Boards and
Commissions
Demographic
Survey Results
March 3, 2025
San Mateo City Clerk’s Department
Overview
• Methodology
• Data Sources
• Findings
• Feedback and
Questions
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Feedback
Requested
1. Provide feedback on the 2025
demography study results
2. Provide direction on ongoing
surveying and outreach
3 Methodology
• The purpose of the Boards and
Commissions (B&C) Demographic
Survey is to capture data about how
our city’s advisory bodies reflect the
demographics of the City of San
Mateo's population at large.
• This survey was compared to a
similar survey done in 2017 and
2023.
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Methodology
• This year’s B&C survey was
constructed in a similar format
from previous B&C surveys and
sent via Survey Monkey.
• Data from the 2020
Census and 2021 American
Community Survey was used to
provide comparative analysis.
• 2017 and 2023 B&C survey data
were used to identify trends.
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Survey
Evolution
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2017
• Duration of residency
• Race, language, gender
• Education, age
• Housing, income
2023
• Focus: Inclusive language and
privacy
• New question on age of dependents
2025
• Expanded response
options
• Youth Commissioners
Outreach and
Recruitment:
Annual Recruitment Process: The City Clerk’s Office conducts recruitment each spring for scheduled vacancies and fills unscheduled openings throughout the year using digital outreach, flyers, and community engagement.
2024 Outreach & Recruitment Success Plan: A strategic initiative to enhance recruitment efforts by setting clear priorities, new strategies, and a messaging framework.
Key Objectives: Increase the number of applicants, broaden the applicant pool to include underrepresented communities, and enhance public awareness of civic participation opportunities.
Targeted Outreach Initiatives: Partnered with organizations like NAACP San Mateo, Taulama for Tongans, labor groups,
neighborhood associations, and places of worship to reach diverse communities.
Improving Accessibility: Translated recruitment materials to address language barriers and engaged youth through student leadership programs and the Generation Voter initiative. 7 of 21
Insights from
Applicant
Data
Board or Commission
Number of Applicants
2021 2022 2023 2024
Sustainability and Infrastructure
Commission
9 8 - 6
Library Board 10 - 8 10
Community Relations
Commission
6 5 - 9
Park and Recreation Commission
4 - 4 15
Planning Commission 6 - - 12
Senior Advisory Commission 3 0 3 7
Personnel Board 4 - 2 -
Measure S Oversight Committee
- - 5 -
Mosquito and Vector Control
District
- - - 1
Total Applications 41 13 22 60
District
Representation
in Applicants
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District Applicants
Percent of
Total
Applicants
1 16 27%
2 11 19%
3 7 12%
4 13 22%
5 12 22%
Total 60
Survey Results
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Duration of Residence
in San Mateo
Findings:
• From 2017 to 2023 the average
dropped to 20 years, with only
70% living in San Mateo for
over a decade.
• In 2025, the average increased
to 24.5 years, with 77%
residing in San Mateo for over
a decade, and 46% residing for
over the average (24.5 years)
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Age of San Mateo
Board and Commission
Members
Findings:
• Largest age group:
65 and older (32.7 %)
• Underrepresentation of
individuals aged 44 or
under
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What Race/Ethnicity do
you most identify with?
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0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
American
Indian and
Alaska Native
Native
Hawaiian and
Other Pacific
Islander
Black or
African
American
Other Hispanic or
Latino
Asian White
What Race/
Ethnicity do you most identify with?
2023 2017 San Mateo Population 2025
•2025 survey continues to show
underrepresentation of people of
color on City Boards and
Commissions, consistent with
2017 and 2023 findings.
2025 Survey Responses:
•43 responses received for this
question:
•79.5% identify as White
•14% identify as Asian
•2% identify as other
Which statement best
describes your current
living arrangement:
rent or own?
Findings:
• Renters remain under-represented.
• 10.8% of boards and commissioners
rent or live with parents.
• 4.4% are identified as other living
arrangements
• There continues to be an over-
representation of homeowners in
2025.
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0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00%
San Mateo Population
2023
2025
51.90%
82.93%
84.78%
48.10%
17.07%
10.87%
Owner-Occupied Housing Units Renter-Occupied Housing Units What is your approximate
average household
income?
Findings:
• 57% reported an average of
$150,000 or higher.
• The median household
income in San Mateo County
is $149,907.
• In the 2025 survey 23.91%
reported over $300,000.
