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Towns / California

Moss Beach, California

Moss Beach is an unincorporated community of about 2,700 people in San Mateo County, California. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 11.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, San Francisco, is about 33 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,683
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$1,123,100
San Mateo County prices up 6.7% since 2022
Household income
$99,680
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, San Francisco area
115.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Burlingame, CA
To San Francisco
33 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 15.6% above the U.S. average in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 11.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Half Moon Bay High, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close byPeninsula Medical Center in Burlingame, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Francisco is about 33 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Moss Beach meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$1,123,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 6.7%San Mateo County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$99,680U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$7,625 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
5%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
115.6U.S. average = 100 (the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 6.7% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area, not Moss Beach alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
2,683The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
47.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
28%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (23%); professional and business services (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (10%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
26%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Peninsula Medical Center, Burlingame, CA, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Moss Beach itself. The nearest public high school is Half Moon Bay High, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low
43°F
July average high
65°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
5 a year
Rain and melted snow
26 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
44 feet

Weather station: Half Moon Bay (4 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Peninsula Medical Center, San Mateo, San Francisco.

San Mateo County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Golden Gate National Recreation Arearight here
  • Fort Point National Historic Site20 miles
  • San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park21 miles
  • Muir Woods National Monument26 miles
  • Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park28 miles

Read about Moss Beach's history on Wikipedia.

Know Moss Beach?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Highlands, CA (unincorporated)2,450 people, 8 miles
  • Baywood Park, CA (unincorporated)1,580 people, 9 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.