San Bruno, California


San Bruno is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to San Francisco International Airport and Golden Gate National Cemetery; it is approximately south of Downtown San Francisco.

Geography

The city is located between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to San Francisco International Airport to the east and Golden Gate National Cemetery to the northwest. It is approximately south of Downtown San Francisco.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all of it land. The city spreads from the mostly flat lowlands near San Francisco Bay into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, which rise to more than above sea level in Crestmoor and more than above sea level in Portola Highlands. San Bruno City Hall sits at an official elevation of 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 of Skyline Boulevard and outside of city limits is San Andreas Lake, which got its name from the San 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 of I-280.

Climate

San Bruno has a mild Mediterranean 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 an oceanic climate. Since 1927, the National Weather Service has maintained a weather station at the nearby San Francisco International Airport. According to the official records, January is the coldest month with an average high of and an average low of. Freezing temperatures occur on an average of only 1.3 days annually. The coldest winter temperature on record was on December 11, 1932, a day on which 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 at the airport and in Crestmoor, which also reported snow flurries several times that week. There was 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 and an average low of. Temperatures exceed 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 on June 14, 1961, breaking a record of set in June 1960. A high of was recorded on July 17, 1988, and a high of was recorded on September 1, 2017. Until August 1, 1993, it had never reached in August, which is one of the foggier months in the area. Due to thermal 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 at the nearby National Weather Service station at San Francisco International Airport to over in the higher hills. Nylund also took temperature observations for several years and published weekly weather reports in the San Bruno Herald from 1966 to 1969, which were included in official reports for the Golden Gate National Cemetery. The annual average days with measurable precipitation is 65.2 days. The most rainfall in a month at the airport was in February 1998, and the most rainfall in 24 hours was on January 4, 1982. Nylund reported in Crestmoor during a 24-hour period in January 1967. Winter storms are often accompanied by strong southerly winds.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that San Bruno had a population of 43,908. The population density was. The racial makeup of San Bruno was 33.8% White, 1.8% African American, 1.0% Native American, 32.2% Asian, 2.6% Pacific Islander, 14.8% from other races, and 13.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.0% of the population.
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.
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% were cohabiting 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. There were 10,670 families.
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.
There were 16,622 housing units at an average density of, of which 15,938 were occupied. Of these, 55.5% were owner-occupied, and 44.5% were occupied by renters.
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.
The median household income in 2023 was $135,976, and the per capita income was $62,026. About 2.5% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that San Bruno had a population of 41,114. The population density was. The racial makeup of San Bruno was 20,350 White, 942 African American, 246 Native American, 10,423 Asian, 1,377 Pacific Islander, 5,075 from other races, and 2,701 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12,016 persons.
The Census reported that 40,716 people lived in households, 316 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 82 were institutionalized.
There were 14,701 households, out of which 4,831 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,364 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,830 had a female householder with no husband present, 850 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 764 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 123 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,660 households were made up of individuals, and 1,119 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77. There were 10,044 families ; the average family size was 3.31.
The population was spread out, with 8,632 people under the age of 18, 3,577 people aged 18 to 24, 12,038 people aged 25 to 44, 11,653 people aged 45 to 64, and 5,214 people 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, of which 8,938 were owner-occupied, and 5,763 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%. 24,712 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 16,004 people lived in rental housing units.

Politics

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. The previous mayor of San Bruno was Jim Ruane, who was first elected in 2009 and served until December 2017. The mayor before Jim Ruane was Larry Franzella, who was first elected November 1999 and was reelected through November 2009. Bob Marshall, "Mr. San Bruno", served as mayor from 1980 to 1992. San Bruno is one of the few cities in San Mateo County with an independently elected mayor.
In the California State Legislature, San Bruno is in, and is split between and.
In the United States House of Representatives, San Bruno is in.
According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, San Bruno has 22,808 registered voters. Of those, 11,856 are registered Democrats, 3,051 are registered Republicans, and 6,993 have declined to state a political party.

Parks

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, 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 the San Francisco Warriors basketball team. There are smaller municipal parks in other parts of the city.
Junipero Serra County Park, also accessible from Crystal Springs Avenue, is a park owned by San Mateo County which includes numerous hiking trails, as well as picnic shelters, barbecue pits, and picnic tables. The wilderness area was named for Junípero Serra, a Franciscan 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 the San 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.