Hillsborough, California


Hillsborough is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is located south of San Francisco on the San Francisco Peninsula, bordered by Burlingame to the north, San Mateo to the east, Highlands-Baywood Park to the south, and Interstate 280 to the west. The population was 11,387 at the 2020 census.
WWW hillsborough.net

History

Hillsborough is located on the Rancho San Mateo Mexican land grant which was purchased by William Davis Merry Howard, son of a wealthy Hillsborough, 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. 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.

Geography and environment

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, all of it land. The area's considerably winding, hilly topography, 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-canopy California oak woodlands, with dominant trees of Coast Live Oak, Pacific Madrone and California Bay.
The upper drainage area of San Mateo Creek in Hillsborough contains significant serpentinite outcrops, which are known habitats for several rare plant species including the San Mateo woolly sunflower. Other common plants include toyon, gooseberry, lupine, monkeyflower and coffeeberry. Commonly observed mammals include California mule deer, raccoons, opossum, coyotes, rabbits, squirrels, and skunks. Mountain lions are known to live and roam in the green belts that surround the city.
Hillsborough is bordered by Burlingame to the north, San Mateo to the east, Highlands-Baywood Park to the south, and Interstate 280 to the west.
Hillsborough's landscape is dominated by large homes; the town zoning and subdivision ordinances require a minimum house size and minimum lot size of. As a result, there are no apartments, condominiums or townhouses 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.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Hillsborough had a population of 11,387. The population density was. 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% from other races, and 8.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of the population.
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.
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% were cohabiting 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. There were 3,183 families.
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 65years of age or older. The median age was 47.7years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males.
There were 3,935 housing units at an average density of, of which 3,689 were occupied. Of these, 92.6% were owner-occupied, and 7.4% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income in 2023 was more than $250,000, and the per capita income was $168,063. About 2.2% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line.
In 2019, a Bloomberg analysis ranked Hillsborough as the fifth richest town in the United States with a median household income of $373,128.

2010

At the 2010 census Hillsborough had a population of 10,825. The population density was. The racial makeup of Hillsborough was 7,178 White, 42 African American, 7 Native American, 3,044 Asian, 23 Pacific Islander, 109 from other races, and 422 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 373 people.
The census reported that 10,825 people lived in households, as no other type of residence exists in Hillsborough.
There were 3,693 households, 1,445 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,804 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 220 had a female householder with no husband present, 114 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 66 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 34 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 451 households were one person and 309 had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.93. There were 3,138 families ; the average family size was 3.18.
The age distribution was 2,877 people under the age of 18, 466 people aged 18 to 24, 1,600 people aged 25 to 44, 3,667 people aged 45 to 64, and 2,215 people 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 were owner-occupied and 203 were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%. 10,206 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 619 people lived in rental housing units.

Politics

According to the California Secretary of State, on February 10, 2019, Hillsborough had 7,802 registered voters. Of those, 2,638 were registered Democrats, 2,337 were registered [California Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party|Republicans], and 2,522 had declined to state a political party.
In the state legislature, Hillsborough is in, and in.
In the United States House of Representatives, Hillsborough is in.
Because of the city's affluence, Hillsborough has historically leaned conservative. The city mainly supported Republican candidates for President and statewide/local offices up until 2016. It gave Mitt Romney 53% of the vote in 2012 against incumbent President Barack Obama's 45%. But four years later, the city swung massively against the Republican Party, with Democrat Hillary Clinton garnering 63%, with Donald Trump only carrying 31% of the vote in the city. In 2020, the city continued to swing left, President Joe Biden won 68% of the vote and Donald Trump only managed 29%.

Schools

Hillsborough has its own highly regarded and ranked public elementary and middle school system, but no public high school. High school-aged children can attend one of several schools in the San Mateo Union High School District, generally assigned by residential address. The town is also home to a small number of independent schools. The Hillsborough school district is the top-rated K through 8 district in northern San Mateo County.

Landmarks

Primarily a residential suburb of San Francisco, Hillsborough has many mansions and other points of interest within the town's borders dating from the early 20th century.

Climate

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, with the vast majority of the precipitation from the months of November to April. On average, Hillsborough receives 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.

Notable people