Our new Sustainability Dashboard captures performance on 30 sustainability metrics for all 20 cities in San Mateo County and the county’s unincorporated areas in 11 categories: Agriculture and Food, Built Environment, Energy, Climate Action, Ecology and Biodiversity, Economy, Health and Well-Being, Social Equity, Transportation, Waste Management and Water.

Data often lags behind the year it’s available, and the metrics shown represent results tallied in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The sources of data are shown on each data display and on each spreadsheet. Realizing that local jurisdictions have made progress since then, we have offered all cities the opportunity to include a short narrative to explain results and provide some context. We look forward to comparing progress when we collect data again.

Comparative Performance

Here are graphs showing sustainability progress by jurisdictions in San Mateo County on key performance indicators. Click on the arrows at the far left and far right to see all the graphs. Data for these graphs may be viewed in the “Data and Narratives for Individual Jurisdictions” section below.

  • Affordable Housing* (2015-2020)
  • Commuting (2016)
  • Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers on Municipal Land (2021)
  • Sustainability Manager Staffing (2021)
  • Tree Cities (2022)
  • Overall Waste (landfill, organics and recycling) Diversion Rate (2019)
  • Pounds of Waste Per Capita Per Year, to Landfill, to Organics Stream and Recycled (2019)
  • Water Use in Gallons Per Person Per Day (2019)

Affordable Housing - Very Low Income

RHNA Requirements* Met for Very Low Income Housing (%)

Affordable Housing - Low Income

RHNA Requirements* Met for Low Income Housing (%)

Commute Time

Average Commute Time (min)

Commute on Public Transit

Take Public Transit to Work (%)

Work from Home

Residents Who Work From Home (%)

Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers

# Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers in City or County Owned Buildings and Parking Lots (Per 1,000 people)

Sustainability Staff

Sustainability Coordinator or Manager (FTE)

Tree Cities

Waste Diversion

Overall Waste (Landfill, Organics and Recycling) Diversion Rate

Waste Per Capita

Waste Per Capita Per Year, to Landfill, to Organics Stream and Recycled (lbs)

Water Use Per Person

Water Use Per Person Per Day (Gallons)

*See more information regarding RHNA requirements in the Interactive Graphs – Affordable Housing section below.

Interactive Graphs

Here are some interactive data visualizations showing metrics for all jurisdictions for affordable housing, transportation and water usage. You can click on each jurisdiction to see the data.

NOTE: These graphs are best viewed on a desktop computer.

Affordable Housing

The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) is state-mandated assessment of future housing needs for all income levels within a region, conducted every eight years. Every jurisdiction (city or unincorporated county) within the region must plan for its RHNA allocation in the Housing Element of its General Plan. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), a regional planning agency incorporating local governments in the nine Bay Area counties, including San Mateo County, offers a variety of tools and resources via its Regional Housing Technical Assistance (RHTA) Program to support jurisdictions as they complete their Housing Element updates. You can contact ABAG directly at housingta@bayareametro.gov to learn more.

For more information about Housing Element compliance incentives as well as noncompliance consequences, please see this one-page document from ABAG.

Transportation

Toggle the choices at the bottom of each graph to view data for different cities and different commute strategies.

Water

Data and Narratives for Individual Jurisdictions

Here are the results for all jurisdictions in San Mateo County, including their narratives (when provided).

Jurisdictions:

Key Terms and Abbreviations:

  • PV – Solar photovoltaic energy system
  • Net zero building – A building with net zero energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy consumed on an annual basis is equal to the amount of renewable energy created onsite (or in some cases, obtained from renewable energy sources offsite)
  • Reach code – A local building code that is more advanced or enhanced than the California State required building code
  • EV – Electric vehicle
  • FTE – Full Time Equivalent (a unit of measure equal to one full-time employee)
  • Climate Action Plan – A comprehensive road map that outlines the specific activities a jurisdiction will undertake to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Environmentally Sustainable Purchasing Policy – A policy that requires the inclusion of environmental considerations in purchasing decisions, to increase the use of environmentally preferable products and services
  • Gray water – Wastewater from bathtubs, showers, bathroom sinks, clothes washers, and laundry tubs, which can be used for landscape irrigation