Experience San José
Live, Work & Play
With all of the amenities of a large city and the charm of a small town, San José is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
San José residents enjoy an unparalleled quality of life, with great weather year round to enjoy expansive open spaces, beautiful parks, trails, and local and regional attractions. It’s an easy day trip to some of the best destinations in northern California, including
San Francisco (one hour),
Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay (45 minutes),
Oakland / Berkeley (50 minutes), the renowned
Napa Valley wine region (two hours), and
Yosemite National Park (four hours). There’s also plenty to enjoy right here in San José.
Location
San José is located in Santa Clara County at the southern edge of the San Francisco Bay, about 50 miles south of San Francisco, 390 miles north of Los Angeles.
Population
The current population is
1,000,536 persons. San José is the third largest city in California, following Los Angeles and San Diego. It is the tenth largest city in the U.S.
Note: This current population figure comes from the
California Department of Finance population estimate as of January 2014.
Incorporated Area
There are 180.2 square miles of incorporated land area.
Founded
The City as we know it today was originally founded November 29, 1777 as Pueblo de San José. San José was California's first civilian settlement.
Incorporated
The City of San José was incorporated March 27, 1850. San José was one of the first incorporated cities in California and the site of the first state capitol.
Elevation
The highest elevation is 4,372 feet at Copernicus Peak near Lick Observatory at Mount Hamilton in the Diablo Range; the lowest elevation is sea level.
Climate
San José weather is hard to beat with moderate year-round temperatures. Residents enjoy 300 days of sunshine each year and an average annual temperature of 70 degrees. The average temperature is 84 degrees in July and 41 degrees in December. Average annual rainfall is 15 inches.
Business: #1 in Technology Expertise
The San José area is home to the largest concentration of technology expertise in the world with more than 6,600 technology companies employing more than 254,000 people.
Higher Education
San José State University | Several community colleges
Sports
San José hosted the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2009, 2010, and 2012.
The
San José Sharks, a professional team in the National Hockey League, draws huge crowds at the HP Pavilion arena in Downtown San José.
Other area sports teams include:
Traditions
As a community rich in diversity, San José is home to many exciting
annual events including:
- Chinese Summer Festival
- Christmas in the Park
- Cinco de Mayo Festival
- Festival of the Arts
- Filipino Heritage Festival
- Gay Pride Parade
- International Mariachi Festival
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- Italian Family Festival
- Juneteenth Festival
- Obon Festival
- Portuguese Heritage Fall Festival
- San José Children's Faire
- Veterans Day Parade
- Vietnamese Tet Festival
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