daly city · san mateo county
Daly City Real Estate & Neighborhood Guide
Daly City sits at the north end of San Mateo County on the San Francisco line, between the Pacific and San Bruno Mountain. It began at the top of the hill on Mission Street, by the dairy of its namesake, John Daly; the land there was subdivided after the 1906 earthquake and fire, and the city incorporated in 1911. Henry Doelger's Westlake, annexed in 1948, began a post-war build-out that continued through St. Francis Heights and Serramonte; the General Plan dates the Bayshore annexation to 1963. The 2020 census counted 104,901 residents and 33,444 housing units on about 7.6 square miles: small-lot grids along Mission Street, tract houses over garages on the western and southern hills, and condo and apartment groups.
population, 2020 census
land area
zip codes
incorporated
neighborhoods
Daly City neighborhoods
Our nine Daly City guides follow the city's own planning areas, grouped here by side of town. West of I-280, in ZIP 94015, are Westlake, Henry Doelger's post-war tract around Westlake Shopping Center and Westlake Park; Westlake Palisades & the Skyline Coast, the blocks west of Skyline Boulevard on the ocean bluffs; Broadmoor, an unincorporated county pocket with Daly City addresses plus the city's blocks by City Hall; St. Francis Heights, the 1950s and 1960s tract between Skyline Boulevard and I-280; and Serramonte, the hillside subdivisions and condominium groups at the south end. East of I-280, in ZIP 94014, are Original Daly City, Vista Grande & Top of the Hill, the early grid between I-280 and Mission Street; Crocker, the blocks between Mission Street and the San Francisco line; Hillside, on San Bruno Mountain's lower west slope; and Southern Hills & Bayshore at the east end, by the Cow Palace. Lots run from about 2,500 square feet in the old grids by Mission Street to about 3,400 to 3,600 in St. Francis Heights and Serramonte (our measurement of the city parcel map).
Westlake
Henry Doelger's postwar tract: about 3,350 detached houses on lots near 3,400 square feet, plus big apartment blocks, between Skyline Boulevard, the San Francisco line and I-280.
Westlake Palisades & the Skyline Coast
About 2,000 single-family homes on the bluff-top terraces west of Skyline Boulevard, from Thornton State Beach to Mussel Rock, built mostly in the 1950s and early 1960s inside the state Coastal Zone.
Broadmoor
Broadmoor Village: about 1,290 single-family homes on unincorporated San Mateo County land that Daly City surrounds, plus the city's 87th to 92nd Street blocks by City Hall.
St. Francis Heights
The tract between Skyline Boulevard and I-280, south of Westlake: 1950s and 1960s houses on narrow lots, Westmoor High and Westmoor Park, St. Francis Square, and Seton Medical Center on Sullivan Avenue.
Serramonte
Daly City's south end, from Serramonte Center to King Drive: hillside streets of 1960s-1970s two-story houses, the Crown Colony and Village Serramonte condos, Gellert Park and the main library.
Original Daly City, Vista Grande & Top of the Hill
Where Daly City began: small-lot grids between I-280 and Mission Street, from the San Francisco line past Daly City BART and Jefferson High to the Colma BART station.
Crocker
Narrow-lot blocks first subdivided in 1907, between Mission St and the San Francisco line, plus condo and townhouse enclaves climbing San Bruno Mountain's north slope.
Hillside
Daly City's streets on San Bruno Mountain's lower west slope, between Mission St and the park: narrow-lot houses, townhouse and condo groups, apartments and The Franciscan's manufactured homes.
Southern Hills & Bayshore
Daly City's northeast corner under San Bruno Mountain: 1960s detached homes on Southern Hills' streets, and Bayshore's older flats along Geneva Ave by the Cow Palace, annexed in 1963, with newer hillside enclaves above.
schools
Daly City public schools
Elementary and middle
- Jefferson Elementary School District. Most of the city: about 77% of the city's address points on Census district lines, including Westlake, the Skyline coast, Broadmoor, St. Francis Heights, northern Serramonte, Original Daly City, Hillside and most of Crocker. Schools in town include Thomas Edison Elementary (1267 Southgate Ave), Fernando Rivera Intermediate (1255 Southgate Ave), Daniel Webster Elementary (425 El Dorado Dr), Margaret Pauline Brown Elementary (305 Eastmoor Ave) and Woodrow Wilson Elementary (43 Miriam St). The district office is at 101 Lincoln Ave.
- South San Francisco Unified School District (K-12). About two-thirds of Serramonte, mostly the south and east, including Crown Colony (about 13% of city address points). The city confirms the district serves the Serramonte area. Skyline Elementary (55 Christen Ave) and Junipero Serra Elementary (151 Victoria St) are in Daly City.
- Bayshore Elementary School District. The Bayshore neighborhood at the east end and a few Southern Hills blocks (about 6% of city address points). Bayshore Elementary is at 155 Oriente St.
- Brisbane School District. The east side of Crocker and most of Southern Hills (about 4% of city address points). Panorama Elementary, at 25 Bellevue Ave, is the district's school in Daly City.
High school
- Jefferson Union High School District. Most of the city, about 87% of city address points; the city says it serves most of Daly City's grade 9-12 students. Westmoor High (131 Westmoor Ave) and Jefferson High (6996 Mission St) are in town, and Thornton High, the district's continuation school, is on First Ave.
