San Jose, California

San Jose is the most populous and biggest city in Northern California, both in terms of people and land area. It is the third-most populated city in California (after Los Angeles and San Diego) and the tenth-most populous city in the United States, according to the United States Census Bureau's 2020 population estimate. San Jose is a city in California that is located in the heart of the Santa Clara Valley on the southern side of San Francisco Bay. It has a total land area of 179.97 square miles (466.1 km2). Located in northern California, San Jose is the county seat of Santa Clara County, which is both the most wealthy county in the state and one of the most affluent counties in the country. It is predicted that San Jose has a population of about 2 million persons in 2018, making it the most populous city in the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As a result, it is the most populous city in both the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area, which have a combined population of around 7.7 million and 9.7 million people, respectively.

In addition to its richness, Mediterranean environment, and very high cost of living, San Jose is known as a hub of innovation. As of June 2021, the San Jose metropolitan region has the greatest proportion of million-dollar (or more) residences in the whole United States, according to the National Association of Realtors. Since the city's relationship to the expanding high-tech industry phenomenon known as Silicon Valley began in 1988, Mayor Tom McEnery has designated it as "Capital of Silicon Valley," which was adopted by the city in 1988. According to the Brookings Institution, San Jose is one of the richest large cities in the United States and the world, with the third-highest GDP per capita in the world (after Zürich, Switzerland, and Oslo, Norway), and the third-highest GDP per capita in the United States. The San Jose Metropolitan Area has the highest concentration of millionaires and billionaires in the United States, based on population. According to the 2017 Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, the median house price in San Jose is $1,085,000, making it the most expensive housing market in the country and the sixth most expensive real estate economy in the country. Cisco Systems, eBay, Adobe Inc., PayPal, Broadcom, Samsung, Acer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Zoom are just a few of the worldwide technology giants that have established headquarters in the Silicon Valley. As of 2018, the combined metropolitan statistical area (CSA) that San Jose and San Francisco share had a GDP of $1.03 trillion, making it the country's third-largest urban economy. This CSA has one of the highest GDP per capita in the United States in 2018, with a figure of $106,757, out of the country's more than 500 core statistical areas.

Pre-Columbian Californians called the region surrounding San Jose "Tamien Country," and the Tamien nation of the Ohlone peoples of California occupied there at the time. San Jose was officially established as the Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe on November 29, 1777, making it the first city to be established in the Californias. After the Mexican War of Independence, it was annexed by Mexico in 1821 and became part of the country. Following the conquest of California by the United States during the Mexican–American War, the area was given to the United States in the year 1848. San Jose was designated as the state's first capital in 1850, two years after the state of California was established. As a result of World War II, San Jose underwent an economic boom, which was accompanied by fast population increase and forceful annexation of neighbouring towns and municipalities, which occurred between 1950 and 1960. The fast rise of the high-technology and electronics sectors contributed to the acceleration of the transition from an agricultural centre to an urbanised metropolitan region in the United States. According to the results of the 1990 United States Census, San Jose has officially overtaken San Francisco as the most populated city in Northern California, according to the Census Bureau. By the 1990s, San Jose had established itself as the worldwide hub for the high-tech and internet sectors, resulting in the city having the fastest-growing economy in California. Droughts and wildfires have grown more frequent and more severe over time, becoming less seasonal and more year-round, putting a strain on the region's water security.