San Jose is the third-largest city in the state of California and the 10th largest in the United States. It is also the largest city in Northern California, located in the greater Bay Area. The population of San Jose just passed the 1 million mark in 2014.

It is estimated that San Jose, California surpassed the one million mark in 2014, reaching an estimated population of 1,000,536, according to the California Department of Finance. The larger urban area has an estimated population of 1.89 million, with a metropolitan population of 1.97 million. The San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area (CSA) has a much larger population of 8.37 million.

San Jose Diversity and Religion Statistics

The largest Hispanic group was Mexicans, accounting for 28.2% of the city's population, followed by Salvadorans (0.7%), and Puerto Ricans (0.5%).

Around 44% of the population has a religious affiliation, with the largest proportion being the Roman Catholic Church (26%). About 3.8% of the population practice an Eastern religion, which is seven times the national average. About 1% of the population adheres to Islam.

San Jose History

Groups of Ohlone Native Americans first inhabited the San Jose area. The first European settlement began with Franciscan missions established in 1769. San Jose was founded as Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe (for Saint Joseph) in 1777 as a farming community.

In 1821, San Jose came under Mexican rule and then became part of the United States. It became the second city to incorporate in California in 1850, and it was California's first state capital.

San Jose Population Growth

San Jose is the largest city in Santa Clara County, which was recently named as the fastest growing county in California, with much of its growth attributed to young tech workers who are attracted to the region. In 2012, the county's population grew 1.6%, and another 1.7% in 2013.

San Jose hit the one million resident mark at the beginning of 2014, which is an important milestone as the city has long struggled with its identity and outsiders had pegged it as a run-of-the-mill giant suburb. San Jose had already brushed the million mark before in 2009 before its population declined, but it is expected to stick this time. San Jose's current population is far behind San Diego (1.3 million) and Los Angeles (3.9 million), but it is closing in on Dallas, with its population of 1.2 million people.