Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety75#3,874/15,637
Economy78#3,483/15,631
Housing12#13,193/14,977
Health95#828/15,609
Healthcare95#712/15,650
Environment91#1,427/15,453
Education54#7,131/15,649
Infrastructure88#1,916/15,650
Community58#6,641/15,651
Leisure & amenities90#1,555/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Daly City, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “San Mateo County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Average weekly wage · high$4,121
100/100California $1,865United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSan Mateo County value
Public EV charging ports · high49.5 /10k
100/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergySan Mateo County value
Comfortable days · high51.7%
99/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSan Mateo County value
Adult obesity · low20.1%
99/100California 30.4%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Life expectancy · high84.2 yrs
99/100California 79.7 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Mateo County value
Premature death · low3,904 /100k
99/100California 6,570 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Mateo County value

Weaknesses

Home price to income ratio · high9.0×
2/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Loneliness · high38.0%
8/100California 37.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Rent-burdened households · high57.7%
8/100California 55.3%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Students per teacher · high19.9×
8/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSan Mateo County value
Rent as share of income · high34.1%
12/100California 32.8%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Natural hazard risk · high88.6
12/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencySan Mateo County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Public transit commutersWorsening
20.4% (2015-2019) → 11.8% (2020-2024)
−8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
New homes permittedImproving
1.7 /1k (2021) → 2.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+35%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$94,550 (2015-2019) → $123,547 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
89.1% (2015-2019) → 94.7% (2020-2024)
+5.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
7.6% (2015-2019) → 10.0% (2020-2024)
+2.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
8.3× (2015-2019) → 9.0× (2020-2024)
+8.9%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Daly City, California improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Commute−2.0 min30.8 min → 28.8 min
Household income+31%$94,550 → $123,547
Broadband+5.6 points89.1% → 94.7%

Declined3

Transit use−8.6 points20.4% → 11.8%
Inequality+0.0310.406 → 0.437
Price / income+0.7×8.3× → 9.0×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Daly City, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.8 min2015-2019	28.8 min2020-2024	−2.0 min	Improved	70%
Bachelor's degree or higher	37.7%2015-2019	38.9%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Broadband subscriptions	89.1%2015-2019	94.7%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Improved	36%
Child poverty rate	7.6%2015-2019	10.0%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Effective property tax rate	0.64%2015-2019	0.58%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
High school diploma or higher	86.9%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Home price to income ratio	8.3×2015-2019	9.0×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	34%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4062015-2019	0.4372020-2024	+0.031	Declined	26%
Median household income	$94,5502015-2019	$123,5472020-2024	+31%	Improved	57%
Poverty rate	7.6%2015-2019	7.7%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Public transit commuters	20.4%2015-2019	11.8%2020-2024	−8.6 points	Declined	3%
Rent as share of income	34.1%2015-2019	34.1%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Rent-burdened households	56.1%2015-2019	57.7%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Unemployment rate	5.1%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.8%2015-2019	6.9%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	34%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Daly City, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Daly City, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Daly City, California itself moved −2 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

101,964 residents (±54)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 70–79 men (+1.2 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

101,964 residents (±54)

Daly City, California
California share

White12%12,144
Black2.5%2,568
Hispanic or Latino20%20,897

Education

78,029 residents (±1,136)

Daly City, California
California share

No high school diploma12%9,331
High school or GED21%16,193
Some college21%16,100

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

32,262 households (±786)

Daly City, California
California share

Under $25k8.9%2,885
$25k–50k10%3,305
$50k–75k11%3,391
$75k–100k11%3,663
$100k–150k20%6,316
$150k–200k15%4,904
$200k or more24%7,798

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+10.0 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

32,262 households (±786)

Daly City, California
California share

Own60%19,424
Rent40%12,838

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

12,161 households (±759)

Daly City, California
California share

Under $7503.3%†402
$750–1,0001.9%†237
$1,000–1,5007.3%†

Home values

19,424 homes (±865)

Daly City, California
California share

Under $150k3.9%749
$150k–250k1.6%†305
$250k–400k0.9%†170

Age of homes

35,922 homes (±681)

Daly City, California
California share

2010 or later2.5%896
2000–20093.6%1,303
1980–199916%5,587

Size of homes

35,922 homes (±681)

Daly City, California
California share

Studio7.1%2,537
1 bedroom17%6,183
2 bedrooms22%7,997

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

55,523 workers (±1,324)

Daly City, California
California share

Drive alone55%30,796
Carpool12%6,793
Public transit12%6,571
Walk2.4%†1,356
Bike0.4%†201
Work from home15%8,461
Other2.4%1,345

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+12.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

47,062 workers (±1,377)

Daly City, California
California share

Under 15 min16%7,571
15–29 min39%18,250
30–44 min26%12,031

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of San Mateo County, the county holding most of Daly City's residents.

San Mateo County has 21,569 employer establishments, 294 for every 10,000 residents (1.18× the US rate of 248; 1.12× California's), with 477,938 paid employees at an average annual pay of $183,393. The Census Bureau also counts 73,332 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 21,569; 73,332 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 294; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 477,938
Average annual pay: $183,393; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of San Mateo County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,741	23.7	1.14×About typical	24,548	$115,929	3,467
Restaurants and other eating places	1,728	23.5	1.28×More than typical	27,893	$34,526	307
Lessors of real estate	1,350	18.4	1.49×More than typical	5,790	$99,632	7,953
Specialty trade contractors	1,095	14.9	0.96×About typical	12,876	$97,659	2,128
Construction of buildings	853	11.6	1.54×More than typical	7,010	$113,273	1,808
Management, scientific and technical consulting	840	11.4	1.71×More than typical	4,960	$148,773	5,608
Full-service restaurants	801	10.9	1.42×More than typical	13,954	$39,389	110
Computer systems design and related services	775	10.6	2.44×More than typical	12,950	$199,271	1,502
Limited-service restaurants	633	8.6	1.08×About typical	9,987	$31,038	127
Services to buildings and dwellings	579	7.9	1.17×About typical	7,650	$46,438	3,932
Real estate agents and brokers	518	7.1	1.45×More than typical	1,438	$117,106	1,965
Offices of dentists	515	7	1.74×More than typical	3,283	$64,102	208

Rank places for an industry Open San Mateo County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 733,949 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $143.7K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Daly City, California: $1.41 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $143.7K; +449% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.41; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Environmental Protection Agency$143.7K100%

Top recipients

ALTA SCIENCE & ENGINEERING INC$421.1K100%
APTIM FEDERAL SERVICES, LLC-$277.4K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

1.3MFY2017
780.4KFY2018
1.1MFY2019
1.8MFY2020
741.9KFY2021
287.4KFY2022
29.2KFY2023
85.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$421.1K100%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Daly City, California

ARCHITECT-ENGINEER ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, BROWN&BRYANT SUPERFUND SITE REMEDIAL INVESTIGATION/FEASIBILITY STUDY$1.6M
APTIM FEDERAL SERVICES, LLC· San Mateo County, CA· Construction & real property· Mar 16, 2017 – Feb 6, 2026· 0046
R9 HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR TRIBES$487.4K
ALTA SCIENCE & ENGINEERING INC· San Mateo County, CA· Facilities & utilities· Jul 15, 2026 – Sep 1, 2026· 68HE0926F0079

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Daly City, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Daly City, California's figures are part of those of San Mateo County, CA ($833.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Daly City is mostly in San Mateo County.

See federal money in San Mateo County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Daly City, California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

San Mateo County92100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA83

Other cities and towns in San Mateo County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0617918

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends