Name
San Jose is named after ''el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe'' (History
Pre-colonial period
San Jose, along with most of theSpanish period
Mexican period
American period
By the end of 1847, the Conquest of California by the United States was complete, as theGeography
Cityscape
San Jose's expansion was made by the design of "Dutch" Hamann, the City Manager from 1950 to 1969. During his administration, with his staff referred to as "Dutch's Panzer Division", the city annexed property 1,389 times, growing the city from , absorbing the communities named above, changing their status to "neighborhoods." Sales taxes were a chief source of revenue. Hamann would determine where major shopping areas would be, and then annex narrow bands of land along major roadways leading to those locations, pushing tentacles across the Santa Clara Valley and, in turn, walling off the expansion of adjacent communities. During his reign, it was said the City Council would vote according to Hamann's nod. In 1963, the State of California imposedTopography
Climate
San Jose, like most of the Bay Area, has a warm-summerNeighborhoods and districts
The city is generally divided into the following areas: Central San Jose (centered on Downtown San Jose), West San Jose, North San Jose, East San Jose, and South San Jose. Many of San Jose's districts and neighborhoods were previously unincorporated area, unincorporated communities or separate municipalities that were later annexed by the city. Besides those mentioned above, some well-known communities within San Jose includeParks
Trails
Wildlife
Early written documents record the local presence of migrating salmon in the Rio Guadalupe dating as far back as the 18th century. Both Rainbow trout, steelhead (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') and Chinook salmon, King salmon are extant in the Guadalupe River, making San Jose the southernmost major U. S. city with known salmon spawning runs, the other cities being Anchorage, Alaska; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon and Sacramento, California. Runs of up to 1,000 Chinook Salmon, Chinook or King Salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') swam up the Guadalupe River each fall in the 1990s, but have all but vanished in the current decade apparently blocked from access to breeding grounds by impassable culverts, weirs and wide, exposed and flat concrete paved channels installed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. In 2011 a small number of Chinook salmon were filmed spawning under the Julian Street bridge. Conservationist Roger Castillo, who discovered the remains of a mammoth on the banks of the Guadalupe River in 2005, found that a herd of tule elk (''Cervus canadensis'') had recolonized the hills of south San Jose east of Highway 101 in early 2019. At the southern edge of San José, Coyote Valley, California, Coyote Valley is a corridor for wildlife migration between theDemographics
In 2014, the U.S. Census Bureau released its new population estimates. With a total population of 1,015,785, San Jose became the 11th U.S. city to hit the 1 million mark, even though it is currently the 10th most populous city. It is currently the largest U.S. city with an Asian plurality population.2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that San Jose had a population of 945,942. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Jose was 404,437 (42.8%) White (U.S. Census), White, 303,138 (32.0%) Asian (U.S. Census), Asian (10.4% Vietnamese American, Vietnamese, 6.7% Chinese American, Chinese, 5.6% Filipino American, Filipino, 4.6% Indian American, Indian, 1.2% Korean American, Korean, 1.2% Japanese American, Japanese, 0.3% Cambodian American, Cambodian, 0.2% Thai American, Thai, 0.2% Pakistani American, Pakistani, 0.2% Laotian American, Laotian), 30,242 (3.2%) African American (U.S. Census), African American, 8,297 (0.9%) Native American (U.S. Census), Native American, 4,017 (0.4%) Pacific Islander (U.S. Census), Pacific Islander, 148,749 (15.7%) from Race (United States Census), other races, and 47,062 (5.0%) from two or more races. There were 313,636 residents of Hispanic (U.S. Census), Hispanic or Latino (U.S. Census), Latino background (33.2%). 28.2% of the city's population was of Mexican American, Mexican descent; the next largest Hispanic groups were those of Salvadoran American, Salvadoran (0.7%) and Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican (0.5%) heritage. Non-Hispanic Whites were 28.7% of the population in 2010, down from 75.7% in 1970. The census reported that 932,620 people (98.6% of the population) lived in households, 9,542 (1.0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 3,780 (0.4%) were institutionalized. There were 301,366 households, out of which 122,958 (40.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 162,819 (54.0%) were marriage, opposite-sex married couples living together, 37,988 (12.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 18,702 (6.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 16,900 (5.6%) POSSLQ, unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2,458 (0.8%) same-sex partnerships, same-sex married couples or partnerships. 59,385 households (19.7%) were made up of individuals, and 18,305 (6.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09. There were 219,509 family (U.S. Census), families (72.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.54. The age distribution of the city was as follows: 234,678 people (24.8%) were under the age of 18, 89,457 people (9.5%) aged 18 to 24, 294,399 people (31.1%) aged 25 to 44, 232,166 people (24.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 95,242 people (10.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males. There were 314,038 housing units at an average density of , of which 176,216 (58.5%) were owner-occupied, and 125,150 (41.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 553,436 people (58.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 379,184 people (40.1%) lived in rental housing units.2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 894,943 people, 276,598 households, and 203,576 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 281,841 housing units at an average density of . Of the 276,598 households, 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.62. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 26.4% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males. According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was the highest in the U.S. for any city with more than a quarter-million residents with $76,963 annually. The median income for a family was $86,822. Males had a median income of $49,347 versus $36,936 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,697. About 6.0% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.Economy
