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San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and Silicon Valley begins at the southern end. As of 2000 the population was 707,161. The county seat is Redwood City.

History

San Mateo County was formed from parts of San Francisco County and Santa Cruz County in 1856.

The county bears the Spanish name for Saint Matthew. As a place name, St. Matthew appears as early as 1776, and the arroyo, the point and the settlement at the unofficial San Mateo Mission are all so designated on the early maps. Until about 1850, the name appeared as San Matheo.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,919 km² (741 mi²). 1,163 km² (449 mi²) of it is land and 756 km² (292 mi²) of it (39.40%) is water.

Major Highways

Adjacent Counties

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 707,161 people, 254,103 households, and 171,265 families residing in the county. The population density was 608/km² (1,575/mi²). There were 260,576 housing units at an average density of 224/km² (580/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 59.49% White, 3.51% Black or African American, 0.44% Native American, 20.04% Asian, 1.33% Pacific Islander, 10.17% from other races, and 5.02% from two or more races. 21.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 254,103 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.90% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 33.20% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $70,819, and the median income for a family was $80,737. Males had a median income of $51,342 versus $40,383 for females. The per capita income for the county was $36,045. About 3.50% of families and 5.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.00% of those under age 18 and 5.10% of those age 65 or over.

Environmental features

San Mateo County encompasses a variety of habitats including estuarine, marine, oak woodland, redwood forest, coastal scrub and oak savannah. There are numerous species of wildlife present, especially along the San Francisco Bay estuarine shoreline, San Bruno Mountain, Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and the forests on the Montara Mountain block.

The county is home to several endangered species including the San Francisco garter snake and the San Bruno elfin butterfly, both of which are endemic to San Mateo County. The endangered California clapper rail is also found on the shores of San Francisco Bay, in the cities of Belmont and San Mateo. the endangered wildflower Hickman's potentilla is found near the Pacific Ocean on the lower slopes of Montara Mountain.

Politics

Dems
Presidential elections results
Year GOP
2004 29.2% ''83,315 69.5% ''197,922
2000 31.0% ''80,296 64.3% ''166,757
1996 29.2% ''73,508 60.6% ''152,304
1992 27.2% ''75,080 54.0% ''149,232
1988 42.9% ''109,261 55.7% ''141,859
1984 51.9% ''135,185 46.9% ''122,268
1980 48.8% ''116,491 36.6% ''87,335
1976 50.6% ''117,338 44.4% ''102,896
1972 52.8% ''135,377 42.8% ''109,745
1968 43.7% ''98,654 47.2% ''106,519
1964 35.5% ''77,916 64.3% ''140,978
1960 51.7% ''104,570 48.0% ''97,154

Cities and towns

Parks

Beaches

See also

External links

California counties | San Mateo County, California | San Francisco Bay Area

Сан Матео (област) | San Mateo County | Comté de San Mateo (Californie) | San Mateo County | Condado de San Mateo

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "San Mateo County, California".

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