San Bruno, California

What San Bruno is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 1,543 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.

1,543 businesses on file · 122 trades · 32 sectors · census population 42,612 · registry population 43,908 · built from geonet.sanfrancisco on 2026-10-07

The two disagree: the registry says 43,908 and the 2021 census counted 42,612 for the municipality. The registry figure is often a metropolitan population. Both are shown; neither is corrected into the other.

Businesses1,543
100% carry coordinates
Specialised in12
trades above the national pattern
Best suited tono cohort stands out
on the census signals below
Franchise brands36
already operating here

Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for San Bruno → — the free guidebook for this region: why go, what to see, what is open when it rains.

1

The local economy

What the business base is made of, what it is specialised in against the national pattern, and what that mix implies. This is the part a development office would read first.

Composition, not health. geonet records what trades exist and where; it does not record formation, closure, employment or revenue, so none of those appear here. What makes this economics rather than a directory is the NAICS coding: it lets the local mix be read against the BLS survival curves and against the 323 industry groups this research has screened.

The two biggest markets here

Every industry group on this page links through to its NAICS page, and to the screened market report where this research has one — that is what the trait-to-NAICS coding buys.

Business density36.2
businesses per 1,000 residents, against the 2021 census count of 42,612
Breadth of the base350
broad — 87 industry groups, top three 23.5%
Survival the mix implies56.7%
at five years, against 51.4% for all private establishments
Coded to NAICS58.1%
of which 76.9% unambiguous

What this city is specialised in

Location quotient is this city's share of a trade divided by the same share across 10 US metro tables. Above 1.25 is the conventional threshold for a local specialisation.

Thin against the national pattern

Common trades that are under-represented here. For someone deciding what to open, this is the more useful half of the table — though a gap can mean unmet demand or a market that does not work here, and this does not tell you which.

The base against the entry screen

Businesses by the entry signal of the industry group they sit in, from the /markets screen. A large "structure decides" share means most local trades are ones where being better than the incumbent does not by itself win. A trade is matched to the screened record at whatever level the research wrote it — the same code, a broader one, or a narrower one. Where a group holds several screened sub-markets the count is shown, because no single one of them speaks for the whole group.

Enter
20%
179 businesses
Caution
58%
520 businesses
Structure decides
22.1%
198 businesses
Not screened
0%
0 businesses

How to read the survival figure

Each sector's five-year establishment survival rate, weighted by how many of this city's businesses sit in that sector. It is a property of the MIX, not of these businesses — it says what survival this composition would imply at US private-sector rates, because no Canadian equivalent series exists.

Weighted over 97.8% of the coded base — public administration carries no curve. Source: Business Employment Dynamics — Table 7, Survival of private sector establishments by opening year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And what it does not measure

A "mixed" trait is one that genuinely spans codes — "computers" covers systems design, repair and supply. The clear share is how much of this reading rests on unambiguous coding. Business density also reflects how completely the directory covers a place, not only how many businesses are in it — so it compares poorly between a city the register knows well and one it does not.

2

Who lives here, and who the city is for

The census: the only figures on this page that count people rather than businesses, and the three cohort readings they make possible.

The register says what trades exist. The census says who lives here — and it is the only thing on this page that counts people. Figures are American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates for San Bruno city, California, the incorporated place, which is the city proper, and every comparison is against the United States as a whole, from the same ACS tables.

Detailed language is not published for American places. B16001, the table with individual languages, has no place-level rows; C16001 is what exists, and it names six languages and groups the rest into families. A Canadian city on this site names about forty.

Population42,612
census 2021
Median age39.8
against 38.7 nationally
Immigrants36%
against 13.9% nationally
Median rent$2,696
against $1,348 nationally

Who the city is for

Three readings, each built from real numbers against real benchmarks. This is not an index. Every signal is shown with its own value, its benchmark and which way it points, and the band simply counts how many point the same way — so a reader who disagrees with one signal can drop it and still use the rest.

