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.

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 (86.3% of all households).

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 (93.7%) 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 (66.3%) White, 42 (0.4%) African American, 7 (0.1%) Native American, 3,044 (28.1%) Asian, 23 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 109 (1.0%) from other races, and 422 (3.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 373 people (3.4%).

The census reported that 10,825 people (100% of the population) lived in households, as no other type of residence exists in Hillsborough.

There were 3,693 households, 1,445 (39.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,804 (75.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 220 (6.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 114 (3.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 66 (1.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 34 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 451 households (12.2%) were one person and 309 (8.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.93. There were 3,138 families (85.0% of households); the average family size was 3.18.

The age distribution was 2,877 people (26.6%) under the age of 18, 466 people (4.3%) aged 18 to 24, 1,600 people (14.8%) aged 25 to 44, 3,667 people (33.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,215 people (20.5%) 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 (94.5%) were owner-occupied and 203 (5.5%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%. 10,206 people (94.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 619 people (5.7%) 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 (33.8%) were registered Democrats, 2,337 (30%) were registered Republicans, and 2,522 (32.3%) 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.

* The Nueva School, a nationally recognized independent school serving gifted and talented students.
* Crocker Middle School, a public middle school, located on Ralston Avenue, named after William H. Crocker,
* West Elementary School, a public elementary school, located on Barbara Way.
* South Elementary School, a public elementary, at 303 El Cerrito.
* North Elementary School, a public elementary, at 545 Eucalyptus Avenue.
* Bridge School (California), a school serving students with physical and speech impairments.
* Crystal Springs Uplands School, a college preparatory middle and high school.

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.

* Arthur and Mona Hofmann House – Designed by Richard Neutra and is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
* Carolands — Built by Harriet Pullman Carolan, heiress to the Pullman railway. At 65,000 ft² (6,000 m²), it is one of the largest residences in the United States and is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
* Skyfarm — Built by William H. Crocker, namesake of Crocker middle school, and grandson of Charles Crocker of California's Big Four railroad magnates. Designed by Arthur Brown, Jr., and opened in 1930. Home since the 1960s to The Nueva School.
* Tobin Clark Estate – Originally designed by the noted architect David Adler for Mrs. Celia Tobin Clark, one of the Peninsula's most prominent families of the early 20th Century
* Uplands — Built by Templeton Crocker, as a gift to his fiancée Helène Irwin, heiress to the C&H Sugar family fortune. Designed by Willis Polk; opened in 1912, with interior of 35,000 ft² (3,250 m²). Home since the 1950s to Crystal Springs Uplands School.
* Western White House — Commissioned by George Randolph Hearst, son of William Randolph Hearst and now privately owned. It, like Hearst Castle, was designed by Julia Morgan.
* Junípero Serra statue — Overlooking Highway 280, the statue was built in honor of Father Junípero Serra.
* Sidney Bazett Residence — Designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1939, the Bazett Residence is a fine example from his " Usonian" period. Completed in 1940, the house remains largely in its original condition. Another notable feature of the house is that one of its former occupants was Joseph Eichler, whose tenancy in the house is said to have greatly influenced the eventual designs used in his successful housing developments of the 1950s-1960s.
* ′ The Flintstone House′ (a.k.a. the Adobe/Dome/Bubble/Marshmallow/Gumby house) — designed by architect William Nicholson and built in 1976 using sprayed concrete over balloon-shaped forms, now painted a deep/burnt orange color reminiscent of the Golden Gate Bridge's distinctive hue.

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 (Köppen climate classification Csa), 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

* Roxy Bernstein – sports broadcaster
* Stefano Bonomo – soccer player
* Toni Breidinger – NASCAR driver
* Pat Burrell – baseball player
*Jason Calacanis – Internet entrepreneur
* Alyssa Campanella – Miss California USA 2011
* Sam Chavez – professional golfer
* Moon Fun Chin - aviator-businessman, World War II ''Hump'' pilot
* Alden W. Clausen – former president of The World Bank; former chairman, president and CEO of Bank of America
* Jenny Craig – weight loss guru, founder of Jenny Craig, Inc.
* William H. Crocker – founder and president of Crocker National Bank, member of committee that built San Francisco Opera House and Veterans Building
* Bing Crosby – singer, actor, raised his second family in Hillsborough
* Nathaniel Crosby – U.S. Amateur golf champion, son of Bing Crosby
* Eric Dane – actor
* Andre Ethier – baseball player
* Kathy Garver – actress
* Marjorie Gestring – diver, youngest Olympian to win gold medal
* Michael Grimes – managing director at Morgan Stanley
* Patty Hearst – heiress of Hearst newspaper fortune
* William Randolph Hearst I – newspaper publisher, politician, builder of Hearst Castle
* Rickey Henderson – Hall of Fame baseball player
* Charles B. Johnson – former chairman at Franklin Templeton Investments
* Jimmy Kimmel – comedian
* Erik Kislik – Chess International Master
* Brigitte Lin – Taiwanese actress
* Jeremy Lin – basketball player
* Phyllis Welch MacDonald – actress
* Greg Maddux – Hall of Fame baseball pitcher
* Imelda Marcos – former first lady of the Philippines
* David Marquardt – co-founder of venture capital firm August Capital
* Timothy Francis McCarthy – former President of Charles Schwab Corporation
* Sidney Mobell – artist and jeweler
* Larry Probst – chairman and former CEO of Electronic Arts (EA)
* Ryan Roslansky – CEO of LinkedIn
* Alicia Silverstone – actress
* J.T. Snow – baseball player
* Jackie Speier – former U.S. Representative
* Lucio Tan – businessman
* Bud Tribble – vice president of software technology at Apple Inc., among founders of NeXT, Inc.
* Marshall Tuck – politician
* Troy Tulowitzki – baseball player
* George Tupou V – former King of Tonga
* Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita – Tongan princess, only daughter of former King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
* Siosa'ia Ma'ulupekotofa Tuita – Tongan diplomat and Consul General of San Francisco, husband of Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita
* Caspar Weinberger – Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Health, Education & Welfare
* Martin Yan – chef, star of TV show "Yan Can Cook," lives with family in Hillsborough

Further reading

* Dwyer, Michael Middleton. ''Carolands''. Redwood City, CA: San Mateo County Historical Association, 2006.

References

External links

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1910 establishments in California
Populated places in San Mateo County, California
Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area
Incorporated cities and towns in California