Engineers and Robert E. Nylund for theU.S. Geological Survey from 1962 to 1985). Nylund also took temperature observations for several years and published weekly weather reports in theSan Bruno Herald from 1966 to 1969, which were included in official reports for theGolden Gate National Cemetery. The annual average days with measurable precipitation is 65.2 days. The most rainfall in a month at the airport was 13.64 inches (346 mm) in February 1998, and the most rainfall in 24 hours was 5.59 inches (142 mm) on January 4, 1982. Nylund reported 6.09 inches (155 mm) in Crestmoor during a 24-hour period in January 1967. Winter storms are often accompanied by strong southerly winds.[10]
The census reported that 99.3% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.1% were institutionalized.[13]
There were 15,938 households, out of which 30.0% included children under the age of 18, 49.2% were married-couple households, 7.0% werecohabiting couple households, 25.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 18.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 24.2% of households were one person, and 9.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.74.[13] There were 10,670families (66.9% of all households).[14]
The age distribution was 18.4% under the age of 18, 7.5% aged 18 to 24, 31.9% aged 25 to 44, 26.2% aged 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.6years. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males.[13]
There were 16,622 housing units at an average density of 3,028.2 units per square mile (1,169.2 units/km2), of which 15,938 (95.9%) were occupied. Of these, 55.5% were owner-occupied, and 44.5% were occupied by renters.[13]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 36.0% of the population were foreign-born. Of those aged 25 or older, 90.7% were high school graduates and 43.8% had a bachelor's degree.[15]
The median household income in 2023 was $135,976, and theper capita income was $62,026. About 2.5% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line.[16]
The2010 United States Census[17] reported that San Bruno had a population of 41,114. The population density was 7,505.0 inhabitants per square mile (2,897.7/km2). The racial makeup of San Bruno was 20,350 (49.5%)White, 942 (2.3%)African American, 246 (0.6%)Native American, 10,423 (25.4%)Asian, 1,377 (3.3%)Pacific Islander, 5,075 (12.3%) fromother races, and 2,701 (6.6%) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 12,016 persons (29.2%).
The Census reported that 40,716 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 316 (0.8%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 82 (0.2%) were institutionalized.
There were 14,701 households, out of which 4,831 (32.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,364 (50.1%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 1,830 (12.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 850 (5.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 764 (5.2%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 123 (0.8%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,660 households (24.9%) were made up of individuals, and 1,119 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77. There were 10,044families (68.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.31.[citation needed]
The population was spread out, with 8,632 people (21.0%) under the age of 18, 3,577 people (8.7%) aged 18 to 24, 12,038 people (29.3%) aged 25 to 44, 11,653 people (28.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,214 people (12.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.
There were 15,356 housing units at an average density of 2,803.1 units per square mile (1,082.3 units/km2), of which 8,938 (60.8%) were owner-occupied, and 5,763 (39.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%. 24,712 people (60.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 16,004 people (38.9%) lived in rental housing units.
The current mayor of San Bruno is Rico E. Medina, who began his term as mayor on December 12, 2017. He has previously been a council member.[19] The previous mayor of San Bruno wasJim Ruane,[5] who was first elected in 2009 and served until December 2017. The mayor before Jim Ruane wasLarry Franzella, who was first elected November 1999 and was reelected through November 2009.[20]Bob Marshall, "Mr. San Bruno", served as mayor from 1980 to 1992.[21] San Bruno is one of the few cities in San Mateo County with an independently elected mayor.[22]
San Bruno City Park sign, intersection of Crystal Springs and Cypress
San Bruno City Park, bordered by Crystal Springs Avenue and El Crystal School, is the largest municipal park. It offers shaded walkways and hiking trails, picnic tables, a playground, pickleball and tennis courts, a small ballpark, two municipal swimming pools (one each indoor and outdoor), and a recreation center with indoor basketball court, meeting areas and gym. The previous recreation center was demolished and included an indoor basketball court once used for training by theSan Francisco Warriors basketball team.[26] There are smaller municipal parks in other parts of the city.
Junipero Serra County Park, also accessible from Crystal Springs Avenue, is a 100-acre (40 ha) park owned by San Mateo County which includes numerous hiking trails, as well as picnic shelters, barbecue pits, and picnic tables.[27] The wilderness area was named forJunípero Serra, aFranciscan friar who founded many of the Spanish missions in California during the eighteenth century; Serra regularly passed through what is now San Bruno whenever he visited the mission at San Francisco. The park is administered by theSan Mateo County Parks and Recreation Department, which charges a $6 entry fee for vehicles from the entrance off Crystal Springs Road; there are two pedestrian entrances, one from San Bruno City Park and the other from Helen Drive.
