San Mateo County History and Demographics
Yesterday I attended the first class in a once-per-month, ten month program sponsored jointly by the Redwood City, Belmont, and San Carlos Chambers of Commerce. It is called Leadership Redwood City/Belmont/San Carlos, and despite it’s not terribly creative name, it looks like an extremely interesting program. it was recommended to me by some members of the school board and city council.
It is a program designed for anyone who wants to learn more about the ins and outs of local civic issues, and each month’s class is devoted to a specific topic. Some of those include transportation, education, housing, economics, health care, city and county government, etc.
The first class yesterday was mostly an introduction, but I was impressed with the cross-section of attendees…including elected officials, legislative aides, community college leaders, educators, police and firemen, public works officials, youth program managers, and local businesses. I’m sure I’m not doing justice to the amazing work that a lot of these folks do.
I also got some interesting statistics. In San Mateo county, by 2010, 19% of the population will be 60 and over. By 2030, it is projected that 29% will be 60 and over, while the population of folks ages 25-49 is projected to go down by 10% during that same time. This will make for some interesting issues as it relates to housing, transportation, and the our tax base in the coming decades. More detailed demographic projections from the state can be found here.
Other interesting tidbits:
- 41.5% of all households in San Mateo county speak a second language at home
- South San Francisco is the most diverse city (ethnically speaking) in the County, while Portal Valley is the least.
We also got to see a fascinating movie produced by the County in 1939 to attract people to move here. Apparently San Mateo County was quite notorious from the late 19th Century all the way up to 1940 for being one of most corrupt counties in California. You can learn more at the San Mateo County History Musuem.
