San Jose

San Jose’s Demographics

Housing Types in San Jose

Jobs & Housing in San Jose

Jobs: 449,805
Employed Residents per Household: 1.68
Jobs per Employed Resident: 0.82
Jobs-Housing Balance Ratio: 1.30
Source: ACS 2023 5 year estimates

Note: Jobs-Housing Balance is a measurement used by planners that assumes that a balanced community is one where people can both live and work. This ratio compares the number of jobs in a community to the number of housing units.

Jobs-Housing Fit: 6.3 low wage jobs per low-cost rental unit
Source: Jobs from LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics 2022; households from U.S. Census, ACS 2023 5 year estimates B25056, B25061

Note: Jobs-Housing Fit measures the mismatch between wages and housing affordability as the ratio of low-wage jobs (less than $3,333/month) to the number of low-cost rental units (less than $1,500/month). In San Jose, there are more than 6 low-wage workers competing for each affordable home.

Note: Current standards measure housing cost in relation to gross household income: households spending more than 30 percent of their income, including utilities, are generally considered to be overpaying or “cost burdened.” Severe cost burden occurs when households pay 50 percent or more of their gross income for housing. The impact of high housing costs falls disproportionately on extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households, especially renters. While some higher-income households may choose to spend greater portions of their income for housing, the cost burden for lower-income households reflects choices limited by a lack of a sufficient supply of housing affordable to these households.

Homelessness in San Jose

2022 Unhoused people: 6,650 people, including 4,975 unsheltered and 1,675 sheltered (+8% from 2019)

2019 Unhoused people: 6,097 people, including 5,117 unsheltered and 980 sheltered (+41% from 2017)
Source: 2019 and 2022 Homeless Point In Time Count

Overcrowding in San Jose

Total Rental Homes: 143,945
Overcrowded Rental Homes: 12,422
Severely Overcrowded Rental Homes: 7,011
Percent of Rental Homes, Overcrowded: 13.5%
Source: ACS 2023 5 year estimates

• The U.S. Census defines an overcrowded unit as one occupied by 1.01 persons or more per room (excluding bathrooms and kitchens). Units with more than 1.5 persons per room are considered severely overcrowded.

Note: Overcrowding increases health and safety concerns and stresses the condition of the housing stock and infrastructure. Overcrowding is strongly related to household size (particularly for large and very-large households) and the availability of suitably sized housing. Overcrowding impacts both owners and renters; however, renters are generally more significantly impacted. 

2023-2031 Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) 

Every eight years, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process is used to assign each city and county in California their “fair share” of the region’s housing need, by income level. These homes are intended to address the housing shortage, meeting the needs of existing residents and accommodating projected growth in the region. 

The RHNA process is critical because state law requires each city and county to make a specific, actionable, and measurable plan, called a Housing Element, that complies with state law and addresses housing needs. It must identify enough sites to hold the RHNA, by income level, and create programs that remove barriers to housing production and protect residents vulnerable to displacement. Local jurisdictions must also take significant steps to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH), addressing racial and economic segregation and disparities in access to resources, and meeting the unique housing needs of residents in protected groups. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is responsible for certifying Housing Element compliance with state law.

In the past, many cities and counties have fallen far short of their RHNA targets, as the Bay Area’s housing crisis continues to grow. In this planning cycle, new laws give HCD additional tools to provide technical assistance and hold jurisdictions accountable to their plans. Each spring, jurisdictions are required to complete an Annual Progress Report on the Housing Element, including the number of homes permitted by income level, program actions taken, and outcomes achieved. The table below shows San Jose’s target in the sixth cycle and progress to date in permitting new homes.

Permitting progress as of December 2023. Source: HCD 2023 Housing Element Implementation and APR Data Dashboard.

2014-2022 Regional Housing Needs Allocation

The table below shows San Jose’s final progress toward meeting the 2014-2022 RHNA.

Permitting progress as of December 2022. Source: HCD 5th Cycle Housing Element Implementation and APR Data Dashboard.

Current Affordable Housing Stock

SOURCE:  City staff. The percentage of the total housing stock in the community is based on the California Department of Finance’s Table E-5. San Jose’s first-time homebuyer programs (including both those involving a second mortgage and those provided through an inclusionary housing program) have typically included a City first-right-of-refusal clause to buy back an ownership unit at the time of sale, with the intent of assigning that right to another income-qualified buyer. In practice, the City does not exercise that right and, instead, collects an equity-share payment (in addition to repayment of the City loan, if any). Since these units do not have deed-restricted affordability at that point, they are not included in the affordable housing inventory above.

See more information on our affordable housing assets page.

Visit the City of San Jose’s Affordable Rental Housing Finder.

San Jose’s Development Pipeline

The table below summarizes the development activity, as of April 2022, in San Jose. 

*”Pre-Application” means that no application was on file as of January 1, 2022 but the project was in the news.

