Marine economy · San Mateo County, CA
Marine economy
Businesses that are dependent on marine resources are particularly vulnerable to coastal hazards. (Note: “Total coastal economy” refers to all economic activity in the shoreline counties and is covered in the total economy section of this page.)
If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Protect It
of total employment in San Mateo County is in the marine economy.
- Establishments
- 1,896
- Jobs
- 29,645
- Wages
- $1.26B
- GDP
- $2.51B
Business Diversity
Understanding the types and amounts of businesses in the marine economy will inform community planning and management initiatives. This graphic highlights the six sectors that make up the marine economy.
of San Mateo County’s marine economy workforce works in Tourism and recreation, its largest sector by employment.
Share of the county total, by sector.
Share of the county total, by sector: data table
| Category | Living resources | Marine construction | Marine transportation | Offshore mineral resources | Ship and boat building | Tourism and recreation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Establishments | 25 | 6 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 1,829 |
| Wages | $20.78M | $32.21M | ≈ $81.99M | ≈ $10.26M | $0 | $1.11B |
| Employment | 243 | 201 | 1,154 | ≈ 39 | 0 | 28,008 |
| GDP | $73.16M | $58.39M | ≈ $131.91M | ≈ $47.58M | $0 | $2.2B |
The approximately-equals sign and hatched segments are estimates.
Wages
Understanding wage vulnerability helps leaders better understand the long and short-term impact of coastal storms, economic downturns, etc. Lower wage sectors are usually affected the most.
Tourism and recreation has the lowest average wage per job in San Mateo County.
Average wage per job, by sector.
Average wage per job, by sector: data table
| Category | County | Coastal California | All Coastal States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living resources | $89,673 | $64,138 | $59,563 |
| Marine construction | $192,817 | $135,639 | $102,260 |
| Marine transportation | $75,927 | $93,343 | $72,991 |
| Offshore mineral resources | $245,492 | $134,731 | $193,706 |
| Tourism and recreation | $39,329 | $37,578 | $35,063 |
All Coastal States means the coastal portions of 30 states, not the whole country.
Total Jobs
Many economic reports don't include the self-employed in their job numbers, yet this group can play an important role in the local economy. Most commercial fishermen, for instance, are self-employed.
tourism and recreation workers in San Mateo County are self-employed, more than any other sector.
- Employed workers, 2025
- 29,645
- Self-employed workers, 2021
- 645
Data, methods and citation
- Snapshot
- 2026-10-22
- Methodology
- Version 1. What changed: https://seachangeatlas.org/county-profiles/about/changelog/#methodology-changelog
- Estimates
- Some figures are estimated with NOAA's Open ENOW method, and some are withheld. How estimates are made: https://seachangeatlas.org/county-profiles/about/economy/#estimated. Why figures are withheld: https://seachangeatlas.org/county-profiles/about/economy/#withheld-reasons
Recommended citation. California Sea Change Atlas. (2026, October 22). San Mateo County coastal county profile: Marine economy. https://seachangeatlas.org/county-profiles/county/san-mateo/2026-10-22/marine-economy/
| Source | Period covered | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|
| BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages) https://www.bls.gov/cew/ | 2025 | 2026-10-22 |
| BEA GDP by state and industry (SAGDP2), California https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-industry | 2025 | 2026-10-22 |
| Census ZIP Code Business Patterns and shoreline-adjacent ZIP codes https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/data/datasets.html | 2023 | 2026-10-22 |
| BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages), wages comparison year https://www.bls.gov/cew/ | 2024 | 2026-10-22 |
| NOAA Open ENOW (California and All Coastal States) https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/enow.html | 2024 | 2026-10-22 |
| NOAA ENOW self-employed workers https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/enow-nes.html | 2021 | 2026-10-22 |