2025 Compare Cities Economy:
San Jose, CA vs Berkeley, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Berkeley, is 22% less than it is in San Jose and is 29% above the National Average.
- San Jose unemployment rate is 5.6%.
- Berkeley unemployment rate is 5.1%.
 San Jose, CABerkeley, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.1%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.4%1.6%
 Future Job Growth38.9%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$53,574  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$97,834$69,021
 Family Median Income$138,908  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 San Jose, CABerkeley, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock10.6%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.1%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock6.2%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K4.3%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock4.6%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K4.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock6.4%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.9%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock14.8%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K13.2%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock24.1%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 San Jose, CABerkeley, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance18.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock18.6%6.5%
 Community, social services1.1%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock2.8%1.2%
 Education, library5.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock7.1%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock1.9%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.6%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock3.9%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.7%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.7%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support17.3%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.2%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair6.6%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock4.3%13.1%
Reviews for San Jose    90 Reviews

I've lived in west San Jose/Cambrian, between Los Gatos and Almaden SJ since 1997. This side of town somehow avoided the erosion of the American dream. Houses are  More

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I lived in San Jose for 40 years. That’s during the most exciting time when the Silicon Valley was booming with real technology and San Jose was ranked as the safest big  More

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Over 4 years ago

I've lived in San Jose, CA for 25 years. This city is being over run with crime and gangs. The cost of living is very high. Granted, you are so close to mountains,  More

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Reviews for Berkeley    14 Reviews

Have lived in Berkeley for about 35 years now. Housing/Real Estate: If you're looking to move here, $1,000,000 will get you a small cottage in the "flats". Most of  More

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Over 12 years ago

We have the best climate -- summers and winters are mild. Lots of  More

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Over 14 years ago

The 60's have left Berkeley and now it is about MONEY...and the people there have plenty of it and nice hybrid cars (looks like 2 per household) and with a great bicycle  More

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