City
Foster City
Foster City is a city record. City or town offices may handle local rules inside their limits, while county offices still handle records, taxes, courts, and many services.
Starting point
Confirm the address is inside local limits first.
If the address is inside Foster City, city or town offices may handle local permits, code, and services. If it is outside limits, county routing may be the better first stop.
A mailing city is not always the same as city government jurisdiction.
2025 population
32,411
Land area
3.787 sq mi
Water area
16.045 sq mi
Directory notes
Local layers to keep on the same page.
Confirm city or town limits.
A mailing address can use a nearby place name. If the address is outside limits, county offices may handle permits, code, and land-use routes.
County still matters.
San Mateo County can still matter for assessor, tax collector, recorder, court, public health, social service, and election records.
Some layers are separate.
Water, sewer, fire, school, utilities, coast, earthquake maps, wildfire zones, parks, and trails may point outside city hall.
County layer
County shown for Foster City
Practical notes
Office, map, permit, and paperwork notes for Foster City
Place note · Home and property · Reviewed July 7, 2026
Foster City's bay edge is a levee and trail story
Foster City's waterfront is both public bay-edge trail space and flood-protection infrastructure, with levee work tied to FEMA accreditation and sea-level planning.
County layer · Cars and driving · Reviewed July 5, 2026
Daly City street sweeping is really a parking-window check
Daly City's street sweeping rules depend on the posted block and time window, and citations can still happen after the sweeper has already passed.
County layer · Cars and driving · Reviewed July 5, 2026
Free South City Shuttle links the hill, downtown, and transit
South San Francisco's free shuttle runs on weekdays and links local stops with SamTrans, BART, Caltrain, downtown, parks, stores, and civic destinations.
County layer · History and culture · Reviewed July 5, 2026
Redwood City keeps old civic buildings in daily downtown life
Redwood City's historic downtown includes the Historic San Mateo County Courthouse, Fox Theatre, Lathrop House, and Courthouse Square, where the old center still works as a public gathering place.
County layer · Home and property · Reviewed July 5, 2026
Redwood City utility bills and garbage bills can split apart
Redwood City bills water and sewer in some cases, while garbage collection and billing are handled through Recology, so residents should check which bill they are holding.
County layer · Home and property · Reviewed July 5, 2026
San Bruno building permits use MGO Connect
San Bruno's Building Division uses MGO Connect for online permits, application tracking, documents, payments, and inspection scheduling.
Almanac notes
Stories and local context near Foster City
Place note · Outdoors
Foster City's lagoon gives the city its quiet water thread
Foster City's lagoon winds through neighborhoods and gives the city a calm place for paddling, small boats, swimming, fishing, and summer evenings.
Place note · Outdoors
Leo J. Ryan Park gives Foster City a lagoon center
Leo J. Ryan Park brings Foster City's planned lagoon setting into one easy public place, with lawns, paths, water access, and a gazebo by the water.
County layer · Outdoors
Coyote Point shows San Mateo's busy Bay edge
Coyote Point Recreation Area brings together Bay views, a marina, marsh habitat, a beach promenade, windsurfing, playgrounds, CuriOdyssey, picnic areas, and SFO planes overhead.
County layer · History and culture
South San Francisco's biotech story grew from an industrial city
South San Francisco is known as the birthplace of biotechnology, with Genentech's 1976 start helping shift an older industrial city into a major life-science center.
County layer · History and culture
The Cow Palace gives Daly City a big Bay Area memory
The Cow Palace in Daly City began in 1941 and still carries a mix of rodeo, concert, sports, convention, and community history near the San Francisco line.
County layer · History and culture
Sign Hill turns South San Francisco's old slogan into a walk
South San Francisco's Sign Hill carries the famous 'The Industrial City' sign, but the hillside is also a 65-acre open space with rare plants and habitat.
County layer · History and culture
Atherton began as Fair Oaks, a quiet rail stop for estate country
Atherton's story starts with Fair Oaks, the San Francisco-to-San Jose rail line, large country estates, and Holbrook-Palmer Park's surviving estate buildings.
County layer · History and culture
Bay Meadows still explains a big piece of San Mateo
The former Bay Meadows racetrack site shows why part of San Mateo now mixes housing, offices, shops, parks, and Caltrain access in one busy rail-side area.