Overview of the Current Economic Landscape
San Mateo’s economy is anchored by a diverse mix of industries, high household incomes, and a strong retail and culinary scene. Its central Peninsula location and unmatched connectivity to regional markets provide a competitive advantage. However, pressures from online retail, rising costs, and the shift to remote work require adaptive strategies to sustain long-term competitiveness.
The City spans approximately 11 square miles (excluding water areas) and features four prominent retail districts: Downtown, Hillsdale Shopping Center, Bay Meadows, and Bridgepointe Shopping Center.
Downtown San Mateo
Adjacent to Central Park, Downtown offers a vibrant mix of shops, restaurants, offices, housing, and a Century 12 movie theater. Well-known for its wide variety of global cuisines, Downtown is a pedestrian-friendly destination located along the Caltrain line and serves as a lively cultural and commercial center for the community and peninsula.
Hillsdale Shopping Center
A major regional mall featuring more than 100 stores, including anchors such as Trader Joe’s, Barnes & Noble, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and others, along with a diverse range of dining options. Conveniently accessible via Caltrain, Hillsdale is a key hub of retail activity on the Peninsula. Its latest expansion, North Block, adds additional shops like West Elm, Cinepolis, restaurants, and provides public gathering spaces for events and entertainment.
Bay Meadows
A modern, transit-oriented neighborhood blending residential, office, retail, and open space. Bay Meadows features restaurants, cafes, and services designed to serve both residents and visitors, with a strong emphasis on walkability, sustainability, and access to Caltrain. It is directly across Hillsdale Shopping Center. Major office users are Roblox, Survey Monkey, and Guidewire.
Bridgepointe Shopping Center
A major retail destination offering a wide selection of national retailers, specialty stores, and dining options. Its location near Highway 92 provides convenient regional access, attracting shoppers from Foster City, Halfmoon and East Bay.
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6 In addition to its four primary retail districts, San Mateo offers a variety of neighborhood shopping centers and retail nodes—such as 25th Avenue, Laurie Meadows, Laurelwood Shopping Center, Shoreview Shopping Center, Bel Mateo Plaza, Crystal Springs Village, 17th Avenue, and clusters along El Camino Real—that primarily serve the daily needs of surrounding neighborhoods.
Beyond retail, San Mateo has a diverse employment base anchored by fintech, gaming, healthcare, life sciences, and startups. Major employers—including Sony Interactive, Sutter Health, Kaiser, Franklin Templeton, and Roblox—contribute stability, innovation, and regional visibility. Retaining these industries is critical to sustaining jobs, tax revenues, and long-term economic resilience. Looking forward, San Mateo is also well- positioned to attract complementary sectors such as AI/data services, expanded life sciences, and cleantech, which align with broader Bay Area strengths and support future growth.
San Mateo’s competitive advantages include its walkable urban fabric, vibrant downtown, unique transit access with three Caltrain stations, strong civic engagement, and high-performing schools. At the same time, the City faces challenges common across the Bay Area: high operating costs, a perception of overregulation, and ongoing housing affordability pressures. Still, there are opportunities to diversify retail offerings, recruit innovative growth-stage companies, and expand cultural programming with support from the Downtown Association and Chamber.
San Mateo is also dealing with bigger trends that threaten local businesses, like more people shopping online instead of in stores, the long-term shift to remote work and smaller office needs, uncertainty around interest rates, and stronger competition from nearby cities and global markets. Finally, the ups and downs of the national and world economy make planning harder, showing why flexible and resilient strategies are so important.