Hillsborough, California | |
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| Town of Hillsborough | |
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 Seal | |
 Location of Hillsborough in San Mateo County, California. | |
  Hillsborough, California Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:37°33′37″N122°21′23″W / 37.56028°N 122.35639°W /37.56028; -122.35639 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | San Mateo |
| Incorporated | May 5, 1910[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.17 sq mi (15.97 km2) |
| • Land | 6.17 sq mi (15.97 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) 0% |
| Elevation | 322 ft (98 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 11,387 |
| • Density | 1,847.1/sq mi (713.15/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 94010 |
| Area code | 650 |
| FIPS code | 06-33798 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1659735,2412752 |
| Website | www |
Hillsborough is anincorporated town inSan Mateo County, California, United States, in theSan Francisco Bay Area. It is located 17 miles (27 km) south ofSan Francisco on theSan Francisco Peninsula, bordered byBurlingame to the north,San Mateo to the east,Highlands-Baywood Park to the south, andInterstate 280 to the west. The population was 11,387 at the2020 census.
Hillsborough is located on theRancho San MateoMexican land grant which was purchased byWilliam Davis Merry Howard, son of a wealthyHillsborough, New Hampshire, shipping magnate, in 1846. Howard settled his family in this area, which attracted wealthy San Franciscans. On May 5, 1910, Hillsborough residents voted to incorporate.[6] From the town's foundation until 1963, it was an exclusive community for wealthy whites. In 1963, Jack and Betty Ken, the first-generation children of Chinese Immigrants, purchased land in the town. This made them the first non-white people to own land in the town, effectively desegregating Hillsborough.[7]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.2 square miles (16 km2), all of it land. The area's considerably winding, hillytopography, and impossibility of a grid layout make Hillsborough notoriously challenging to navigate. Many lots include fairly steep slopes, particularly the western side of the town, with the landscape generally flattening to the east as it descends from the 280 freeway to El Camino Real and the towns of Burlingame and San Mateo.
Three prominent streams drain the mostly wooded slopes of Hillsborough:San Mateo Creek, Cherry Canyon Creek, and Sanchez Creek. In all 3 cases the upper watersheds are closed-canopyCalifornia oak woodlands, with dominant trees ofCoast Live Oak,Pacific Madrone andCalifornia Bay.
The upper drainage area of San Mateo Creek in Hillsborough contains significantserpentiniteoutcrops, which are known habitats for severalrare plant species including theSan Mateo woolly sunflower.[8] Other common plants includetoyon,gooseberry,lupine,monkeyflower andcoffeeberry. Commonly observed mammals includeCalifornia mule deer,raccoons,opossum, coyotes, rabbits, squirrels, andskunks.Mountain lions are known to live and roam in thegreen belts that surround the city.[9]
Hillsborough is bordered byBurlingame to the north,San Mateo to the east,Highlands-Baywood Park to the south, andInterstate 280 to the west.
Hillsborough's landscape is dominated by large homes; the town zoning and subdivision ordinances require a 2,500-square-foot (230 m2) minimum house size and minimum lot size of 0.5 acres (2,000 m2).[10] As a result, there are no apartments, condominiums ortownhouses in the city limits.
