San Jose, California is a city in California.
San Jose ( [ ˌsæn_hoʊˈzeɪ ] , Spanish for `` Saint Joseph '' ; [ saŋ xoˈse ] ) , officially the City of San José , is the economic , cultural , and political center of Silicon Valley and the largest city in Northern California . With an estimated 2015 population of 1,026,908 , it is the third most populous city in California ( after Los Angeles and San Diego ) and the tenth most populous in United States . San Jose is the county seat of Santa Clara County , the most affluent county in California and one of the most affluent counties in the United States . Results of the 1990 U.S. Census indicated that San Jose had officially surpassed San Francisco as the most populous city in Northern California .