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San Jose, officially the City of San José (/ˌsæn hoʊˈzeɪ, –ˈseɪ/ ^ⓘ SAN hoh-ZAY, -⁠SAY; Spanish: [saŋ xoˈse]),^[a] is the most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, and the 13th-most populous in the United States, with an estimated 989,814 residents as of 2025.^[13] The city’s metropolitan area is home to nearly two million people,^[14][15][16] while the broader combined statistical area (the fifth-largest in the United States) has a population of over nine million.^[17] Located in Santa Clara Valley on the southern shore of San Francisco Bay, San Jose covers an area of 179.97 sq mi (466.1 km²) and is the county seat of Santa Clara County.

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the area around San Jose was long inhabited by the Tamien nation of the Ohlone people. San Jose was founded on November 29, 1777, as the Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, the first city founded in the Californias.^[18] It became a part of Mexico in 1821 after the Mexican War of Independence. Following the U.S. Conquest of California during the Mexican–American War, the territory was ceded to the United States in 1848. After California achieved statehood two years later, San Jose served as the state’s first capital.^[19] San Jose experienced an economic boom after World War II, with a rapid population growth and aggressive annexation of nearby communities in the 1950s and 1960s.^[20][21] The rapid growth of the technology industry in Silicon Valley further accelerated the city’s transition from an agricultural center to an urbanized metropolitan area,^{[citation needed]} prompting Mayor Tom McEnery to adopt San Jose’s current motto, “Capital of Silicon Valley”, in 1988.^[22][23] Results of the 1990 U.S. census indicated that San Jose had surpassed San Francisco in population.^[24] By the early 2000s, the San Jose Metropolitan Area was California’s fastest-growing metropolitan economy.^[25]

Today, San Jose is notable for its innovation, cultural diversity,^[26] affluence,^[27] and sunny and mild Mediterranean climate.^[28] Major companies including Cisco, eBay, Adobe, PayPal, NetApp, Cadence, and Zoom maintain their headquarters in San Jose. One of the wealthiest major metropolitan areas in the world, the San Jose area was ranked in 2017 as having the third-highest GDP per capita (after Zurich and Oslo)^[29] and the fifth-most expensive housing market.^[30] The city is home to one of the world’s largest overseas Vietnamese populations,^[31] a Hispanic community that makes up over 30% of the city’s residents, historic ethnic enclaves such as Japantown and Little Portugal, and the largest Sikh Gurdwara outside of India.^[32][33]

Educational and cultural institutions in San Jose include San Jose State University, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose,^[34][35] the Tech Interactive,^[36] the San Jose Museum of Art,^[37] Winchester Mystery House,^[38] the Japanese American Museum of San Jose,^[39] Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana,^[40] the Viet Museum,^[41] Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum,^[42] Hayes Mansion,^[43] San Jose Municipal Rose Garden,^[44] and the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Two major league sports teams, the San Jose Sharks^[45] and the San Jose Earthquakes,^[46] play their home games in San Jose. San Jose International Airport is the third-busiest airport in Northern California.^[47] VTA‘s rail and bus networks, together with Amtrak, ACE, BART, and Caltrain services, connect San Jose to the broader region through hubs such as Diridon Station.^[48]