Seniors

moderate

Is this a place to grow old, and is the care here?

Residents 65 and over 17.4% –16.8%
Residents 85 and overthe group that needs care rather than the group that is merely retired 1.9% –1.9%
Median age 39.8 years –38.7 years
Poverty ratethe US poverty threshold — a different definition from the Canadian pages, and not comparable to them 5.1% ▲12.4%
Medical clinics per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.02 –
Pharmacies per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.16 –
Median rent 2696 $/mo ▼1348 $/mo

A high share of over-65s says other people made this choice; it does not say the care exists. The register has no category for a hospital at all, so distance to an emergency department is still missing.

Students and young adults

thin

Is there a reason to be here between 19 and 25, and can they afford it?

Residents 20 to 24 5.3% ▼6.5%
Residents 15 to 19the cohort arriving next 4.9% ▼6.5%
Renter householdsa rental market is what makes a place possible to move to 38.2% –35%
Median rent 2696 $/mo ▼1348 $/mo
Unemployment rate 4.9% –5.2%
Degree holders in the adult population 43.8% ▲35%
Drinking places and recreationfrom the register 4 –

Post-secondary institutions in the city are listed further down this page; where there are none, a high 20-to-24 share usually means work rather than study.

Newcomers and other-language speakers

moderate

Is there already a community here, and has anyone built anything for it?

Foreign-born residents 36% ▲13.9%
Arrived 2010 or laterthe band the ACS publishes; the Canadian pages use 2016 to 2021, so the two are not comparable 22.5% ▼29.4%
Speak a language other than English at home 44.4% –
Language groups above the reporting floor 12 –
Median household income 135976 $ ▲78538 $

The American census does not publish individual languages for a city — only the eleven groups below, six of which are single languages. A Canadian city on this site names about forty, so the two sections are not the same depth and should not be read as if they were.

What is spoken at home, and whether anyone built for it

The register-versus-census cross-check on the Canadian pages is not possible here: the ACS publishes language in groups, so "Other Indo-European languages" cannot be matched against an institution that names a community.

Spoken most often at homeSpeakers ShareCommunity in the register Institutions
Spanish 8,012 18.8% not mapped to a marker 0
Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese) 3,326 7.8% not mapped to a marker 0
Tagalog (incl. Filipino) 2,735 6.4% not mapped to a marker 0
Other Indo-European languages 1,791 4.2% not mapped to a marker 0
Other Asian and Pacific Island languages 1,409 3.3% not mapped to a marker 0
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic languages 344 0.8% not mapped to a marker 0
Korean 335 0.8% not mapped to a marker 0
French, Haitian, or Cajun 299 0.7% not mapped to a marker 0
Arabic 291 0.7% not mapped to a marker 0
German or other West Germanic languages 148 0.3% not mapped to a marker 0
Vietnamese 116 0.3% not mapped to a marker 0
Other and unspecified languages 113 0.3% not mapped to a marker 0

The rest of the profile

CharacteristicHereCanada
Residents 65 and over 17.4% 16.8%
Residents 85 and over 1.9% 1.9%
Residents 20 to 24 5.3% 6.5%
Arrived 2016 to 2021 22.5% 29.4%
Non-permanent residents — —
Speak a non-official language at home 44.4% —
Renter households 38.2% 35%
Spending 30% or more on shelter — —
Participation rate 68.2% 63.5%
Unemployment rate 4.9% 5.2%
Median household income, 2020 135976 $ —
Median after-tax household income, 2020 — —
Prevalence of low income (LIM-AT) 5.1% —
Bachelor degree or higher 43.8% —

The one thing to keep in mind

Five-year estimates pooled over 2019–2023, so a figure is an average of the period rather than a single year, and every value carries a margin of error this extract does not keep. Unlike the Canadian census, which counts everyone, the ACS is a sample — a small place's figures are correspondingly uncertain. ACS five-year estimate for the incorporated place, which is the city proper. It will differ from the figure in wander.regions, which is sometimes a metropolitan population.

