East San Mateo is a neighborhood of 14,200 residents in San Mateo, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is East San Mateo in San Mateo safe?
Crime in East San Mateo is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 70% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than East San Mateo. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A- against C+. San Mateo as a whole grades B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within East San Mateo run from A- to B-, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 696 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
30% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than East San Mateo as a whole, and 70% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. East San Mateo scores 696.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in East San Mateo, San Mateo, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in East San Mateo in San Mateo, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in East San Mateo
Car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In San Mateo as a whole, 63% of reported car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks, against 27% nationally.
How East San Mateo compares within San Mateo
Every part of East San Mateo where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across East San Mateo run from A- to B-; every part of East San Mateo has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
East San Mateo has less crime than 1 of the 11 neighborhoods in San Mateo. It covers much of the East San Mateo and Downtown San Mateo areas.
Is crime going up in San Mateo?
Reported violent crime in San Mateo as a whole has held about steady since 2019, within 8%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.6 to 2.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 30%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
San MateoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve San Mateo. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, San Mateo
Violent, US
2016
-9%
+4%
2017
+0%
+4%
2018
+6%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
+4%
2021
+14%
+6%
2022
+16%
+5%
2023
+31%
+2%
2024
-8%
-4%
Crime rates and types in East San Mateo
CrimeGrade™ estimates East San Mateo has about 23 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 37% less than the US as a whole and 28% less than San Mateo as a whole.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in East San Mateo, about 44% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in San Mateo
The San Mateo Police Department polices East San Mateo; these figures cover San Mateo as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In San Mateo as a whole, 47% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 50% of them, against 18% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (47%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (63%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How East San Mateo compares with nearby neighborhoods
East San Mateo has more crime than 9 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. Beresford and Baywood-Aragon have the least crime nearby.
Empty homes, transit and walkability in East San Mateo
Two things set East San Mateo apart: it has 1.5% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 10 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet burglary and vandalism run higher here than that would suggest.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.1.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 97% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for East San Mateo: C- (25 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 95% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault.C (35 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 50% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.10 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 89% of residents of US city neighborhoods
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs East San Mateo
Crime costs East San Mateo about $969 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 20% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $9.9 million a year, or $698 per resident.
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in East San Mateo means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. East San Mateo is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in East San Mateo, San Mateo, CA average a SchoolGrade of B: 43% of students test proficient, against 41% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in East San Mateo on SchoolGrade