The city is served by theSan Bruno Park School District which operates four elementary schools, and one intermediate school; in 1970, the school district had an enrollment of 4,829, and as of 2013[update] was closer to 2,700.[28]San Mateo Union High School District also serves the city, and most students who attend secondary public education attendCapuchino High School, the only high school in the community afterCrestmoor High School was closed in 1980.[28] The city's main library is part of thePeninsula Library System.Skyline College, a community college that is part of the San Mateo Community College District (SMCCD), is located in San Bruno.
San Bruno was the location of theOhlone villageUrebure. It was explored in November 1769 by a Spanish expedition led byGaspar de Portolà. Later, more extensive explorations byBruno de Heceta resulted in the naming ofSan Bruno Creek afterSt. Bruno of Cologne, the founder of a medieval monastic order. This creek apparently later gave its name to the community.
With the establishment of theSan Francisco de Asís (St. Francis of Assisi) mission, much of the area became pasture for the mission livestock. Following the decline of the missions, the area became part ofRancho Buri Buri granted toJosé de la Cruz Sánchez, the eleventhAlcalde (mayor) of San Francisco. After Jose Antonio Sanchez died, his heirs divided the Rancho and sold it off.[29] Dairy farms later became common in much of the area.
The city began asClarks's Station,[30] a stop on theButterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route, utilizing an inn built in 1849, which was initially calledThorp's Place and laterUncle Tom's Cabin or14 Mile House.[31] The inn was demolished in 1949 and replaced with a Lucky's supermarket (now aWalgreens drugstore, on the corner ofEl Camino Real and Crystal Springs Avenue). Gus Jenevein (for whom Jenevein Avenue was named) built another landmark called San Bruno House, which burned several times and was not rebuilt after the third fire. A few homes and farms were developed in the area. The railroad between San Francisco andSan Jose built a train station at San Bruno in the 1860s. The railroad eventually became part of theSouthern Pacific system, which ran both passenger and freight trains on the line. Today it is known asCaltrain.
AU.S. Post Office was first established at San Bruno in 1875. Postal services were discontinued for several months in both 1890 and 1891, then from 1893 to 1898. There has been a post office in San Bruno continuously since 1898. The present post office is located near theTanforan Shopping Center.[32][33]
Real growth and development began after the1906 earthquake and fire. The city's first public school was completed in late 1906. With the construction of Edgemont Elementary School in 1910, all classes were moved there and the original school building became a public facility named Green Hall. Another school, North Brae Elementary School, opened in 1912; among its earliest students was future actorEddie "Rochester" Anderson. Paving of California's first state highway,El Camino Real, began in 1912 in front of San Bruno's Uncle Tom's Cabin; the highway is now designated asState Route 82. The adjoiningSan Francisco International Airport opened in early 1927 and included a Weather Bureau station, now operated by theNational Weather Service.Charles Lindbergh was an early visitor to the airport, during his national tour following his successful transatlantic flight; his airplane (Spirit of St. Louis) became stuck in the mud.
Following a campaign by the local newspaper, theSan Bruno Herald, the community was incorporated in 1914, mainly so the streets could be paved. Green Hall became the first city hall. San Bruno grew rapidly, passing 1,500 residents by 1920 and 3,610 residents in 1930. Additional schools, including New Edgemont (later renamed Decima Allen) and Crystal Springs, were built during the 1940s.
In 1930, the El Camino Theater opened at the corner ofEl Camino Real and San Mateo Avenue. The popular theater, wired for sound, replaced the earlier Melody Theater, which had presented silent films. The El Camino showed double features, cartoons, short comedies, adventure serials, and newsreels during its history, including Saturday matinees and summer Wednesday matinees for children. Normally, films changed every week, but in 1958Cecil B. DeMille'sThe Ten Commandments ran for two weeks to packed audiences. The theater closed in the early 1970s when a four-screen movie theater opened in the Tanforan shopping center. The El Camino Theater building was remodeled, but later demolished. The lot is now home to mixed-use apartment and retail space.[36] A larger, multi-screen complex was later built north of Tanforan, but it has been replaced by an even larger complex, Century at Tanforan, in the remodeled shopping center.[37]
Barrack home in one of the long lines of converted horse stalls atTanforan Assembly Center, June 16, 1942
Following World War II, there was continued growth and new subdivisions were built in Mills Park, Rollingwood, and Crestmoor. In 1947, theBayshore Freeway (U.S. Route 101) was opened fromSouth San Francisco toRedwood City and included an interchange at San Bruno.