Source: American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates — Table-based summary file, 2023, United States Census Bureau, under the US federal government work, public domain. National comparison: The United States row of the same ACS tables, not an average of places — roughly a third of Americans live outside any incorporated place, so summing places would understate the country.

3

The communities the register shows

A community appears in the business register before it appears in prose — a national church, a society, a credit union, a newspaper. Those are counted as institutions, and they are what suggests residents. A restaurant serving a cuisine is counted separately as trade, because every city has those and they say nothing about who lives nearby. The ranking is by institutions.

CommunityInstitutions WorshipTrade Where it shows
Chinese 1 1 3
San Bruno Chinese Church
Filipino 1 1 1
First Filipino American United
Indonesian 1 1 —
Indonesian Full Gospel Church
Japanese — — 4
Welsh — — 2
Korean — — 1
Thai — — 1
Italian — — 1
Spanish-speaking — — 1
Russian — — 1
Swedish — — 1
Arabic-speaking — — 1
4

Where the communities are

Streets, not neighbourhood names. The data knows that Greek institutions sit on one street and Greek restaurants on another; it does not know the word "Greektown", so it does not use it.

5

What the city is made of

Every business on file, grouped by the sector it trades in. This is the economic-development view: where the 1,543 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.

SectorBusinesses ShareWhat is in it
Beauty 105 6.8% hair stylist (63) · dentist (26) · barber (7)
Construction 101 6.5% home builder (23) · painting (22) · plumbing (18) · carpet (8) · roofing (5) · concrete (5) · general contractor (4) · siding (4)
Automotive 92 6% autos (39) · auto repair (32) · tires (4) · auto parts (1) · scooter (1) · motorcycle (1)
Living 91 5.9% place of worship (29) · cleaning (11) · daycare (10) · furniture (10) · appliances (8) · apartment (7) · veterinary (5) · fire safety (3)
Dining 85 5.5% restaurant (73) · pizza (9) · diner (2) · burgers (1)
Finance 73 4.7% insurance (35) · real estate (16) · bank (5) · stock broker (2) · credit union (2) · mortgage (1)
Retail 52 3.4% gifts (13) · photography (10) · jeweler (9) · flowers (6) · convenience (5) · antiques (3) · department store (2) · office equipment (1)
Business 50 3.2% government (19) · accounting (14) · consulting (6) · vending (3) · auction (2) · association (1)
Travel 48 3.1% travel agent (15) · motel (10) · parking (4) · hotel (2) · airline (1)
Health 37 2.4% chiro (9) · physician (5) · optical (5) · fitness club (2) · home healthcare (2) · pharmacy (2) · medical clinic (1)
Realty 37 2.4% real estate (37)
Education 37 2.4% school (29) · garden (3) · library (3)
Tech 35 2.3% computers (25) · telecom (4) · wireless (3) · real estate (1)
Logistics 28 1.8% truck transportation (13) · storage (3) · packaging (3) · railroad (1) · forklifts (1) · wholesale (1)
Living & Home 28 1.8% irrigation (1)
Food & Beverage 25 1.6% fruit (2) · vegetable (1)
Food 21 1.4% baker (7) · seafood (6) · grocer (4) · catering (3) · ice cream (1)
Law 21 1.4% mediator (3)
Entertainment 18 1.2% video (6) · games (2) · video producer (2) · aquarium (2) · music instruments (1) · nightclub (1) · amusement (1) · real estate (1)
Agribusiness 17 1.1% landscaping (15) · forestry (2)
6

The franchises already here

Brands from a register of 2,024 franchise systems, matched into this city by name. A high count is a signal in both directions: the territory works, and it may be taken.