** “WESTSIDE” includes: all of West Valley west of Highway 17/880; the W. San Carlos St., Race Street Light Rail, South Bascom (North), and Southwest Expressway Urban Villages; and the Midtown Specific Plan area.

Jobs and Residential Development Pipelines as of September 2022 from the City of San Jose: San Jose’s website includes only “major” projects: 50+ dwelling units; 25,000+ square feet for commercial development; and 75,000+ square feet for industrial/office development. San Jose is the only jurisdiction for which the data is broken down into subareas, reflecting the City’s much larger geographical area as compared with other jurisdictions.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

ADUs and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs) can be effective options for adding much needed housing in California, gently increasing density by adding more homes to a single lot. All California cities and counties are required to permit ADUs and JADUs according to State law. Since 2016, State ADU laws have evolved to make new development more feasible. The California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) provides clarity and consistency on State housing law through education, technical assistance, and enforcement. HCD’s 2025 Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook provides the most up-to-date guidance on State ADU laws.

Source: HCD 2023 Housing Element Implementation and APR Data Dashboard.

Affordable Housing Policies

Housing Element Policies

The Housing Element of San Jose’s General Plan has a number of policies and programs that encourage affordable housing, including:

• San Jose allows for significant densities in residential developments – be they market-rate or affordable – especially in designated Urban Villages within proximity to transit or major employment centers.  In many cases, the maximum density is not dictated by the City but rather by the developer due to the costs associated with higher density housing products.
• Additional policies have sought to support affordable housing development, including: setting a target of 25% affordable housing in all Urban Villages, and some streamlining of the development approval process.
• Relaxation of parking, set-back and other development standards are allowed to facilitate affordable housing development.

In recent years, San Jose has directed significant energy on spurring housing and affordable housing development, culminating in the adoption of the multi-dimensional Housing Crisis Workplan in 2018. In contrast, the City has strengthened its Employment Lands Policy to preclude any conversions of planned commercial/industrial lands to residential use through either the rezoning or General Plan amendment processes.

Inclusionary Housing

The City of San Jose has an inclusionary housing ordinance (IHO) that requires for-sale residential developments with 10 or more units to designate 15 percent of the total units as affordable to households with restricted incomes. Income-restricted units must be affordable at the following levels: 5% at 100% AMI, 5% at 60% AMI, and 5% at 50% AMI OR 10% at 30% AMI. In some cases rental developers may meet their inclusionary requirements by building affordable units in another location – off-site. In these cases, units must be affordable at the following levels: 5% at 80% AMI, 5% at 60% AMI, and 10% at 50% AMI.

Developers may also pay an In-Lieu Fee (see In-Lieu Fees and Changes 2024-2025) rather than build homes for sale.

Measure E

On March 3, 2020, San Jose voters approved Measure E with 53.45% of the vote. Measure E increases the city’s existing Real Estate Property Transfer Tax and only applies to an estimated 5% of all properties in San Jose— those valued at $2 million or more. It is expected that, on average, the tax will raise $50 million a year. While this is a general tax that is deposited into the city’s General Fund, the Council adopted a spending plan that directs 100% of the revenue raised in the first year to affordable housing. Future spending will be determined during the city’s annual budget process.

For additional information, visit the SV@Home Action Fund page.

Commercial Linkage Fees

On Tuesday, September 1^st, 2020, the San Jose City Council approved a Commercial Linkage Fee (CLF) Ordinance, joining all of the other major cities in the South Bay that have already adopted fees. CLFs require commercial developers to pay a fee to address the affordable housing needs created by future employees.

The ordinance will be applied retroactively to all projects approved after September, 2019. The fee level will be set at the rate that is in place when developers receive their building permits, but fees will not be due until construction completion, unless the developer chooses to delay payment. In most cases developers will also have the option of building or purchasing affordable housing instead of paying the fee.

The San José City conducted a nexus and a feasibility study in 2020 and released guidelines for implementation of the CLF Ordinance in 2022.

Housing Preservation

San Jose’s Housing Department has a long standing program to preserve existing income-restricted affordable housing developments that are at-risk of being converted to market-rate apartments.  In addition, the department is developing policies and pursuing opportunities to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH), rental housing in the private market that is currently more-affordable to moderate- and lower-income households.

Tenant Protections

In 2016, San Jose updated its Tenant Protection programs to include an Apartment Rent Ordinance (ARO), which caps allowable rent increases at 5% per year; and a Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO), which includes a rent registry and Just Cause eviction protections.

Additional Resources

• City of San Jose 2023-2031 Housing Element
• City of San Jose Housing Site Explorer
• Mayor Sam Liccardo’s 15 Point Plan for Responding to the Housing Crisis
• City of San Jose Inclusionary Housing Ordinance
• City of San Jose Mobile Home Park Ordinance
• City of San Jose Housing Department
• City of San Jose Planning Department
• City of San Jose Housing Data
• City of San Jose Maps Gallery