San Jose, California

San Jose is a major California city and the county seat of Santa Clara County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 894,943. It is located at the south side of the San Francisco Bay, considered part of the Silicon Valley.

San Jose was founded in 1777 and was the first incorporated city in the state. It also served as the first state capital with the first and second sessions of the California Legislature being held there in 1850 and 1851.

With a population of nearly a million people, San Jose is the third most populous city in the state. Originally a farming community, San Jose produced a significant amount of fruits and vegtables until the 1960s, and a local school team name at the time was "the prunes".

At the southern end of the Guadelupe River, which runs through the city is the suburb of Almaden, originally named for the mercury mines, which produced mercury fulminate blasting caps and detonators for the U.S. military from 1870 to 1945.

San Jose is the home of the San Jose Sharks National Hockey League team and the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 461.5 km² (178.2 mi²). 452.9 km² (174.9 mi²) of it is land and 8.6 km² (3.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.86% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 894,943 people, 276,598 households, and 203,576 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,976.1/km² (5,117.9/mi²). There are 281,841 housing units at an average density of 622.3 persons/km² (1,611.8 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 47.49% White, 3.50% African American, 0.77% Native American, 26.86% Asian, 0.40% Pacific Islander, 15.94% from other races, and 5.04% from two or more races. 30.17% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 276,598 households out of which 38.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% are married couples living together, 11.7% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 26.4% are non-families. 18.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.20 and the average family size is 3.62.

In the city the population is spread out with 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 102.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $70,243, and the median income for a family is $74,813. Males have a median income of $49,347 versus $36,936 for females. The per capita income for the city is $26,697. 8.8% of the population and 6.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 10.3% are under the age of 18 and 7.4% are 65 or older.

External Links

• City of San Jose web page