13 of these brands are a single common word — Metro, Avenue, Budget — so their counts include businesses that merely share the word. They are marked rather than dropped.

BrandCategory HereWorldwide
7-Eleven convenience 3 30,000
Burger King fastfood 3 11,000
Blockbuster Video video 1 5,900
Enterprise Rent A Car car 1 5,400
Hertz Rent A Car car 1 7,000
Hollywood Video video 1 2,700
Jack in the Box fastfood 1 2,079
Jamba Juice dessert 1 707
Jenny Craig fitness 1 640
Jiffy Lube auto 1 2,200
La Salsa fastfood 1 100
Miracle-Ear specialty 1 1,500
Ramada Inn familyhotel 1 740
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers food 1 250
Regis Salons hair 1 12,000
Rent-A-Wreck car 1 —
Round Table Pizza pizza 1 132
Salvation Army retail 1 —
Super 8 economyhotel 1 —
Sylvan Learning school 1 710
Taco Bell tacos 1 5,845
U-Haul car 1 13,700
Visiting Angels senior 1 —
AllState name only insurance 4 —
Manor name only retail 4 —
Sears name only inc 4 2,300
Hallmark name only greetingcards 2 5,600
Starbucks name only coffee 2 3,500
Albertsons name only supermarket 1 564
Clarion name only businesshotel 1 —
Coach name only luggage 1 —
FastFrame name only specialty 1 300
Honda name only car 1 —
Midas name only auto 1 1,800
Toyota name only car 1 —
Walgreens name only pharmacy 1 4,000
7

Real estate as a local trade

Four unrelated jobs share the name: selling existing homes, owning and letting them, managing them for someone else, and building new ones. For anyone weighing a move or a licence these are the counts — and the ownership question goes to /property, which answers it building by building.

Real estate is a local job market in its own right, and four unrelated trades get the same name. Counts are businesses filed under each trade in the register, which lists a brokerage once however many agents work there — so this measures firms, not licensees.

Selling homes

5312
55 firms · LQ 0.77

Offices of agents and brokers — the resale market, and the biggest single trade in most Canadian cities.

Named in the register
  • Bendick Realty — 3121 Summit Rd
  • Clarion Mortgage Capital — 439 San Mateo Ave
  • Countrywide Home Loans — 999 Bayhill Dr # 100
  • Dacor Financial — 1200 Bayhill Dr
  • Goodwin Development — 198 Goodwin Dr
  • Pacific Mortgage Group — 901 Sneath Ln # 215
  • Patrick Wong Patrick Wong Re — 160 Arbor Ct
  • Perdue and Association — 301 Allen Dr
  • Prime Group — P.O. BOX 338
  • Realty World Advance Group — 364 El Camino Real
  • Stanley Gogol Gogol Stanley — 1101 San Mateo Ave
  • Technology Commercial — 1001 Bayhill Dr Ste 200
  • Trident Financial Group — 1001 Bayhill Dr # 108
  • United Capital — 1250 Bayhill Dr # 121

Owning and letting

5311
7 firms · LQ 0.68

Lessors of real estate: the buildings themselves, filed under the building rather than the owner.

Named in the register
  • Crystal Springs Terrace Apts — 2000 Crystal Springs Rd
  • Evergreen Ridge Apartments — 3815 Susan Dr
  • Mangan Apts — 124 Santa Lucia Ave
  • Park Plaza Apartments — 2081 Whitman Way # 136
  • Skycrest Apartments — 750 Glenview Dr # 309
  • Treetops Apartments — 4300 Susan Dr
  • Whitman Manor Apartments — 2161 Whitman Way # 1

Managing for owners

5313
2 firms · LQ 0.71

Property managers, who run buildings the landlord does not.

Named in the register
  • Aragon and Sons Building Mntnc — 261 Lassen Dr
  • Prentiss Properties Trust — 801 Traeger Ave Ste 110

Building new homes

2361
27 firms · LQ 1.06

Residential builders and the general contractors who work for them.

