States · California · San Mateo County

Highlands, California.

A community in San Mateo County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see San Mateo County’s.

Living in Highlands, San Mateo County, California

Highlands, in San Mateo County, had 2,359 people in the 2020 census. 85% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 15% are rented. Unemployment in San Mateo County was 4.0% in August 2026, and the county had 1.2% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in professional services, then schools and health care.

People 2,359 in the 2020 census; median age 46.3
Household income Too few homes in Highlands for the Census survey to measure.
Unemployment 4.0% San Mateo County, August 2026; 4.3% a year before
Homes 85% lived in by their owners; 15% rented
  • 815households
  • 80%of adults have a degree
  • 4%below the poverty line
  • 24 mintypical commute
  • 36%work from home

What residents work in

  • Professional and business services29%
  • Schools, hospitals and social care18%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment12%
  • Banks, insurance and property10%
  • Manufacturing7%
  • Media and telecoms6%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. San Mateo County had 411,346 jobs in 2025, 1.2% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 59° and 43°; warmest in September, 66° and 51° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° J F M A M J J A S 66° 51° O N D 59° 43°
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 59° and 43°; warmest in September, 66° and 51° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° J F M A M J J A S 66° 51° O N D 59° 43°

Coldest in December, with highs near 59° and lows near 43°; warmest in September, with highs near 66° and lows near 51°. About 26 inches of rain a year, and little or no snow.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Half Moon Bay weather station, 6 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in San Mateo County

  1. United Continental Holdings Inc SFO12,939
  2. Genentech SSFCommercial physical and biological research10,773
  3. ChildCare CareersHelp supply services3,784
  4. ZooxCab services2,476
  5. City & County of San Francisco/Passenger air transportation, scheduled1,821
  6. EquinixLessors of other real estate property; data centers1,794
  7. Alaska AirlinesScheduled air passenger transportation1,654
  8. Mills Peninsula Medical CenterGeneral hospital1,438FTE

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 505 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 104,142 people in all across the county; Highlands has none of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. EarthquakesRelatively high

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Highlands’ census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively moderate. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on San Mateo County.