San Jose meaning St. Joseph in Spanish) is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the US, and the county seat of Santa Clara County. It is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. The San Jose/Silicon Valley area is a major component of the greater San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area (CSA), a region of nearly 7.5 million people.

Once a small farming city, San Jose experienced rapid growth from the 1950s to the present. San Jose now maintains global city status and is the largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area in terms of population, land area, and industrial development. The US Census Bureau estimated the population at 964,695 as of 2009.