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2.44%
2.44%
4.88%
4.88%
4.88%
2.44%
7.32%
7.32%
39.02%
2.17%
4.35%
2.17%
0%
6.52%
6.52%
6.52%
4.35%
32.60%
0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00% 40.00% 45.00% $0 to $24,999
$25,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $74,999
$75,000 to $99,999
$100,000 to $124,999
$125,000 to $149,999
$150,000 to $174,999
$175,000 to $199,999
$200,000 and up
What is your approximate average household
income before taxes?
2025 2023
Do you/your family speak a
language other than English
at home?
Findings:
• A smaller proportion of
commissioners speak a language
other than English at home as
compared to the general population
and previous surveys.
• In 2025, 22.2% speak a language
other than English.
These languages include:
Farsi, Dutch, Korean, Mandarin, French,
Tongan, Danish, Hebrew, and Italian.
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Do you have dependents
living at home?
Findings:
• 31% have dependents living in
their home, which is
approximately 7% points higher
than the number of households in
San Mateo with dependents (U.S
Census 2023).
• A reason could be that the Census
data only lists households with
children under 18, and does not
keep track of other dependents,
such as seniors, people with
disabilities, or simply living at
home.
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What is your
Gender Identity?
Findings:
• 2025
• Female 56.8%
• Male 40.9%
• Non-Binary 2.3%
• The gender disparity between 2023
and 2025 has narrowed.
• San Mateo’s overall population
• Female 52.5%
• Higher female representation
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Source: 2021 American Community Survey S0101 AGE AND SEX
31.71%
40.91%
52.5%
60.98%
56.82%
47.5%
7.32%
2.3% 0%
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 70
2023 2025 San MateoWhat is your Gender Identity?
Male Female No Answer/Non-Binary
What is the highest degree
or level of school you have
completed?
Findings:
Members are highly educated
• 66.7% post-graduate
• 8.91% decrease from
2023
• 33.3% bachelor’s / associate
degree
• 8.9% increase from 2023
• Youth commissioners included
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75.61%
19.51%
4.88%
0% 0%
66.7%
28.9%
4.44% 0% 2.2%
25.9%
32.3%
21.3%
12.4%
8.1%
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 70
80 Graduate or
Professional Degree
Bachelor's Degree Some College or
Associate's Degree
High School
Graduate or
Equivalent
Less than High
School Graduate
What is the highest degree or level of school you
have completed?
2023 2025 San Mateo Population
Summary Trend Comparison 2017-2023-2025
20 Duration of Residence in
San Mateo: Slight increase in
length of residency in the
City of San Mateo. Age: Representation of 65+ age range slight decrease from 2023. However, an
increase for the 55+ age range. The 25-
44 age range showed a decrease and still
is underrepresented.
Race: Continues to show less
representation from people of
color.
Housing Status: There was a
6.2% decrease in renters from
2023 to 2025.
Income: Higher income categories
are consistently the most
represented, holding at over 50%.
Language: The proportion of
commissioners who speak a
language other than English at
home decreased by 20.4% from
2023.
Dependents: There was a slight 3%
decrease in the number of
commissioners reporting
dependents living in their home
compared to 2023.
In which district do
you reside?
• City Council members suggested the
demography survey should
track district residency in further
efforts to see how well our 10
advisory bodies reflected the
population at-large.
• Staff were able to provide this
datapoint using existing
available information.
21 In which district do
you reside?
Findings:
• Almost half of
all members reside in
District 1.
• Similar results in Districts
2, 3, and 5.
• Increased representation
in District 4.
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47.92%
10.42%
14.58%
6.25%
20.83%
38.00%
8.00%
16.00% 16.00%
22.00%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5
District Representation of Boards and Commissions
2023 2025
Next Steps
• 2025 Outreach Strategies:
Using survey insights to enhance engagement with
underrepresented communities through bilingual materials, new community partnerships, and a "Spotlight on Commissioners" video campaign for Spring recruitment.
• Spring 2025 Recruitment Updates:
Council updated Rules and Procedures in 2024, reducing
eligibility list duration from 12 months to 6 months to create more opportunities for applicants. Ten commissioners will reach the end of their term and may seek reappointment.
• Council Reappointment Process:
Rules and Procedures allow for automatic appointment of commissioners eligible for reappointment AND requiring all commissioners to reapply and interview for another term. • Civic Arts Committee:
Council directed staff to review introducing term limits for Civic Arts Committee, this will be return to Council in the form of a Ordinance Introduction
23 Feedback
Requested
1. Provide feedback on the 2025
demography study results
2. Provide direction on ongoing
surveying and outreach
24