Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #37 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of San Jose was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 35 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and eight historic districts with 474 buildings between them. Below: 21 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.
San Jose dates its founding to 1777 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1870.
San Jose is named after el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe (Spanish for 'the Town of Saint Joseph of Guadalupe'), the city's predecessor, which was eventually located in the area of what is now the Plaza de César Chávez.
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, San Jose is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #37 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, San Jose ranks #135 on History.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so San Jose’s 5.0 sits above most of its state (88% of California towns have fewer) while its 500 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
San Jose’s post office has been open since 1849. Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of San Jose.
San Jose, along with most of the Santa Clara Valley, has been home to the Tamien tribe of the Ohlone people since around 4,000 BC. The Tamien spoke Tamyen language of the Ohlone language family.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention San Jose, cut from the printed page as they were published.
ductor and also a grip-man. In time he was made starter and then assistant superintendent, which office he held from 1882 to 1904; and in that year he came to San Jose as general manager of the San Jose and Los Gatos Interurban Railroad. This was incorporated into the Peninsular Railroad and then the company purchased all the city lines of San Jose and incorporated them under the name of the San
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ductor and also a grip-man. In time he was made starter and then assistant superintendent, which olfice he held from 1882 to 1904; and in that >ear he came to San Jose as general manager of the San Jose and Los Gatos Interurban Railroad. This was incorporated into the Peninsular Railroad and then the compaiu' purchased all the city lines of San Jose and incorjiorated them under the name of the S.m
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Charles Robertson entered the public school at Oak Grove in 1875, and he topped off his studies in tlie upper grades in San Jose. In 1892 he began his association as an employe with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and for a while served an apprenticeship at the Hillsdale Station. Then he became the operator at the Laurel Station, in the Santa Cruz Alountains, and he also was assistant station
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Charlis R.ilHitson rntircd the public school at Oak Grove in 1876, and he topped off his studies in the upper grades in San Jose. In 1892 he began his association as an employe wdth the Southern Pacific Railroad Compani-, and for a while served an apprenticeship at the Hillsdale Station. Then he became the operator at the Laurel Station, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and he also was assistant station
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1781 Diseño del Pueblo de San José, California
In the archiveCalifornia's first state capitol in San José (c. 1850)
In the archivePfister's General Store
In the archiveCollege of Notre Dame in San Jose Cal 1876
In the archiveThe Wasp 1882-01-20 San Jose by electric lightBuiltWinchester House is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveView from Mount Hamilton, CaliforniaBuiltCivic Art Gallery is built
Born hereDudley R. Herschbach is born here
Born hereMichio Kaku is born hereBuiltOur Lady of Guadalupe Mission Chapel (1953-1960) is built7 decades in the archive, from the 1780s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of San Jose. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of San Jose.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 72Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on San Jose’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 9,089 people in 1870 to 1,013,240 in 2020, more than tenfold.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on San Jose’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1777, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. San Jose’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1870 counted 9,089 people here.
San Jose is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #37 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
35 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 24 buildings, 8 historic districts with 474 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 500 historic buildings in all.
5% of San Jose’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1976.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (35), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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