Named in the register
  • Aidan Mc Cracken Construction — 825 6th Ave
  • Callicotte and Co — 149 Cupid Row # 8
  • Crafted By Timpano — 1167 Montgomery Ave
  • E B Construction — 231 Lake Dr
  • Gibbons Construction — 400 Maple Ave
  • Gino Matiasic — 440 Cypress Ave
  • Hollystar Company — 482 Sylvan Ave
  • Hq Business Center — 723 Camino Plz
  • John McDonagh Construction — 488 Maple Ave
  • Navarrete Construction — 291 Lomita Ave
  • OGrady Construction — 1376 Park Ave
  • Pacific West Construction — 1101 San Mateo Ave
  • Seydel Construction — 515 Cypress Ave
  • Shea Homes — 888 Santa Lucia Ave

Financing it

5222
1 firms · LQ 0.2

Mortgage brokers and non-bank lenders.

Named in the register
  • Venturestar Mortgage — 881 Sneath Ln

On "how many doors"

How many doors a landlord holds is not in any of this. The register files an apartment building under the building, not its owner, and carries no unit count; there is no open dataset of Canadian landlords by portfolio. Where this research has established ownership it is in the /property record for the city, building by building, which is a different and much slower exercise.

8

Work where you go to them

The Ultimate 411 half of local: everything where the customer does not have to come to you.

A shop needs the customer to walk in. These 157 services do the opposite — the mobile mechanic, the mobile groomer, the bookkeeper, the junk haul — and they are the ones a person can start without a lease. 0 of them already match a trait filed in this city's register.

The 157 Service=1 rows in search.local: work where the provider travels to the customer. "present" counts businesses already filed under that exact trait name; a blank is a coverage gap, not proof of absence, because the two vocabularies were built separately.

home services

Short-Term Rental TurnoverAppliance InstallationBabyproofing & Safety InstallsCarpet & Upholstery CleaningDeep CleaningDrywall RepairErrand RunningExterior PaintingFence & Deck StainingFurniture AssemblyGarden Weeding & MaintenanceGrocery Pickup & DeliveryGutter CleaningHandyman (General Repairs)Hedge & Shrub TrimmingHouse CleaningHouse SittingInterior PaintingJunk Removal & Dump RunsLandscape Design & PlantingLawn MowingFall Leaf CleanupMove-In / Move-Out CleaningMoving Help (Labour Only)Moving with TruckOffice CleaningPersonal ShopperPressure WashingMove Things Around the HouseSnow Shovelling & RemovalPacking & UnpackingTV & Picture MountingWardrobe StylingWindow Cleaning

events

BartenderDesignated Driver (Your Car)CateringTents, Tables & ChairsFloristFuneral & Celebration of Life ArrangementsGame-Day Bus or VanBook a Pub for Your GroupKaraoke Machine RentalParty Bus & Group ShuttlePub Crawl HostTaxi to the PubSports & Game PhotographyStag & Doe / Jack & Jill PlanningTailgate Party SetupTrivia Night HostVenue SourcingBig-Game Watch Party SetupWedding OfficiantWedding Planner / Coordinator

pets

Aquarium & Terrarium CleaningCatio (Cat Patio) BuildChicken Coop BuildDog House BuildDog TrainingDog WalkingHome Pet BoardingLost Pet SearchMobile Dog GroomingOvernight Pet SittingBuild & Install a Pet DoorPet Cages & EnclosuresPet Fencing & Dog RunsPet PhotographyPet-Proofing Your HomePet Sitting & Dog WalkingPet TaxiYard Poop Scooping

luxury

Chauffeur & Luxury CarDJ & Sound Gear RentalDJEvent PhotographerEvent PlannerLive MusiciansHair & Makeup ArtistMatchmakerPersonal ConciergePortrait & Headshot PhotographerPrivate ChefVideographerVIP / Social Club MembershipWedding PhotographerYacht & Boat Charter