Prior to 1950, San Bruno's high school students attendedSan Mateo High School (opened in 1902) and thenBurlingame High School (opened in 1923), traveling to and from school on the streetcars that ran next to the Southern Pacific railroad. Finally, on September 11, 1950,Capuchino High School opened in San Bruno. After years of using Green Hall as a multi-purpose building, the city dedicated a library and city hall in 1954. That same year saw the dedication of the current central terminal at the airport, part of a major expansion program. A central fire station was later built next to the city hall; an additional station was built in Crestmoor.
Actress and businesswomanSuzanne Somers was born in San Bruno in 1946. She attended local schools and graduated from Capuchino High School in June 1964.
In 1953, San Bruno annexed the adjoining unincorporated community ofLomita Park, bounded by San Felipe Avenue, El Camino Real, San Juan Avenue, and the railroad tracks.[39] Until the annexation, Lomita Park had its own Southern Pacific train station and some community services.
Parkside Intermediate School was opened in 1954, followed by additional elementary schools: Rollingwood, Crestmoor, John Muir, and Carl Sandburg. A second intermediate school, Engvall, was built in Crestmoor Canyon, only to be closed, along with North Brae and Sandburg, when enrollment fell. These were all part of the San Bruno Park School District. Students in northwestern San Bruno were included in the Laguna Salada district. Highlands Christian School, a private school, is also located in San Bruno. Founded in 1966, Highlands Christian School is an interdenominational school, and offers preschool through college preparatory school instruction.
San Bruno considered new annexations in the mid-1950s that would have extended the city limits to the Pacific Ocean. The unincorporated communities west of San Bruno were against annexation, and collectively incorporated as the city ofPacifica in 1957.
On March 22, 1957,a magnitude 5.7 earthquake was centered in the area of the city.[40] It inflicted minor damage throughout the city.
Eitel-McCullough operated a large manufacturing plant in San Bruno for many years. William Eitel and Jack McCullogh formed the company in 1934. It specialized in the manufacture of power grid tubes.[41] Known as Eimac, the company also made vacuum tubes used in communication equipment, as well as other products for military and commercial applications.[42] Due to its work on broadcast transmission parts, Eimac operated anFM radio station,KSBR, which transmitted on 100.5 megahertz.[43] The station began operations in 1947 and, that same year, was one of only two in the nation to test Rangertone tape recorders. (The other station wasWASH-FM in Washington, D.C.)[44] The recorders were based on the GermanMagnetophon.[45] In need of more space, the company moved toSan Carlos in 1959.[46] Eimac's San Carlos plant was dedicated on April 16, 1959.[46] In 1965, Eimac merged withVarian Associates and became known as the Eimac Division. In 1995,Leonard Green & Partners purchased the entire Electron Devices Business from Varian and formedCommunications & Power Industries.[47]
Skyline Park was the final subdivision developed in the Crestmoor district of San Bruno, in 1966–67. Grading for the Junipero Serra Freeway (I-280) leveled the hill seen on the right side of this photo. (San Bruno Herald photo by Robert E. Nylund.)
Crestmoor High School opened in September 1962, but was closed in June 1980 due to a decline in school enrollment. The city has a two-year community college,Skyline College.
A major landmark in San Bruno for many years wasTanforan Racetrack, which opened in 1899. Such famous racehorses asSeabiscuit andCitation raced there. Famed Hollywood directorFrank Capra filmed scenes for two of his films,Broadway Bill andRiding High, at the racetrack. For six months in 1942, it served as one of the main Bay Area centers for those forced intoJapanese American internment, processing about 8,000 Japanese before they were sent out to larger facilities in the desert of Utah andManzanar inOwens Valley.[48] The track closed in 1964 and was about to be demolished when it was destroyed in a major fire on July 31, 1964.[49] The Shops at Tanforan mall was later built on the site; surrounding city streets were named for some of the racehorses who appeared at Tanforan.
During the late 1960s, theI-280 (Junipero Serra Freeway), followed byI-380, was built through San Bruno. The San Bruno Planning Commission (then chaired by Peter Weinberger, brother ofCaspar Weinberger) reviewed and approved plans for two major shopping centers, Bayhill (located on the old U.S. Navy property betweenSan Bruno Avenue andSneath Lane) and Tanforan. With final approval from the San Bruno City Council, construction proceeded on these major retail developments. Prior to these developments, most of the city's retail businesses were located onSan Mateo Avenue andEl Camino Real.
