The annual Pumpkin Festival attracts thousands of visitors and receives national attention. The schools are excellent and the crime rate is very low. An unusually high percentage of the population of 10,000 work in Half Moon Bay and nearly three-quarters work within the county. Half Moon Bay also features two world class golf courses and custom homes within the gated community of Ocean Colony. At the turn of the 20th century, Menlo Park was a summer home location for wealthy San Francisco professionals.
Many large homes remain from that era with huge oak trees and other lush vegetation.
Today Menlo Park is an upscale community, primarily residential, with a number of private prep schools, colleges and an excellent public school system. A complete selection of shops and stores is available downtown along with many fine restaurants. Located at the southern-most end of San Mateo County, the population of 35,000 which includes West Menlo Park enjoys one of the nation's lowest crime rates. Although most of the homes are valued well above the Peninsula average, there are affordable areas in Menlo Park. An attractive, established residential community located on the San Francisco Peninsula some 16 miles south of San Francisco.