San Jose Neighborhoods
San José's General Plan divides the city into 15 planning areas (Almaden, Alum Rock, Alviso, Berryessa, Calero, Cambrian/Pioneer, Central, Coyote, Edenvale, Evergreen, North, San Felipe, South, West Valley and Willow Glen), and this directory groups neighborhoods by them; no neighborhoods are listed for San Felipe. Within those areas, familiar neighborhood names come from former independent towns such as Willow Glen and Alviso, city historic districts and conservation areas, remaining unincorporated county pockets such as Burbank and East Foothills, and the city's registry of neighborhood associations.
57 neighborhoods across 14 areas. For current market data, schools and buying strategy, see the San Jose real estate guide. Browse other cities on the Silicon Valley neighborhoods page.
Central
Downtown San José
San José's urban core (ZIP codes 95110, 95112 and 95113), where high-rise condominium towers (the first began selling in 2008) rise among historic commercial blocks built from the 1870s to the early 1940s, St. James Park and San Pedro Square. It is the hub of VTA light rail, adjoins San José State University, and building heights are limited by nearby Mineta San José International Airport.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Japantown
Historic cultural district just north of Downtown that grew from boardinghouses for Japanese laborers beside the 1887 Heinlenville Chinatown; landmarks include the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin and the Fifth and Jackson landmark. Bernal, Cannery and Heinlenville parks are in the district, and the Japantown/Ayer light rail station (Blue and Green lines) serves it.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Hensley
About 59-acre National Register and city landmark district bounded by East Julian, North 1st, North 7th and East Empire streets, holding San José's largest concentration of Victorian-era homes. Most of its 279 properties were built between 1865 and 1930 in Italianate, Queen Anne, Stick-Eastlake and related styles.
Schools: San José Unified School District · Also listed as the Northside Residential District.
Vendome
Small residential neighborhood just north of Downtown, named for the Hotel Vendome, a Queen Anne Victorian hotel that operated from 1889 to 1930. It is one of the central neighborhoods noted for pre-1906 housing, along with Hensley and Naglee Park.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Northside
Turn-of-the-century neighborhood immediately north of Downtown and east of Japantown, with Spanish Colonial Revival and Queen Anne homes around Backesto Park, laid out in 1890. Its neighborhood association, founded in 1965, is the oldest in the city.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Luna Park
Residential neighborhood bounded by North 13th Street/Old Oakland Road, Berryessa Road/US-101 and North 17th Street, named for an amusement park that operated there from about 1907 to 1921. The North 13th Street/Luna Park business district runs along its western edge.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Naglee Park
Historic neighborhood east of Downtown and San José State University, bounded generally by Santa Clara Street, 11th Street, I-280 and Coyote Creek, on the estate of Gen. Henry Morris Naglee that was subdivided in 1902. A city conservation area of early-1900s bungalows and Spanish Colonial Revival homes, some converted to apartments, with William Street Park along Coyote Creek.
Schools: San José Unified School District (San José High School)
Rose Garden
Historic district west of Downtown between The Alameda and I-880 (ZIP 95126), with 1860s–70s Victorians on Magnolia, Hester and Hedding streets and 1920s–30s English Cottage, Norman and Tudor-style homes, including the 1937 Rose Park subdivision. Landmarks include the 5½-acre San Jose Municipal Rose Garden (on a prune orchard the city bought in 1927) and Rosicrucian Park with the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.
Schools: San José Unified School District (Lincoln High School)
Shasta-Hanchett Park
Eastern half of the greater Rose Garden district, developed from 1893 (Hester Park) and 1907 (Hanchett Residence Park) on streets laid out by Golden Gate Park designer John McLaren, many with Yosemite-themed names. A city Historic Conservation Area with San José's greatest concentration of 1910–20 Craftsman houses plus Mission Revival, Spanish eclectic and Prairie homes, mostly built 1915–1930.
Schools: San José Unified School District (Lincoln High School)
College Park
Small historic neighborhood within The Alameda district, called College Park since 1871 when the University of the Pacific built its campus there; Bellarmine College Preparatory took over the campus after the university moved to Stockton in 1923. The 1922 Wright House by Frank Delos Wolfe is a local landmark.
Schools: San José Unified School District
The Alameda
Historic corridor district west of Downtown along The Alameda, the road built from about 1795 to link Mission Santa Clara with the Pueblo of San José and later lined with late-19th- and early-20th-century mansions. It takes in the smaller College Park and St. Leo's neighborhoods (with Cahill Park), and the Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park landmark district holds homes built 1889–1941.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Midtown
Mixed residential and commercial area southwest of Downtown and directly south of Diridon Station (ZIP 95126). Designated an Urban Village under the Envision San José 2040 plan, it is slated for high-density housing along West San Carlos Street and is served by the Race Street light rail station.
Schools: San José Unified School District · Formerly the unincorporated Sunol-Midtown census-designated place; annexed by San José before 2010.
Delmas Park
Neighborhood west of Downtown between Highway 87 and Los Gatos Creek, settled in the 1850s and named for Antoine Delmas of the local French gardening community. It contains the Lakehouse city landmark district, mostly single-story Queen Anne cottages plus Craftsman and Period Revival homes built 1885–1925 around the 1891 Lake House Tract.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Washington-Guadalupe
Historic neighborhood just south of Downtown with Guadalupe River Park along its western edge and the Spanish-language Calle Willow business district on Willow Street. The city's Guadalupe/Washington Conservation Area recognizes its late-19th- and early-20th-century cottages in National, Queen Anne, Neoclassical, Craftsman and Minimal Traditional styles; Sacred Heart Church dates to 1920.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Spartan Keyes
Historic neighborhood south of Downtown, east of Washington-Guadalupe and bordered by Coyote Creek and Kelley Park, with late-19th- and early-20th-century homes alongside former canneries and warehouses, many now art studios. It includes San José State's south campus and CEFCU Stadium.