healthcare

Wheelchair-Accessible TransportGrab Bars, Ramps & Home AccessibilityLight Housekeeping for SeniorsCooking & Meal Prep for SeniorsMedical Appointment EscortMedication & Appointment RemindersMobility Equipment RentalRespite Care for Family CaregiversSenior CompanionshipTech Help for SeniorsWalking Companion

sporting goods

Bike Tune-UpBorrow a Bike or E-BikeBorrow Camping GearBorrow Golf ClubsBorrow Hockey GearBorrow Ice SkatesBorrow a Kayak, Canoe or PaddleboardBorrow Skis, Poles & Ski BootsBorrow a Snowboard & Snow BootsSkate SharpeningSki & Snowboard Tuning

sports

Backyard Rink BuildLocal Fishing GuideGolf CaddieFind Players for a Pickup GamePrivate Sports LessonJoin or Build a Rec League TeamBook Ice, Courts & FieldsWorkout & Sports BuddyRoommates Who Also Like Sports

business

BookkeepingStart a Local BusinessCareer Coaching & RésumésFind a Local ManufacturerFind Local Work / Contract GigsLocal Advertising PlacementPrototype & Small-Batch ProductionTranslation & InterpretationWebsite & Online Presence

outdoors

Brush & Land ClearingChainsaw Rental (from a local owner)Firewood (Cut, Split & Delivered)Log Bucking & Cutting (Chainsaw)Portable SawmillingSmall-Lot Logging & Land ClearingStump GrindingTree FellingWood Splitting

construction

CarpenterElectricianHeating & Cooling (HVAC)Mobile MechanicPlumberRoof RepairSmall Engine RepairWelder / Metal Fabrication

travel

Airport Transfer & Car ServiceCorporate & Business TravelCruise BookingFamily Travel for a WeddingBereavement / Funeral TravelLeisure Travel PlanningLocal Tour Guide

tools

Camera & Lens RentalGenerator RentalLog Splitter RentalParty Equipment RentalPower Tool RentalTrailer & Truck Rental
9

Schools and colleges

wander.schools is a post-secondary table — universities and colleges. K-12 public and private schools are not in it, and only 7 of its 1,686 rows carry coordinates, so these are listed and not mapped.

In the business register

Where schooling shows up as a business rather than an institution — which is where K-12, tutoring and childcare appear.

school 29daycare 10
10

Health and care

What a person moving a parent here would ask first. The register files clinics and pharmacies; it has no category for a hospital at all, so hospitals are matched by name and the limit is stated rather than hidden.

Medical clinics1
Pharmacies2
Dental practices26

Matched on the name "hospital"

  • Accupressure Health Center — 1474 El Camino Real
  • Dental Health Center — 1178 El Camino Real # 2

geonet carries no 'hospital' trait, so these are matched on the business name. A distance-to-hospital figure needs a source that states hospital locations.

12

What this record cannot tell you

Named in full, because the gaps are the part most likely to be misread as an answer.

  • Census figures are 2021, taken on 11 May 2021: income is for 2020 and the labour figures were measured mid-pandemic, so the unemployment rate on this page is a 2021 reading rather than a current one.
  • wander.schools is now readable, but it holds universities and colleges only and 1,679 of its 1,686 rows have no coordinates. K-12 public and private schools need a separate source — in Ontario the Ministry of Education school finder, in British Columbia the provincial school list. wander.citytowns, hotels and territories remain denied to the ru user.
  • No 'hospital' trait exists in geonet; distance to a hospital needs an external source such as StatCan's Open Database of Healthcare Facilities.
  • 0.0% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 99.9%.

Built from

  • geonet.sanfrancisco — the local business register
  • wander.regions — city name, population, metro
  • search.local — trait vocabulary and the come-to-you services
  • search.cozfranchises — 2,024 franchise brands