San Bruno is a bedroom community located just west of the San Francisco International Airport. It rises from the flats near the bay up and over the hills of the coastal range. There are great views of the bay, the wooded hills and even the Pacific Ocean from the western slopes. Tanforan Park is one of largest shopping malls, about 120 stores, on the Peninsula.

The town is aging gracefully, most of housing was built after World War II and the styles are reminders of the Fifties and Sixties. Skyline Community College is in the city along with excellent public and private schools.

Golden Gate National Cemetery is located in the northern section of San Bruno not far from the Federal Archives and Records Center. The fog routinely rolls into San Bruno during summer afternoons and evenings because of a break in the coastal mountains separating the ocean from the bay.