San Jose, California
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching San Jose.
Key figures
Each metric shows how San Jose compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 990,054City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $141,565Incorporated place (ACS)80% above U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 293ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)193% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $1,187,800City limits (ACS)291% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $2,617City limits (ACS)94% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.4%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 29 min16% above U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 5113% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 438.4annualized per 100k · citywide27% below U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 2419.6annualized per 100k · citywide22% below U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 80°F7.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 42°F8.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 13.5 in59% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 30615% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare San Jose with another city
San Jose, California counts about 990,054 residents inside the city limits. Households here report a median income near $141,565; our housing-derived cost index is about 293 (well above the national housing-cost baseline). Ownership is a high bar — typical values near $1,187,800 push many newcomers toward renting first.
Pacific weather, wildfire seasons, and housing scarcity dominate relocation tradeoffs. Roughly 306 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Commutes average near 29 minutes one-way, with walkability near 51/100. BLS LAUS puts recent unemployment around 3.4% for the surrounding county. Violent-offense rates near 438.4 per 100k sit in a mid-to-elevated band versus many peer cities in this catalog.
Ask locals about Downtown versus Willow Glen — those two pockets illustrate how different daily life can feel inside the same city limits, with Japantown as a common third option. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare San Jose with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Neighborhoods often researched
- Downtown
- Willow Glen
- Japantown
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (San Jose city, 1600000US0668000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN060850000000003 (Santa Clara County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00023293 SAN JOSE)
Last updated 2026-07-28