Wealth
Silicon Valley
Media
San Jose is served by Greater Bay Area media. Print media outlets in San Jose include ''The Mercury News'', the weekly ''Metro Silicon Valley'', ''El Observador'' and the ''Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal''. The Bay Area's NBC Owned-and-operated station, O&O, KNTV 11, is licensed to San Jose. In total, broadcasters in the Bay Area include 34 television stations, 25 AM radio stations, and 55 FM radio stations. In April 1909, Charles David Herrold, an electronics instructor in San Jose, constructed a radio station to broadcast the human voice. The station, "San Jose Calling" (call letters FN, later FQW), was the world's first radio station with scheduled programming targeted at a general audience. The station became the first to broadcast music in 1910. Herrold's wife Sybil became the first female "disk jockey" in 1912. The station changed hands a number of times before eventually becoming today's KCBS (AM), KCBS in San Francisco. Therefore, KCBS technically is the oldest radio station in the United States, and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009 with much fanfare.Top employers
As of June 30, 2021, the top employers in the city were:Culture
Architecture
Visual arts
Performing arts
The city is home to many performing arts companies, including Opera San Jose, Symphony Silicon Valley, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, sjDANCEco, The San Jose Symphonic Choir, Children's Musical Theater of San Jose, the San Jose Youth Symphony, the San Jose Repertory Theatre, City Lights Theatre Company, The Tabard Theatre Company, San Jose Stage Company, and the now-defunct American Musical Theatre of San Jose which was replaced by Broadway San Jose in partnership with Team San Jose. San Jose is also home to the San Jose Museum of Art, one of the nation's premiere Modern Art museums. The SAP Center at San Jose is one of the most active venues for events in the world. According to Billboard Magazine and Pollstar, the arena sold the most tickets to non-sporting events of any venue in the United States, and third in the world after the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England, and the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, for the period from January 1September 30, 2004. The annual Cinequest Film Festival in downtown has grown to over 60,000 attendees per year, becoming an important festival for independent films. The San Francisco Asian American Film Festival is an annual event, which is hosted in San Francisco, Berkeley, California, Berkeley, and Downtown San Jose. Approximately 30 to 40 films are screened in San Jose each year at the Camera 12 Downtown Cinemas. The San Jose Jazz Festival is another of many events hosted throughout the year. The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies houses the largest collection of Ludwig van Beethoven in the world, outside of Europe, and is the only institution of its kind in North America.Sports
Landmarks
Notable landmarks in San Jose include Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, History Park at Kelley Park, Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph (San Jose), Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph,Museums and institutions
* The Tech Museum of Innovation * Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, which houses the largest collection of Ludwig van Beethoven in the world outside of Europe * Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, the largest U.S. public library west of the Mississippi River * San Jose Museum of Art, contemporary art museum with a collection of West Coast artists * Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose * History Park at Kelley Park * Mexican Heritage Plaza, a Chicano museum and cultural centerLaw and government
Local
San Jose is a charter city under California law, giving it the power to enact local ordinances that may conflict with state law, within the limits provided by the charter. The city has a council-manager government with a city manager nominated by the mayor and elected by the city council. TheState and federal
In the California State Senate, San Jose is split between the California's 10th State Senate district, 10th, California's 15th State Senate district, 15th, and California's 17th State Senate district, 17th districts, represented by , , and respectively. In the California State Assembly, San Jose is split between the California's 25th State Assembly district, 25th, California's 27th State Assembly district, 27th, California's 28th State Assembly district, 28th, and California's 29th State Assembly district, 29th districts, represented by , , , and , respectively. Federally, San Jose is split between California's California's 17th congressional district, 17th, California's 18th congressional district, 18th, and California's 19th congressional district, 19th congressional districts, represented by , , and , respectively. Several state and federal agencies maintain offices in San Jose. The city is the location of the Sixth District of the California Courts of Appeal. It is also home to one of three courthouses of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the other two being in Oakland and San Francisco.Crime
The San Jose Police Department has consistently innovated in crime prevention, through programs like "CrimeReports.com", which made San Jose the first American city to make all 911 calls available online. Like most large cities, crime levels had fallen significantly after rising in the 1980s. From 2002 to 2006, Morgan Quitno Press named San Jose the safest city in the United States with a population over 500,000 people. Crime in San Jose had been lower than in other large American cities until 2013, when crime rates in San Jose climbed above California and U.S. averages. In 2021, SmartAsset ranked San Jose tied as the 10th safest city in the United States. In 2020, violent crime per 100,000 people has been the lowest the city has seen in 2017 while the homicide rate has been the highest since 2016; property crime per 100,000 people has been the lowest the city has seen in over ten years.2021 mass shooting
On May 26, 2021, a mass shooting occurred at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) rail yard in San Jose. Ten people were killed, including the gunman, 57-year-old VTA employee Samuel James Cassidy, who shot and killed himself. The shooting led to a day-long suspension of light rail services in the area. It is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of theEducation
