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. It is home to the headquarters of YouTube.
Geography The city is located between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to San Francisco International Airport to the east and Pacifica to the West. Golden Gate National Cemetery is within its city limits, bordering the southern border of South San Francisco. It is approximately south of Downtown San Francisco.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all 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 (formerly the U.S. Weather Bureau) has maintained a weather station at the nearby San Francisco International Airport (formerly Mills Field). 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 (according to observations by Gayle Rucker for the Army Corps of Engineers and Robert E. Nylund for the U.S. Geological Survey from 1962 to 1985). 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.http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ca7769 ; http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/clilcd.pl?ca23234
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +San Bruno city, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)18,82214,78112,98246.86%35.95%29.57%Black or African American alone (NH)7538416991.87%2.05%1.59%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)10389750.26%0.22%0.17%Asian alone (NH)7,39310,22813,92718.41%24.88%31.72%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)1,1181,3421,1262.78%3.26%2.56%Other race alone (NH)2112604440.53%0.63%1.01%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)2,0791,5572,3735.18%3.79%5.40%Hispanic or Latino (any race)9,68612,01612,28224.12%29.23%27.97%Total40,16541,11443,908 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, San Bruno had a population of 43,908. The population density was . The median age was 39.6 years. 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% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.9 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas. 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 in San Bruno, of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.2% were married-couple households, 7.0% were cohabiting-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74, and there were 10,670 families (66.9% of all households).
There were 16,622 housing units at an average density of . Of these, 15,938 (95.9%) were occupied: 55.5% were owner-occupied and 44.5% were occupied by renters. The remaining 4.1% were vacant; the homeowner vacancy rate was 0.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 14,822 33.8% Black or African American 771 1.8% American Indian and Alaska Native 458 1.0% Asian 14,148 32.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 1,156 2.6% Some other race 6,479 14.8% Two or more races 6,074 13.8%
2023 ACS estimates 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 census 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 (49.5%) White, 942 (2.3%) African American, 246 (0.6%) Native American, 10,423 (25.4%) Asian, 1,377 (3.3%) Pacific Islander, 5,075 (12.3%) from other races, and 2,701 (6.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12,016 persons (29.2%).
The Census reported that 40,716 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 316 (0.8%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 82 (0.2%) were institutionalized.
There were 14,701 households, out of which 4,831 (32.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,364 (50.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,830 (12.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 850 (5.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 764 (5.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 123 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,660 households (24.9%) were made up of individuals, and 1,119 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77. There were 10,044 families (68.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.31.
The population was spread out, with 8,632 people (21.0%) under the age of 18, 3,577 people (8.7%) aged 18 to 24, 12,038 people (29.3%) aged 25 to 44, 11,653 people (28.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,214 people (12.7%) 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 (60.8%) were owner-occupied, and 5,763 (39.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%. 24,712 people (60.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 16,004 people (38.9%) lived in rental housing units. Demographic profile 2010 Total Population 41,114 - 100.0% One Race 38,413 - 93.4% Not Hispanic or Latino 29,098 - 70.8% White alone 14,781 - 36.0% Black or African American alone 841 - 2.0% American Indian and Alaska Native alone 89 - 0.2% Asian alone 10,228 - 24.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 1,342 - 3.3% Some other race alone 260 - 0.6% Two or more races alone 1,557 - 3.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 12,016 - 29.2%
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.Welcome to the City of San Bruno, California . Sanbruno.ca.gov. Retrieved on July 21, 2013. 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 (52%) are registered Democrats, 3,051 (13.4%) are registered Republicans, and 6,993 (30.1%) 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 (one each indoor and outdoor), 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.