San José at a Glance
San José has a world-renowned quality of life, offering a wide variety of exciting cultural, recreational, educational and entertainment opportunities. In addition, the City of San José has the nation's best public safety record of any metropolitan area, a marvelous ethnic diversity and a beautiful climate.
FOUNDED: 1777
San José was California's first civilian settlement.
INCORPORATED: MARCH 27, 1850
San José was one of the first incorporated cities in California and site of the first state capital.
INCORPORATED AREA: 177.8 SQUARE MILES
COUNTY: SANTA CLARA
MAP: San José is the largest city in the Bay Area, located roughly 50 miles south of San Francisco and 390 miles north of Los Angeles.
POPULATION: 953,679*
San José is the third largest city in California, following Los Angeles and San Diego. It is the 10th largest city in the U.S. (Note: Current population figure comes from the California Department of Finance. Population estimate from U.S. Census Bureau for July 1, 2004 is 905,000.)
#1 IN TECHNOLOGY EXPERTISE
The San José area is home to the largest concentration of technology expertise in the world--more than 6,600 technology companies employing more than 254,000 people.
CLIMATE
Temperatures vary from an average of 50 degrees in January to an average of 70 degrees in July. San José boasts an average of more than 300 sunny days per year, and has a mean annual rainfall of 14.4 inches.
ELEVATION
The highest elevation is 4,372 at Copernicus Peak in the Diablo Range; the lowest elevation is sea level.
