Santa Clara County

Santa Clara County’s Demographics

Housing Types in Santa Clara County

It is important to have a variety of housing types to meet the needs of a community today and in the future. In 2022, 51.26% of homes in Santa Clara County were single family detached (generally the most expensive type of home), 7.14% were single family attached, 7.3% were small multifamily (2-4 units), 28.91% were medium or large multifamily (5+ units), and 2.61% were mobilehomes. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of multi-family units increased more than single-family units. In Santa Clara County, the share of the housing stock that is detached single family homes is higher than the average of other jurisdictions in the region.
Source: California Department of Finance, 2023 Table E-5

Jobs & Housing in Santa Clara County

Jobs: 1,058774
Employed Residents per Household:  1.57
Jobs per Employed Resident: 1.02
Jobs-Housing Balance Ratio: 1.51
Source: ACS 2022 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.

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.

Overcrowding in Santa Clara County

Total Rental Homes: 288,801
Overcrowded Rental Homes: 19,271
Severely Overcrowded Rental Homes: 19,715
Percent of Rental Homes, Overcrowded: 13.03%
Source: ACS 2022 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 for All Jurisdictions Countywide

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.

Each city and town within the county has its own Regional Housing Needs Allocation. You can view the progress of your local jurisdiction on our Cities & Public Agencies. The table below shows the target in the sixth cycle and progress to date in permitting new homes of all jurisdictions in the Santa Clara County, aggregated together.

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

2014-2022 Regional Housing Needs Allocation for All Jurisdictions Countywide

The table below shows the final progress in permitting new homes of all jurisdictions in the Santa Clara County, aggregated together toward meeting the 2014-2022 RHNA.

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

2023-2031 Regional Housing Needs Allocation for Unincorporated Santa Clara County Land

In addition to the Regional Housing Needs Allocation for each individual jurisdiction within the County, Santa Clara County also has its own Regional Housing Needs Allocation for unincorporated land within the County’s boundaries. This covers a population of 91,649. (Source: California Department of Finance 2023 Table E-5 City/County Population and Housing Estimates)

The table below shows the target in the sixth cycle and progress to date in permitting new homes for Unincorporated Santa Clara County.

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

2014-2022 RHNA Allocation for Unincorporated County Land

The table below shows Unincorporated Santa Clara County Land 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 in Unincorporated Santa Clara County

SOURCE: Units reported in the Housing Element Annual Performance Report that received building permits through 2023 were added to the unit counts in the previously reported 2018 Base Year table. This methodology necessarily means that any ELI units, if any, are included in the VLI category since that is how HCD has required production data to be reported.  The RHNA data on new units relies on self-reporting by jurisdiction and can include units for which building permits were issued that never got built.  The percentage of the total housing stock in the community is based the California Department of Finance’s Table E-5. See more information on our affordable housing assets page.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

All California cities and counties are mandated to permit ADUs and JADUs according to state law. The Legislature further updated ADU and JADU law effective January 1, 2021 to clarify and improve various provisions in order to promote the development of ADUs and junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs). These include allowing ADUs and JADUs to be built concurrently with a single-family dwelling, opening areas where ADUs can be created to include all zoning districts that allow single-family and multifamily uses, modifying fees from utilities such as special districts and water corporations, limited exemptions or reductions in impact fees, and reduced parking requirements. Please see the Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook (PDF) for more information for local government bodies and homeowners interested in adding an ADU or JADU to their property. Our partner, the Housing Trust of Silicon Valley has kicked-off a major initiative, Small Homes, Big Impact to support ADU development throughout Santa Clara County, including outreach and education, and potential new financing mechanisms.

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

Affordable Housing Policies

Housing Element Policies

The Housing Element of the County’s General Plan includes several policies to encourage affordable housing development, including:

• Planning for the supply and diversity of housing in each part of the urbanized areas county shall provide for existing and expected employment and household needs and a diversity of affordability that matches the diversity of household incomes, while respecting the capacity of constructed or planned public systems and services.
• Prioritization of the County’s housing assistance resources on affordable housing for special needs populations and extremely low income households (earning below 30% AMI), as well as transitional and permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals.
• Encouragement of intergovernmental and public and private cooperation to achieve an adequate supply of affordable housing that meets changing demographic needs in Santa Clara County.
• Consideration of using suitably located surplus publicly-owned lands for housing affordable to extremely low, very low, and low income households through the sale or lease of such land to a government entity, or to nonprofit or private home builders with appropriate terms and conditions guaranteeing long term affordability.

Inclusionary Housing Ordinance

On October 6, 2020, the County Board of Supervisors approved an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance for unincorporated land within the county’s borders which applies to all residential development of three or more units:

Rental Residential Development. 16% of the total units must be available for rent at an affordable housing cost to lower, very low, or extremely low income households earning no more than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

For Sale Residential Development. 16% of the total units must be available for purchase at an affordable housing cost to lower, very low, or extremely low income households earning no more than 120% of AMI.

Any fraction above a whole number of units can be paid as an in lieu fee or rounded up to include the provision of an additional inclusionary unit. Specific guidelines apply to residential development within the Stanford Community Plan Area.

Measure A

On November 8, 2016, 67.88% of Santa Clara County voters approved a landmark funding measure for affordable housing, making $950 million available for the acquisition or improvement of housing for vulnerable populations.  In 2017, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved funding for the first six developments, each of which includes supportive housing units dedicated to households exiting homelessness.  Learn more about Measure A.

Publicly Owned Land

The County has a few initiatives underway that will open up under-utilized County owned land for affordable housing development. Most notably, in a joint planning effort with the Housing Authority of Santa Clara County, the County has drafted the East Santa Clara Master Plan with plans to develop 800 housing units affordable to a variety of income levels within downtown San Jose. The Board of Supervisors has also requested a housing plan be developed for the Civic Center Master Plan Area, with the goal of creating a permanent supportive housing development in place of the recently demolished San Jose City Hall Annex. Lastly, the County began a 20 year process to close the Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose, which will unlock additional land for future housing development.

Additional Resources

• County of Santa Clara 2015-2023 Housing Element
• County of Santa Clara Office of Supportive Housing
• County of Santa Clara Department of Planning and Development
• Santa Clara County Grand Jury Report: Density is our Destiny,  June 2018
• Affordable Housing Nexus Study, Prepared for County of Santa Clara by Keyser Marston Associates, April 2018