Foster, CA: Local News, Events & Neighbors

Foster City is a master-planned city located in San Mateo County, California, United States. Foster City is sometimes considered to be part of Silicon Valley for its local industry and its proximity to Silicon Valley cities. There are many notable companies headquartered in Foster City, such as Gilead Sciences, Zoox, and Replit. Visa and Sledgehammer Games were formerly headquartered in Foster City. The 2020 census put the population at 33,805, an increase of more than 10% over the 2010 census figure of 30,567. Foster City contains at least 10 bridges of which seven cross its lagoon, two go across Highway 92 and one is the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge which crosses the San Francisco Bay. Foster…

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From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

How Foster ranks

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#19Best schools in CA #44Most remote workers in CA #24Rent easiest to afford in CA All CA rankings →

Town numbers

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Area code650

Living in Foster

Housing in Foster

$1.84M▲ 1.3% in a year Typical home value · Zillow

The typical Foster home is worth about $1,835,000, up 1.3% in a year, 140% above the California typical home.

A strong seller's market

Buyer’sBalancedSeller’s

Days on market15

Sale-to-list102.9%

Sold in May24

Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →

Safety in Foster

B⁺

Safety Grade B+

Foster reports less crime per resident than 74% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade.

Violent crime per 1,000

Foster 0.7

California 4.3

U.S. 3.3

Property crime per 1,000

Foster 7.6

California 18.2

U.S. 15.5

FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Schools in Foster

All Foster schools →

A⁻

School Grade A-

The public schools Foster’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 81% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.

#19Best public schoolsof 574 in CA

DistrictSan Mateo-Foster CitySchools8

Foster City Elementary A+Elementary · Grades K–5 · 624 students Audubon Elementary AElementary · Grades K–5 · 445 students Beach Park Elementary A+Elementary · Grades K–5 · 347 students Brewer Island Elementary A+Elementary · Grades K–5 · 306 students San Mateo-Foster City Special Education PreschoolElementary · Grades K · 1 students Bowditch Middle A+Middle · Grades 6–8 · 929 students

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within CA. Ratings are from neighbors.

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