From The Peninsula Letter
Millbrae sits on the northern Peninsula just south of SFO — a 3.2-square-mile city anchored by its BART and Caltrain hub. The Mills Estates and Hillcrest neighborhoods climb the western hills for view homes; the Highlands and Meadow Glen areas offer flatter family streets closer to downtown.
What makes Millbrae specific: it offers commute access most other Peninsula cities envy — BART direct to SF, Caltrain to the South Bay, and SFO five minutes away — paired with a strong K-12 district and a downtown known across the Bay for its restaurants. Buyers comparing Millbrae to Burlingame often find Millbrae's schools and dining edge out at a meaningfully lower price.
August 2026, from the KW Advisors San Mateo County market report: single-family supply, the condo and townhome market, and the countywide benchmark.
Source: MLS Listings Inc., InfoSparks and Trend Graphix via KW Advisors Peninsula Estates — single-family homes, condos and townhomes closed in August 2026. Sale counts are small, so the median reflects which homes happened to close that month; sale-to-list and days on market are the steadier signals. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Ask Elaine for a property-specific analysis.
Four things that make Millbrae worth a second look.
BART direct to San Francisco, Caltrain to the South Bay, and SFO five minutes away — from a city of 3.2 square miles. No other Peninsula town has all three.
Millbrae Elementary School District for K-8 and Mills High consistently rank in the state’s top tier, with Spring Valley Elementary and Taylor Middle the standouts.
The downtown is small but known across the Bay for some of the best dim sum and regional Chinese cooking on the Peninsula, plus Hong Kong-style cafés and Taiwanese bakeries.
Fourteen miles south of San Francisco. Mills Estates and Hillcrest climb west for views; the Highlands and Meadow Glen sit flatter and closer to the station.
Millbrae sits in two strong districts: the Millbrae Elementary School District for K-8, and the San Mateo Union High School District for 9-12.
For families relocating, the question isn't whether Millbrae schools are good — it's which specific attendance zone matches your home search. I can walk you through the differences before we tour homes.
Millbrae sits on the northern Peninsula — about 14 miles south of San Francisco and about 20 miles north of Palo Alto. The BART and Caltrain station puts SF (via BART) and the South Bay (via Caltrain) both within reach; SFO is 5 minutes away.
I preview homes in person before I recommend them, and I pay attention to which streets feel different at 8 a.m. school drop-off vs. 6 p.m. commute. That on-the-ground knowledge is what separates a buyer who pays median from a buyer who pays $80,000 under list.
Whether you're buying, selling, or just exploring the market — let's have a focused 15-minute conversation about your specific goals and what's actually possible in Millbrae right now.
