2025

Cities in San Mateo County, CA ranked by White Population

This list ranks the 20 cities in San Mateo County based on their White population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these cities over the past five years.
Updated Jan 24, 2025

Top 5 cities with the largest White population in San Mateo County

View All
  • 1
    San Mateo
    White population in San Mateo is 55,542
    46.95% of San Mateo population is White
  • 2
    Redwood City
    White population in Redwood City is 47,883
    49.56% of Redwood City population is White
  • 3
    Daly City
    White population in Daly City is 25,908
    22.79% of Daly City population is White
  • 4
    Pacifica
    White population in Pacifica is 25,427
    58.29% of Pacifica population is White
  • 5
    South San Francisco
    White population in South San Francisco is 24,052
    32.67% of South San Francisco population is White

List of 20 cities in San Mateo County, CA by White Population

View Methodology
Rank by White Population
City
White Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total San Mateo County White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 San Mateo 55,542 46.95% 16.01%
2 Redwood City 47,883 49.56% 13.81%
3 Daly City 25,908 22.79% 7.47%
4 Pacifica 25,427 58.29% 7.33%
5 South San Francisco 24,052 32.67% 6.93%
6 Menlo Park 22,429 60.40% 6.47%
7 San Carlos 21,501 63.14% 6.20%
8 20,025 40.77% 5.77%
9 19,512 58.50% 5.63%
10 16,628 54.38% 4.79%
11 13,538 37.44% 3.90%
12 10,280 31.26% 2.96%
13 9,719 39.16% 2.80%
14 9,687 70.30% 2.79%
15 7,089 57.66% 2.04%
16 5,415 70.47% 1.56%
17 4,775 84.62% 1.38%
18 3,874 81.44% 1.12%
19 2,797 51.16% 0.81%
20 770 44.15% 0.22%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks cities in San Mateo County, CA by their White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines White Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as White, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as White alone, while others identify as White along with another race (such as White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and White .
  • We’ve used the “White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as White alone or in combination in cities. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as White .
  2. % of Total San Mateo County White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. White population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small White populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Cities that don’t have any reported White population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where White populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.