San Jose, California has a smaller population than San Francisco.
San Francisco . San Francisco is the fourth-most populous city in California , after Los Angeles , San Diego , and San Jose , and the 13th-most populous city in the United States -- with a census-estimated 2016 population of 870,887 . San Jose, 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 .