san carlos · san mateo county
San Carlos Real Estate & Neighborhood Guide
San Carlos covers about 5.4 square miles of land between Belmont and Redwood City, from the bayside airport across US 101, the Caltrain line and El Camino Real to hills that pass 800 feet near I-280. It was part of the 35,420-acre Rancho de las Pulgas, granted in 1795. The railroad came through in 1864, the stone depot followed in 1888, and town building took hold after 1917. Residents voted to incorporate in June 1925, and the city grew from 3,520 people in 1940 to 14,371 in 1950 and 30,722 in the 2020 census, which counted 12,244 housing units. County parcel records show mostly detached single-family lots, with condominium communities in the hills and apartment and condominium buildings in the flats.
population, 2020 census
land area
zip codes
incorporated
neighborhoods
San Carlos neighborhoods
Our San Carlos guides split the city into eight areas. The flats between El Camino Real and Alameda de las Pulgas are White Oaks in the south, Howard Park in the middle and North San Carlos up to the Belmont line; the city's history page dates the Spanish-style cottages on the tree-named streets south of San Carlos Avenue to the 1920s. Clearfield Park covers the homes east of El Camino Real. West of the Alameda the land climbs: Alder Manor on the southwest slopes, Beverly Terrace & the Highlands in the middle hills, Brittan Heights & Crestview along the ridge, and Devonshire in the northwest, where about 300 homes sit in an unincorporated county pocket inside the city. In the four hill guides, median single-family lots run about 7,500 to 9,800 square feet (county parcel maps), and lots that average a 20% slope or more fall under the city's Hillside overlay.
White Oaks
The southern flats of San Carlos: a street grid between the Alameda and El Camino Real, from Brittan Avenue down to the Redwood City line at Eaton Avenue, with White Oaks Elementary near the middle.
Howard Park
The northern flats of San Carlos, from Brittan Avenue up to San Carlos Avenue between the Alameda and El Camino Real, taking in Burton Park, City Hall and the downtown blocks of Laurel Street.
North San Carlos
Everything north of San Carlos Avenue up to the Belmont line, from the first Laurel Street blocks by El Camino up through the Hillcrest Road hills, with Arguello Park, Arundel Elementary and Tierra Linda.
Clearfield Park
San Carlos east of El Camino Real: the 1888 depot, a few short streets of homes around Laureola Park and Bayport Avenue, and the industrial and R&D blocks out to Industrial Road.
Alder Manor
The southwest slopes of San Carlos between Alameda de las Pulgas, Brittan Avenue and Eaton Park: about 700 single-family lots, almost all in the Redwood City School District.
Beverly Terrace & the Highlands
The middle hills west of Alameda de las Pulgas, between Brittan and San Carlos avenues: Heather Elementary, 11-acre Highlands Park and about 1,000 single-family lots, all in the San Carlos School District.
Brittan Heights & Crestview
The ridge-top hills of San Carlos along upper Brittan Avenue and 2.3-mile Crestview Drive: about 860 houses, about 700 condominiums, four city parks and the Pulgas Ridge preserve at the south end.
Devonshire
Northwest San Carlos hills around Devonshire Boulevard, Winding Way and Club Drive, where about 300 homes sit in an unincorporated county pocket surrounded by about 640 city homes.
schools
San Carlos public schools
Elementary and middle
- San Carlos School District. About 87% of the city's land on Census maps, including the flats and most of the hills. Schools split by grade: TK-3 at Arundel (200 Arundel Road), Brittan Acres (2000 Belle Avenue), Heather (2757 Melendy Drive) and White Oaks (1901 White Oak Way); grades 4-5 at Arroyo (1710 Arroyo Avenue) and Mariposa (750 Dartmouth Avenue); grades 6-8 at Central (757 Cedar Street) and Tierra Linda (750 Dartmouth Avenue). The district also lists the San Carlos Charter Learning Center (K-8), filled by lottery.
- Redwood City School District. About 7% of the city's land: the southwest hills west of the Alameda and south of Brittan Avenue (Alder Manor), plus Edmond and Fleetwood drives near Edgewood Road. Clifford School (TK-8) is just outside the city line at 225 Clifford Avenue.
- Belmont-Redwood Shores School District. About 6% of the city's land: the Club Drive side of Devonshire, the far-west flower-named lanes off Crestview Drive, and parts of the north edge near Belmont.
