ATHERTON, CA

Atherton is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 7,188 as of 2020.

Atherton is known for its wealth; in 1990 and 2019, Atherton was ranked as having the highest per capita income among U.S. towns with a population between 2,500 and 9,999, and it is regularly ranked as the most expensive ZIP Code in the United States.

History

The entire area was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas.

During the 1860’s Atherton was known as Fair Oaks. In 1923 it was decided to rename the town in honor of Faxon Dean Atherton, a former 19th century landowner on the south peninsula.

Geography

Atherton is located at .

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (0.63%) is water.

Atherton lies southeast of Redwood City, and northwest of San Jose. The town is considered to be part of the San Francisco metropolitan area.

The town had a Caltrain station which permanently closed in December 2020.

Government

Atherton's current land use goal is "To preserve the Town's character as a scenic, rural, thickly wooded residential area with abundant open space."

In the California State Legislature, Atherton is in , and in .

In the United States House of Representatives, Atherton is in .

The city is served by the Atherton Public Library of the San Mateo County Libraries, a member of the Peninsula Library System.

Demographics

In September 2010, Forbes magazine placed Atherton's ZIP code of 94027 at #2 on its annual list of America's most expensive zip codes. In October 2013, 94027 moved to #1 on the list, where it remained through at least 2018, save for 2016 when it appeared at #3. In context, Beverly Hills was placed at #14 in 2015. Atherton had topped the list in earlier decades; a 20-year retrospective showed Atherton also at #1 in 1998. Atherton is one of the wealthiest cities in the United States.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 7,194 people in 2,413 households, including 1,984 families, in the town. The population density was 1,467.6 people per square mile (566.9/km). There were 2,505 housing units at an average density of 511.0 per square mile (197.4/km).

Of the 2,413 households 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.6% were married couples living together, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.8% were non-families. 12.8% of households were one person and 7.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.06.

The age distribution was 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 18.7% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% 65 or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. For every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 90.2 men.

The median income for a household in the town was in excess of $200,000, as is the median family income. Males had a median income of over $100,000 versus $68,393 for females. The per capita income for the town was $112,408. About 0.8% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.6% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

2010

At the 2010 census Atherton had a population of 6,914. The population density was 1,369.5 people per square mile (528.8/km). The racial makeup of Atherton was 5,565 (80.5%) White, 75 (1.1%) African American, 7 (0.1%) Native American, 911 (13.2%) Asian, 45 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 95 (1.4%) from other races, and 216 (3.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 268 people (3.9%).

The census reported that 6,529 people (94.4% of the population) lived in households, 385 (5.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 2,330 households, 787 (33.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,755 (75.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 109 (4.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 48 (2.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 34 (1.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 15 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 321 households (13.8%) were one person and 178 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.80. There were 1,912 families (82.1% of households); the average family size was 3.03.

The age distribution was 1,543 people (22.3%) under the age of 18, 579 people (8.4%) aged 18 to 24, 966 people (14.0%) aged 25 to 44, 2,264 people (32.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,562 people (22.6%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 48.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 95.3 men.

The median household income was in excess of $250,000, the highest of any place in the United States. The per capita income for the town was $128,816. About 2.9% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

There were 2,530 housing units at an average density of 501.1 per square mile, of the occupied units 2,116 (90.8%) were owner-occupied and 214 (9.2%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%. 5,921 people (85.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 608 people (8.8%) lived in rental housing units.

Forbes ranked Atherton as second on its list of America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes in 2010, listing median house price as over $2,000,000.

Politics

According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Atherton has 4,953 registered voters. Of those, 1,720 (34.7%) are registered Democrats, 1,541 (31.1%) are registered Republicans and 1,501 (30.3%) have declined to state a political party.

Education

Among Atherton's public schools, Encinal, Las Lomitas, and Laurel are elementary schools, while Selby Lane is both an elementary and a middle school. Menlo-Atherton is a high school. Atherton does not have its own public school system. Selby Lane is part of the Redwood City School District, the high school is part of the Sequoia Union High School District, Las Lomitas Elementary School is part of the Las Lomitas Elementary School District, and both Encinal and Laurel are part of the Menlo Park City School District.

Among the town's private schools, Sacred Heart is an elementary, middle and high school, and Menlo School is a middle and high school.

Menlo College is a private four-year college.

Culture and points of interest

There are a number of active community organizations: the Atherton Heritage Association, the Atherton Arts Committee, the Atherton Tree Committee, the Friends of the Atherton Community Library, the Holbrook-Palmer Park Foundation, the Atherton Dames, the Police Task Force, and the Atherton Civic Interest League. There are also home owners' associations in various neighborhoods. The Menlo Circus Club is a private club with tennis, swimming, stables and a riding ring located within the town.

There are also several tracts of contemporary Eichler homes, most notably in the Lindenwood neighborhood in the northeast part of the town.

The Holbrook-Palmer Estate, was once an active rural estate and gentleman's farm. The Holbrook-Palmer Estate was donated to the city of Atherton in 1958 and now serves as a 22-acre public park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for the architecture.

Notable people