Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,450.
The best of Highlands’ subject grades are an A+ for health and an A for incomes and schools; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. 80% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Highlands, against 29% in California’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 23 of California’s 1,064 towns score higher on health. Homes are expensive, about $2.0 million for a typical one and 14.7 times the San Francisco metro’s $136K median household income. 36% of the land in Highlands is conserved, above both California’s towns (4.3%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). X-100 is on the National Register of Historic Places. Highlands has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Highlands beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Highlands | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.7% | 10.6% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Highlands Elementary | K–5 | 379 |
| Hillcrest at Youth Services Center | 5–12 | 16 |
| Gateway Center | 6–12 | 11 |
Where Highlands’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Highlands is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2013 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Highlands. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaLevi's Stadium
Big draw18 mi MuseumUSS Hornet
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaChase Center
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaOracle Park
Big draw20 mi LandmarkLombard StreetAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Levi's Stadium: Matthew Roth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Hornet: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 · Chase Center: Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oracle Park: User Coasttocoast on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lombard Street: The original uploader was Y6y6y6 at English Wikipedia., Public domain
Highlands is unincorporated, so San Mateo County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Highlands.
11% of Highlands adults report frequent mental distress. Highlands beats the California average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 9.5% of Highlands adults report frequent physical distress.
| Highlands | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 29% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Highlands | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.7% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.7% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the San Mateo-Foster City school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 379 | A− |
| Hillcrest at Youth Services CenterLargest public high schoolGrades 5–12 | Grades 5–12 | 16 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
2.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Highlands’ trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is San Francisco Peninsula Watershed, at 364 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. San Francisco Peninsula Watershed | — | 364 |
| 2. Phoenix Garden | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 84% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median household income in Highlands is $250,000. Most working residents leave Highlands for work: only 2% work in town. 3.9% of residents live below the poverty line in Highlands.
| Highlands | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $250,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Highlands has warm winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 77°, January nights drop to 41° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
10 within 15 miles of the center of Highlands
About 9 of every 100 Highlands residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Unincorporated community Census-designated place in California, United States
Highlands or San Mateo Highlands is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in San Mateo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 2,359.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Highlands.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands | — | — | D | — | A | A+ |
| San Mateo | #141 | B | D− | C | A | A |
| Hillsborough | #29 | A− | D− | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| Baywood Park | — | — | D | — | A | A+ |
Highlands and Baywood Park have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Highlands and Baywood Park report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Highlands with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $2,000,000, 163% above the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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