Hillsborough, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·Hillsborough

San Mateo County · San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley · population 11,171

Small-town feel
View watchlist →
61
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Hillsborough stands

Home values up 7.6% in the last year.

Median home $5,422,424
1-year +7.6%
5-yr CAGR +3.1%
vs 5-yr peak -3.9%
Population -0.5%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-05$5422k$3455k$4259k$5062k$5866k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
25/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
15/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
32/100
Poor remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
84 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
54 · w22%
Distance from peak
67 · w18%
Population growth
38 · w16%
Home 10-yr CAGR
49 · w10%
Long thesis

Hillsborough has held up across the cycle: home values at $5,422,424 with +3.1% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Hillsborough's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Hillsborough

Hillsborough is a city in San Mateo County, California, with an estimated population of 11,171. It anchors the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area. The median home value in Hillsborough is $5,422,424 as of 2026-04, up 7.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.1% annual growth (-3.9% from the 5-year peak). The composite momentum score is 61 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

Bull case

Trend still working: prices up 7.6% in the last 12 months — buyers are still chasing inventory.
The data is the data: Hillsborough has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

Bear case

Flat or shrinking population: -0.5% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.
Premium territory: $5,422,424 median home is a high bar to clear — affordability constrains the buyer pool.
Thin housing market: small population means fewer transactions and slower resale. Liquidity risk on exit.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for San Mateo County right now.

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. San Mateo County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Hillsborough

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
60° / 41°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 60°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
258
~71% of year
Annual precip
22″ rain
8″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very high
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

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7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Hillsborough listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
65%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$91,500
California state median
Top industries (state-level)
TechEntertainmentAgriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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