San Bruno formerly managed its own cable TV and internet system under various names, e.g. San Bruno TV and Cable, San Bruno Cable, and finally CityNet Services. In 2023, the City Council began exploring ways to improve the enterprise's financial situation. It ultimately sought a private buyer, and formally agreed to sell its cable and TV infrastructure to Comcast in early 2025.[50]
The October 17, 1989,Loma Prieta earthquake (6.9 magnitude) caused some damage in the city. The U.S. Postal Service's Western Regional headquarters, which was then the tallest building in San Bruno, had to be demolished due to severe structural damage. The site was rebuilt as part of an expansion ofThe Gap clothing company world headquarters campus.[51][52] The building now houses the headquarters forWal-Mart's online retail services,[53] Walmart.com, and is now the tallest building in the city.
Destruction after fire and explosion in San BrunoAerial view of San Andreas Lake with portions of Millbrae and San Bruno
On September 9, 2010, at about 6:15 p.m.PDT,a gas line ruptured leading to a fire that severely damaged a residential neighborhood. Eight people were killed, nearly 60 others were injured, 38 homes were destroyed and 123 additional homes were damaged.[54][55] The resulting fire "hot spots" were easily detected using meteorological satellite images.[56]
On September 13, PG&E agreed to set aside a $100 million fund to the victims of the explosion. This does not preclude residents from taking any further action against PG&E. Parts of the exploded material were taken to Washington, D.C., a couple of days after the explosion for examination.[62]
In 2007, YouTube had moved its headquarters fromSan Mateo, California to San Bruno, on Cherry Avenue next toInterstate 380.[63] The main building was initially built for Gap Inc. in 1997.[64] It had been designed in 1994, has agreen roof, and was built with energy efficient ventilation systems.[65] Across more than six properties, YouTube has over 2,000 employees working in the city, and is San Bruno's largest employer.[66] On April 3, 2018, a shooting took place at the headquarters complex, leaving four wounded and the female shooter dead.[67]
During World War II theUnited States Navy established a base on what was a dairy opened by Richard Sneath.[68] There it operated a Classification Center and a Naval Advance Base Personnel Depot.[69] After the war it continued operation,[70] and became host to the consolidated Western Division ofNaval Facilities, supporting the multiple navy bases that were operating in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.[71] Due to the 1993BRAC and its closure of neighboring bases although recommended for realignment, the Navy decided to close the facility, carrying through with its decision in October 1994.[72]
The federal government retained part of the former Naval Facility. The Pacific Region (San Francisco) facility of theNational Archives and Records Administration was established.[73] One of the buildings became a Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center, which hosts the Headquarters Company of the23rd Marine Regiment, amongst other units.[74][75] The rest of the facility was sold to a private developer who has since built multi-story apartment buildings on the former base.[76] The 20-acre (81,000 m2) area of the former U.S. Navy complex is bounded by San Bruno Avenue, El Camino Real, Sneath Lane, and I-280.
Major freeways in San Bruno, facing west. SinuousI-380 is most prominent, connecting US 101 (Bayshore Freeway, running left and right along the bottom of the photograph) withI-280 (along the top).
Both theSan Bruno Caltrain andBART stations are very close tothe Shops at Tanforan; the BART station is adjacent to both the shopping mall and an intermodal transfer station for samTrans, serving its primary line, ECR, which operates betweenDaly City and Palo Alto along El Camino Real. The Caltrain station is approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) further south along Huntington Avenue.
San Bruno is adjacent toSan Francisco International Airport, which can be accessed using BART or US 101. However, the other major San Francisco Bay Area airports (Oakland andSan Jose) are accessible from San Bruno via BART for the former and Caltrain plusVTA services for the latter.
^Schuessler, Anna (November 8, 2017)."Medina's the mayor".San Mateo Daily Journal. San Bruno. RetrievedMay 9, 2018.... to the Peninsula's only independently elected mayoral position ...
^Waterman L. Ormsby, Lyle H. Wright, Josephine M. Bynum, The Butterfield Overland Mail: Only Through Passenger on the First Westbound Stage. Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, 2007. pp.92-93.
^"The Gap, Inc".CalRecycle. State of California. April 15, 2002. Archived fromthe original on September 23, 2015. RetrievedAugust 18, 2014.
^Dineen, J. K. (May 2, 2010)."Walmart.com bags new headquarters".San Francisco Business Times. American City Business Journals. RetrievedAugust 18, 2014.
