'Widespread Agreement' San Mateo Lacks Affordable Housing: Survey

SAN MATEO, CA — San Mateo residents are in “widespread agreement” that there isn’t enough affordable housing in the city for low- and middle-income families, according to a poll of 775 residents conducted earlier this year.

The residents, selected at random from a database of San Mateo neighborhoods, overwhelmingly believed that there isn’t enough affordable housing in the city, where the median price of a home exceeds $1.6 million.

Around two-thirds of residents surveyed answered that there is “too little” affordable housing in the city, and affordable housing was by far the most common issue listed by respondents. The same percentage of residents also were fine with concentrating future housing in buildings up to 12 stories high.

Other areas for improvement listed by residents included addressing homelessness, managing traffic congestion, preserving open space, maintaining local streets and roads and public safety.

Among positives in the city, residents chose parks, recreational facilities and opportunities as the top option. Over 85 percent believe the quality of life in San Mateo is either “good” or “excellent,” up 5 percent from 2020. Over 77 percent approve of San Mateo as a place to shop and dine, and over two-thirds like San Mateo as a city to raise a family.

However, the statistics dip for approval of San Mateo as a place to recreate (59.2 percent) and to retire (37 percent).

The survey was conducted between Jan. 21 and Feb. 2. Respondents were recruited via email, text and phone and interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish. The margin of error for the survey was 3.5 percent.

Click here to view the results of the survey.