The town has no commercial zoning and thus no businesses within the town limits; the only non-residential properties are the town's four public and three private schools, town and county government facilities, a golf course, a country club, and small parks.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 931 | — | |
| 1930 | 1,891 | 103.1% | |
| 1940 | 2,747 | 45.3% | |
| 1950 | 3,552 | 29.3% | |
| 1960 | 7,554 | 112.7% | |
| 1970 | 8,753 | 15.9% | |
| 1980 | 10,372 | 18.5% | |
| 1990 | 10,667 | 2.8% | |
| 2000 | 10,825 | 1.5% | |
| 2010 | 10,825 | 0.0% | |
| 2020 | 11,387 | 5.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] | |||
The2020 United States census reported that Hillsborough had a population of 11,387. The population density was 1,846.4 inhabitants per square mile (712.9/km2). The racial makeup of Hillsborough was 55.4%White, 0.4%African American, 0.0%Native American, 34.7%Asian, 0.3%Pacific Islander, 1.3% fromother races, and 8.1% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of the population.[12]
The census reported that 99.9% of the population lived in households, 0.1% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.[12]
There were 3,689 households, out of which 39.6% included children under the age of 18, 76.0% were married-couple households, 2.1% werecohabiting couple households, 13.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 8.3% had a male householder with no partner present. 10.9% of households were one person, and 7.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.08.[12] There were 3,183families (86.3% of all households).[13]
The age distribution was 24.4% under the age of 18, 7.5% aged 18 to 24, 14.3% aged 25 to 44, 30.7% aged 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males.[12]
There were 3,935 housing units at an average density of 638.1 units per square mile (246.4 units/km2), of which 3,689 (93.7%) were occupied. Of these, 92.6% were owner-occupied, and 7.4% were occupied by renters.[12]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income in 2023 was more than $250,000, and theper capita income was $168,063. About 2.2% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line.[14]
In 2019, aBloomberg analysis ranked Hillsborough as the fifth richest town in the United States with a median household income of $373,128.[15]
At the2010 census Hillsborough had a population of 10,825. The population density was 1,748.9 inhabitants per square mile (675.3/km2). The racial makeup of Hillsborough was 7,178 (66.3%) White, 42 (0.4%) African American, 7 (0.1%) Native American, 3,044 (28.1%) Asian, 23 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 109 (1.0%) from other races, and 422 (3.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 373 people (3.4%).[16]
The census reported that 10,825 people (100% of the population) lived in households, as no other type of residence exists in Hillsborough.
There were 3,693 households, 1,445 (39.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,804 (75.9%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 220 (6.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 114 (3.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 66 (1.8%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 34 (0.9%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 451 households (12.2%) were one person and 309 (8.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.93. There were 3,138 families (85.0% of households); the average family size was 3.18.
The age distribution was 2,877 people (26.6%) under the age of 18, 466 people (4.3%) aged 18 to 24, 1,600 people (14.8%) aged 25 to 44, 3,667 people (33.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,215 people (20.5%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 47.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
There were 3,912 housing units at an average density of 632.0 per square mile, of the occupied units 3,490 (94.5%) were owner-occupied and 203 (5.5%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%. 10,206 people (94.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 619 people (5.7%) lived in rental housing units.
According to theCalifornia Secretary of State, on February 10, 2019, Hillsborough had 7,802 registered voters. Of those, 2,638 (33.8%) were registered Democrats, 2,337 (30%) were registeredRepublicans, and 2,522 (32.3%) haddeclined to state a political party.[17]
In thestate legislature, Hillsborough is inthe 13th senatorial district, represented byDemocrat Josh Becker, and inthe 21st Assembly district, represented byDemocrat Diane Papan.[18]
In theUnited States House of Representatives, Hillsborough is inCalifornia's 15th congressional district, represented byDemocrat Kevin Mullin.[19]
Because of the city's affluence, Hillsborough has historically leaned conservative. The city mainly supportedRepublican candidates for President and statewide/local offices up until 2016. It gaveMitt Romney 53% of the vote in 2012 against incumbent PresidentBarack Obama's 45%. But four years later, the city swung massively against the Republican Party, withDemocratHillary Clinton garnering 63%, withDonald Trump only carrying 31% of the vote in the city. In 2020, the city continued to swing left, PresidentJoe Biden won 68% of the vote and Donald Trump only managed 29%.[20]
Hillsborough has its own highly regarded and rankedpublicelementary andmiddle school system, but no public high school. High school-aged children can attend one of several schools in theSan Mateo Union High School District, generally assigned by residential address. The town is also home to a small number ofindependent schools. The Hillsborough school district is the top-rated K through 8 district in northern San Mateo County.
Primarily a residential suburb ofSan Francisco, Hillsborough has many mansions and other points of interest within the town's borders dating from the early 20th century.
December is the coolest month with an average high of 60 degrees, and September is the warmest month with an average high of 78 degrees. Hillsborough has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa), with the vast majority of the precipitation from the months of November to April. On average, Hillsborough receives 17 inches (430 mm) of rain. With coastal mountains to the west of Hillsborough, it is blocked in the winter from much of the rainfall over Half Moon Bay, and in the summer it is blocked from virtually all the fog of the coast. Hillsborough receives an average of 307 days of sunshine annually, with 52 days of recordable precipitation per year.
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Municipalities and communities ofSan Mateo County, California,United States | ||
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