High school
- Sequoia Union High School District. Serves all of San Carlos. The district's high schools include Carlmont, Menlo-Atherton, Sequoia and Woodside; Carlmont High is just over the Belmont line at 1400 Alameda de las Pulgas. The assigned school depends on the address.
property nerd note
The San Carlos School District says its boundaries are not the same as the city limits, that it can't guarantee a home school, and that students overflow to another school when one is full. Look up the address in the district's School Locator, then use Sequoia Union's boundary search for high school. Give southwest-hill and Club Drive addresses a second look, since the Redwood City and Belmont-Redwood Shores districts cover them. Start with our Silicon Valley schools guide.
zip codes
San Carlos ZIP codes
The city's ZIP. Census ZIP-code areas put about 99.9% of the city's land in 94070, and about 88% of the 94070 area inside the city. The rest of 94070 is unincorporated county land, including the Devonshire pocket (about 4% of the ZIP area) and open land toward I-280, plus slivers of Belmont and Redwood City. Next door, unincorporated Palomar Park uses Redwood City 94062 addresses, and Belmont uses 94002.
getting around
Getting around San Carlos
Caltrain
San Carlos station is at 599 El Camino Real in Zone 2, with 251 parking stalls, 24 bike racks and BikeLink e-lockers. Belmont and Redwood City are the next stations north and south.
Freeways
US 101 runs along the east side, with ramps at Holly Street. I-280 runs west of the hills; the nearest ramps are at Edgewood Road, just south of the city line.
Buses
SamTrans route ECR runs along El Camino Real between Daly City BART and the Palo Alto Transit Center, route 260 links the San Carlos Caltrain station with Carlmont Village in Belmont, and route 295 runs between Hillsdale Mall and the Redwood City Transit Center. All three list San Carlos among the areas they serve.
Hills and trails
Elevations climb from about 90 feet on the Alameda at Eaton Avenue to almost 890 feet on the lanes off the north end of Crestview Drive (USGS elevation points). Big Canyon and Eaton parks hold more than 73 acres of trails with trailheads, signs and map kiosks added in 2017, and the city's 2007 Trails Connections Plan lists 14 possible links, including Pulgas Ridge.
living here
Living in San Carlos
Laurel Street and the civic center
Downtown runs along Laurel Street. City Hall is at 600 Elm Street, and LAFCo's review describes the civic center as City Hall, the police station and the library. Harrington Park on Laurel Street, renamed in 2015, is under construction in 2026.
Burton Park
The city's first public recreation ground: land bought in the late 1930s, an amphitheater and adobe building built by the WPA in 1938, dedicated in 1940 and re-dedicated for Edward Burton Sr. in 1960. Today it has softball and baseball diamonds, a soccer field, three lighted tennis courts, basketball and bocce courts, picnic sites and two playgrounds.
Hill parks
Highlands Park (11.25 acres, 2600 Melendy Drive) has turf fields, ball diamonds and five tennis courts. Up the ridge, Crestview Park (7 acres) has a field and playground, and North Crestview Park and Vista Park face each other in the 400 block of Crestview Drive. Arguello Park (21 acres, 260 Wellington Drive) mixes a big field with hillside trails.
Open space at the edges
Eaton Park (57.6 acres) and Big Canyon Park (16 acres) are the city's natural canyons. At the south end of Crestview Drive, the open space district's 366-acre Pulgas Ridge Preserve has six miles of trails and a 17.5-acre off-leash dog area, and the county's 467-acre Edgewood Park is known for spring wildflowers.
The depot and local history
The city's history page says the 1888 depot was built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The Museum of San Carlos History is in the city's first firehouse at 533 Laurel Street, and the city placed historical markers around town for its 2025 centennial.
Aviation on the east side
The Hiller Aviation Museum is at 601 Skyway Road. The city's history says San Carlos Airport moved to its present bayside site in the late 1940s and that the county bought it in 1964.
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faq
San Carlos real estate FAQ
Is everything with a San Carlos 94070 address inside the city?
No. About 11% of the 94070 area is unincorporated county land, including the Devonshire pocket of about 300 homes in the northwest hills. Those lots use county planning, permits and design review, and they rely on a county sanitation district or septic. Check the jurisdiction for every address.
Which school district serves San Carlos?
Mostly the San Carlos School District (TK-8), with the Redwood City School District in the southwest hills and the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District on parts of the north and west edges. All of San Carlos is in the Sequoia Union High School District. Check the exact address with each district.
What is the Hillside overlay?
City rules for lots with an average slope of 20% or more: a 35-foot height limit, a 20-foot cap on a downhill, street-facing wall, at least 35% of the lot left in its natural state, driveways no steeper than an 18% average, and limits on grading and retaining walls. Single-family zoning also sets minimum lots of 5,000 square feet in RS-6 and 10,000 in RS-3.
Is San Carlos in a fire hazard zone?
CAL FIRE's March 2025 map puts parts of the western hills, especially along Crestview Drive and upper Brittan Avenue, in its Moderate and High zones; the lower parts of town we checked are mapped non-wildland. Check the natural hazard disclosure for the address.
Who provides fire service?
The city code refers to the San Carlos/Redwood City Fire Department, and the city's history page says San Carlos joined with Redwood City for fire services. For unincorporated Devonshire, LAFCo's 2011 review listed County Fire under a CAL FIRE contract.
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more san carlos neighborhood guides
Neighborhood guides in San Carlos
See every guide in the Nerd Portal.