- South San Francisco Unified School District. The same Serramonte blocks it serves for K-8. Its middle and high schools are in South San Francisco; the district assigns them by address.
property nerd note
District lines do not follow ZIP codes or neighborhood names: a 94015 address can be in Jefferson Elementary or South San Francisco Unified, and a 94014 address can be in Jefferson, Bayshore or Brisbane. Census maps only approximate attendance areas, so use each district's school-finder or call the district with the exact address before you write an offer. Start with our Silicon Valley schools guide.
zip codes
Daly City ZIP codes
The east side of the city: Original Daly City and Vista Grande, Crocker, Hillside, Southern Hills and Bayshore. Census ZIP areas put only about two-fifths of 94014's land in Daly City; about 30% is in the Town of Colma and the rest is unincorporated county land, including the area around the Colma BART station. A few blocks right at the San Francisco line fall in San Francisco's ZIP areas, so check addresses there.
The west side: Westlake, the Skyline coast, Broadmoor, St. Francis Heights and Serramonte. About 87% of 94015's land is in the city; about 8% is unincorporated Broadmoor, whose homes have Daly City addresses but are county land, and the rest is other unincorporated land.
getting around
Getting around Daly City
BART
Daly City station, at 500 John Daly Boulevard, is the end of the Dublin/Pleasanton and Berryessa lines and a stop on the Antioch and Richmond lines to the airport and Millbrae, with SamTrans and Muni connections. Colma station, at 365 D Street, sits on unincorporated county land just outside the city and serves the Antioch and Richmond lines.
Freeways
I-280 runs through the middle of town and shares its lanes with Highway 1 between Serramonte and John Daly Boulevard; Highway 1 (Cabrillo Highway) heads south to Pacifica, Skyline Boulevard (SR 35) runs along the west side to San Francisco, and Mission Street becomes El Camino Real (SR 82) at the Colma line. US 101 is just east, in Brisbane (public maps).
SamTrans
Routes 121 (Pope/Bellevue - Skyline College) and 122 (South SF BART - Stonestown/SF State) stop at Serramonte Center; routes 130 (Daly City BART - Airport & Linden/Oyster Point) and 30 leave from Daly City BART; route 120 runs from Colma BART to Brunswick and Templeton.
Caltrain and the airport
The nearest Caltrain stations are Bayshore, in Brisbane, and South San Francisco, each about 3.5 to 5 miles straight-line from most of the city. San Francisco International Airport is about 6 to 7 miles straight-line from the middle of town, and BART reaches it directly from Daly City and Colma.
living here
Living in Daly City
Top of the Hill and Mission Street
The city's history page puts the fork of the old Mission Road and John Daly's dairy at the top of the hill on Mission Street. Mission Street is still the old town's shopping street, and a mission bell outside the War Memorial building marks the original route of El Camino Real.
Shopping centers
The city's history page notes that regional shopping centers came to link the St. Francis Heights and Serramonte subdivisions. Serramonte Center sits at Serramonte Boulevard and I-280 on the south side, and Westlake Shopping Center anchors the west side.
Gellert Park and the libraries
Gellert Park, about 20 acres on public maps, holds the Serramonte Main Library at 40 Wembley Drive, the Daly City Library's main branch. The other branches are Westlake (275 Southgate Ave), John Daly (134 Hillside Blvd) and Bayshore (460 Martin St).
The coast
The city counts about seven miles of Pacific coastline. Thornton State Beach, reached at the end of Thornton Beach Road off Skyline Boulevard, is not open to the general public and has no beach access, per State Parks, but has a viewing platform west of its parking lot; the Bay Area Ridge Trail begins near Skyline and John Daly boulevards.
San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain State & County Park rises on the east side of town. The county describes it as 2,416 acres, with its entrance at 555 Guadalupe Canyon Parkway in Brisbane and trails including the Ridge Trail and the Summit Loop.
Civic places and landmarks
City Hall is at 333 90th Street. Seton Medical Center is at 1900 Sullivan Avenue. The Broderick-Terry Dueling Place, site of the 1859 duel near the county line, is a state-registered historical landmark at 1100 Lake Merced Boulevard.
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faq
Daly City real estate FAQ
Is Broadmoor part of Daly City?
No. Broadmoor is an unincorporated Census-designated place surrounded by the city; its homes have Daly City addresses, but county planning and permits apply. It has its own Broadmoor Police Protection District, formed in 1948, which LAFCo has given a zero sphere of influence, a sign it expects the district to dissolve eventually.
Which school districts serve Daly City?
Four K-8 or K-12 districts and one high school district: Jefferson Elementary for most of the city, South San Francisco Unified in most of Serramonte, Bayshore Elementary in Bayshore, Brisbane in east Crocker and Southern Hills, and Jefferson Union High for most grades 9-12. Check every address with the district.
What ZIP codes does Daly City use?
94014 on the east side and 94015 on the west side. Neither ZIP is only Daly City: 94014 also covers the Town of Colma and county land, and 94015 covers unincorporated Broadmoor.
Is Daly City in a flood or earthquake hazard zone?
FEMA's flood maps put flood zones mainly along the beach and the base of the coastal bluffs. For earthquakes, the state maps an Alquist-Priolo fault zone along the Skyline coast and through part of Serramonte, landslide zones on the coastal bluffs and steeper hillsides, and liquefaction zones in low areas such as parts of Westlake, Serramonte's Gellert Boulevard valley and Bayshore. Check each parcel.
How did Daly City get its name?
From John Daly, whose dairy stood at the top of the hill on Mission Street; residents voted to incorporate in 1911 and named the city for him, per the city's history page.
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more daly city neighborhood guides
Neighborhood guides in Daly City
See every guide in the Nerd Portal.