Higher education
Primary and secondary education
Up until the opening of Abraham Lincoln High School (San Jose, California), Lincoln High School in 1943, San Jose students only attended San Jose High Academy, San Jose High School. San Jose has 127 elementary, 47 middle, and 44 public high schools. Public education in the city is provided by four high school districts, fourteen elementary education, elementary districts, and four unified school districts (which provide both elementary and high schools). In addition to the main San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) and other Districts within San Jose such as the Alum Rock Unified School District and the East Side Union High School District, other nearby unified school districts of nearby cities are Milpitas Unified School District, Morgan Hill Unified School District, and Santa Clara Unified School District. The public schools in San Jose declared bankruptcy in 1983; this was the largest school district bankruptcy to that date in the US. Observers identified the reasons as a drop of 5,000 students in the preceding years, the difficulties imposed on school finances by ''Serrano v. Priest'' in 1968, the reduction of tax monies because of 1978 California Proposition 13, and the local teacher's union contract requiring a raise in pay. Private schools in San Jose are primarily run by religious groups. The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California, Catholic Diocese of San Jose has the second largest student population in the Santa Clara County, behind only SJUSD; the diocese and its parishes operate several schools in the city, including five high schools: Archbishop Mitty High School, Bellarmine College Preparatory, Notre Dame High School, San Jose, California, Notre Dame High School, Saint Francis High School (Mountain View), Saint Francis High School, and Presentation High School. Other private high schools include two Baptist high schools, Liberty Baptist School and Private schools in San Jose, California, White Road Baptist Academy, one Non-denominational Christianity, Non-Denominational Protestant high school, Valley Christian High School (San Jose, California), one University-preparatory school, Cambrian Academy, a nonsectarian K-12 The Harker School, Harker School with four campuses in western San Jose, and a K-12 school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Apostles Lutheran School.Libraries
Community services and utilities
San Jose is protected by the San Jose Police Department and San Jose Fire Department. Drinking water is supplied by the San José Municipal Water System (Muni Water) along with the privately owned San Jose Water Company and Great Oaks Water Company. The San José–Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility provides Tertiary treatment, advanced wastewater treatment and reclaimed water.Transportation
Like other American cities built mostly after World War II, San Jose is highly automobile-dependent, with 76 percent of residents driving alone to work and 12 percent carpooling in 2017. The city set an ambitious goal to shift motorized trips to walking, bicycling, and public transit in 2009 with the adoption of its Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan. In 2018, the city extended these goals to 2050 with its San Jose Climate Smart plan.Public transit
Air
Highways
The San Jose area is served by a freeway system that includes three Interstate Highway System, Interstate freeways and one United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Route. It is, however, the largest city in the country not served by a List of Interstate Highways, primary (one- or two-digit route number) Interstate; most of the Interstate Highway Network Interstate Highway System#Planning, was planned by the early 1950s well before San Jose's rapid growth decades later. U.S. Route 101 in California, U.S. 101 runs south to the California Central Coast and Los Angeles, and then runs north up near the eastern shore of the San Francisco Peninsula to San Francisco. Interstate 280 (California), I-280 also heads to San Francisco, but goes along just to the west of the cities of the San Francisco Peninsula. Interstate 880 (California), I-880 heads north to Oakland, California, Oakland, running parallel to the southeastern shore ofBicycling
Central San Jose has seen a gradual expansion of bike lanes over the past decade, which now comprise a network of car-traffic-separated and buffered bike lanes. San Jose Bike Party is a volunteer-run monthly social cycling event that attracts up to 1,000 participants during summer months to "build community through bicycling". Unfortunately, fewer than one percent of city residents ride bicycles to work as their primary mode of transportation, a statistic unchanged in the past ten years. Typically, between 3 and 5 residents are struck and killed by car drivers while bicycling on San Jose streets each year.Trail network
San Jose is crossed by several major regional off-street paved trails, most notably the Guadalupe River Trail, Los Gatos Creek Trail, and Coyote Creek Trail. These trails extend from near downtown San Jose for dozens of miles to the north and south, and are connected with each other via bicycle routes of varying quality. The city is planning to construct new trail extensions in the coming years including the Three Creeks Trail and San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail.Notable people
Sister cities
San Jose has one of the oldest Twin towns and Sister cities, Sister City programs in the nation. In 1957, when the city established a relationship with Okayama, Japan, it was only the third Sister City relationship in the nation, which had begun the prior year. The Office of Economic Development coordinates the San Jose Sister City Program which is part of Sister Cities International. , there are eight sister cities: * Okayama, Okayama, Okayama, Japan (established on May 26, 1957) * San José, Costa Rica (1961) * Veracruz, Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico (1975) * Tainan City, Tainan, Taiwan (1977) * Dublin, Ireland (1986) * Yekaterinburg, Russia (1992) * Pune, India (1992) * Guadalajara, Mexico (2014)See also
* List of people from San Jose, California * List of streets in San Jose, California, with name origins * List of tallest buildings in San Jose, California * Northern California MegaregionNotes
References
Further reading
* Beilharz, Edwin A.; and DeMers Jr., Donald O.; ''San Jose: California's First City''; 1980, * ThExternal links
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