2025 Compare Cities Economy:
San Jose, CA vs Palo Alto, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Palo Alto, is 56% more than it is in San Jose and is 65% above the National Average.
- San Jose unemployment rate is 5.6%.
- Palo Alto unemployment rate is 3.5%.
 San Jose, CAPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.5%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.5%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$194,782$69,021
 Family Median Income$138,908  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 San Jose, CAPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.1%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock3.1%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K4.3%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock2.9%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K4.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock4.6%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.9%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock12.8%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K13.2%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock49.5%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 San Jose, CAPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance18.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock29.0%6.5%
 Community, social services1.1%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock3.7%1.2%
 Education, library5.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock1.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.6%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock1.6%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.7%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support17.3%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair6.6%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock2.5%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 Palo Alto    8 Reviews

The Bay Area in general, but Palo Alto specifically provides many of the qualities sought by many; the climate is beautiful, there is access to cultural and recreational  More

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Over 17 years ago

Very  More

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Over 18 years ago

VTA and SamsTrans and Caltrain all provide good service and most times frequency of service is  More

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