Hillsborough

Simply put, Hillsborough is one of the wealthiest cities in America. In relation, it also has the highest income of places in all of America. It is truly the 1% at work. Maybe even the .1%. Location wise, the city is part of the greater San Mateo County and joins other San Mateo County cities on both of these affluent lists of America’s richest. It is also conveniently located halfway between San Francisco and San Jose, making for a popular spot among Silicon Valley professionals and tech industry buffs. And according to the 2010 US Census, this population is just over 10,000, spread out over 6.2 square miles of suburban reclusion.

To put it simply, Hillsborough is the place of millionaires. You couldn’t dream of a better suburb to live in. While largely residential, the landscape is dominated by enormous, elegant homes and picture perfect aesthetics. It doesn’t stop there. Residences also lay ground to beautiful, enormous front yards with pristine fences lining the gorgeous, manicured properties. Can it get better? With a beautiful mediterranean climate and few coastal winds, of course it can. In the past ten years, the city has averaged about 307 days of sunshine a year, most of which take place during the month of September. It also has a bit of a relaxed country setting, with polished living quarters and an upper upper class feel. If you drive along a couple streets like Clark Drive, there’s not only enormous palm trees lining the streets, but enormous palm trees planted along road dividers (something I’ve never seen before). There is also no sign of apartment buildings, condominiums or even a townhouse within the city’s limits. If you’re counting dollar signs, Hillborough’s median house price is over $3.8 million, which include a couple dozen mansions. As for the average household income, it circles around $204,000/year.

Hillsborough is bounded by many wealthy neighbors including San Mateo to the east, Highlands Baywood Park to the south and Burlingame to the north. For those young families, the city offers an excellent public school system. The schools within the area consist of three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. Chrystal Springs Upland School serves both kids attending a college preparatory middle school and high school. For travelers, Hillsborough is just minutes from the well-recognized San Francisco International Airport.

Hillsborough is not a home to the super rich. They can’t really afford it. It is home the mega-super-rich. This is the place that multi-millionaires drool over and the reason why those that are pretty much set for life still get up in the morning and try to increase their wealth.

The median home price in Hillsborough is $3 million. The bottom of the market is $1 million dollar homes. Right now for example, if you look on the real estate boards you will find only one home dipping under $1 million in Hillsborough. (In case, you are curious as I was, it is a foreclosure of a home built in 1950’s. It’s a real shack—just 5 bedrooms, 4 bath and only 3000 square feet. How do those poor devils live like that?)

How rich are the residents of Hillsborough? Well, according to a recent poll, Hillsborough is the 9th among cities of at least 1000 households in terms of income level. (They are only the 4th highest among cities in California, with Belvedere, CA leading the way.) So the 10,000 residents of Hillsborough are definitely among the elites of this or any other area.

This is really mansion territory, with one home that is currently for sale having an asking price of $43 million. What do you get for $43 million? Your own personal movie theater, an indoor pool similar to the one at Hearst Castle and just amazingly ornate detailing of virtually every nook of your mansion. (Hearst, by the way, built a home here as well, and many of his heirs have at one time or another lived here—including Patty Hearst.)

Other notables to live or have lived here? About a starting line-ups worth of major league players, including Barry Bonds; actress Alicia Silverstone; and Shirley Temple, to name a few.

Schools are, of course, fantastic and you have a number of private academies as well, that if you can get into will give your children access to the sons and daughters of the superrich—a very useful network to have in the future.

This is, however, a purely residential neighborhood, so to grab a bite to eat you will have to go slumming down in Burlingame. (If your live-in chef is beginning to bore you, of course.)

So, if you are currently nearing your first billion, you might want to check this place out. If you only have one or two million to your name, you might just have to stick to Sea Cliff or Pacific Heights with the other riff-raff.