Martha Gardens
City conservation area south of Downtown with homes from the mid-1870s to about 1940, both vernacular and architect-designed, plus some post-WWII multi-unit buildings.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Market-Almaden
Conservation area at the southern edge of Downtown with late-1800s and early-1900s Victorian homes and Craftsman bungalows.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Little Italy
Small historic district along River Street west of the downtown core, designated the River Street city landmark district: a workingmen's neighborhood built from 1875 to 1925 with Italianate, Greek Revival, Queen Anne and Mediterranean Revival buildings.
Burbank
Unincorporated county pocket surrounded by San José, roughly along Bascom Avenue between West San Carlos Street and I-280, named for horticulturist Luther Burbank. Known for antique stores and the former Burbank Theater, it lies near Santana Row, Westfield Valley Fair and Downtown.
Schools: Luther Burbank School District (K–8); Campbell Union High School District · Unincorporated Santa Clara County (Burbank census-designated place).
Buena Vista
Small neighborhood south of Shasta/Hanchett Park, with unincorporated Burbank to the west and Willow Glen and Sherman Oaks to the south. A former census-designated place of about 0.1 square mile, it was annexed by San José before 2010.
Five Wounds / Brookwood Terrace
East-central neighborhood around Five Wounds Portuguese National Church, adjoining Little Portugal, near the site of the planned 28th Street/Little Portugal BART station. The city is consolidating the Five Wounds, Little Portugal, Roosevelt and 24th & William urban villages into one plan, with hearings scheduled for late 2026.
Willow Glen
Willow Glen
Former independent town (incorporated 1927, annexed by San José in 1936) south of I-280, centered on the Lincoln Avenue business district and the historic Garden Theater. Its mostly custom and semi-custom homes span Victorian, Craftsman, Mission, Prairie, Spanish Eclectic, Tudor and Eichler styles; parks include Willow Street Frank Bramhall, Wilcox, Fuller and River Glen, and the Tamien and Curtner stations sit on its edges.
Schools: San José Unified School District · Eichler homes · Sub-areas include Palm Haven, Gardner/North Willow Glen, Lincoln Glen (Willow Glen South) and Downtown Willow Glen; ZIP 95125 plus parts of 95126.
Palm Haven
Historic residence park established in 1913, with Mission Revival entrance pillars, a former Peninsular Railway waiting station and palm-lined parkways whose original palms are city Heritage Trees. A city conservation area of homes from about 1910 through the 1940s, many architect-designed, including works by Frank Delos Wolfe.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Gardner
Older neighborhood in the city's 'Greater Gardner' area south of I-280, between the Guadalupe River, Willow Street and Bird Avenue, historically part of the Gardner Annexation and the Town of Willow Glen. It includes the North Willow Glen conservation area in its southwest portion.
Schools: San José Unified School District
North Willow Glen
Conservation area bounded by the Caltrain right-of-way, Delmas Avenue, Willow Street and Bird Avenue, built out between about 1870 and the years just after World War II. Its single-family National, Queen Anne, Neoclassical, Craftsman, Spanish Revival and Minimal Traditional cottages share similar scale and setbacks, and fewer have been converted to multi-family use than in other central neighborhoods.
Schools: San José Unified School District
Fairglen
Eichler neighborhood in the Willow Glen area (ZIP 95125) begun in 1958, with about 250 homes on Fairglen Drive, Fairwood, Fairlawn and Fairorchard avenues and parts of Booksin and Briarwood avenues. With the late-1950s Dry Creek group on Margot and Adele places and the Hudson Drive/Dumbarton additions completed in 1962, the area has roughly 345 Eichlers designed by Jones & Emmons and Anshen + Allen.
Schools: San José Unified School District · Eichler homes
Rose Glen
Small 1950s Eichler tract of about 75 homes near San Jose City College, mainly on Menker, Goodwin and Richmond avenues; most homes are under 1,300 sq ft.
Fruitdale
Small district of about 0.3 square mile (ZIP 95128) bordered by San José on the north, west and east and by Campbell on the south.
Schools: Campbell Union High School District · Part of the area remains unincorporated Santa Clara County (Fruitdale census-designated place).
West Valley
West San José
Broad district bounded roughly by Stevens Creek Boulevard, SR-17/San Tomas Expressway, SR-85 and De Anza Boulevard, bordering Santa Clara, Cupertino, Saratoga and Campbell, with most homes built in the 1950s. Landmarks include the Winchester Mystery House, Santana Row, Westfield Valley Fair and Westgate.
Schools: Campbell Union and Moreland school districts (eastern portion); Cupertino Union School District and Fremont Union High School District (western portion) · Western areas bordering Cupertino and Saratoga carry San José addresses but are served by Cupertino Union and Fremont Union High School districts; confirm assignment by address.
Winchester
West San José neighborhood between San Tomas Expressway and SR-17, south of I-280 and north of Campbell, named for Sarah Winchester, whose Winchester Mystery House stands nearby.
Santana Row
42-acre mixed-use district on Stevens Creek Boulevard, developed in 2001–2002 and expanded in 2016, combining residences with shops, restaurants, a theater and a hotel. It sits in the Winchester area near Westfield Valley Fair and the Winchester Mystery House.
Westgate
West San José area around Westgate Center, the regional mall at Saratoga and Campbell avenues that opened in 1960 and was rebuilt as an indoor mall in 1975; the city-registered Westgate Village Neighborhood Association represents nearby residential streets.
Strawberry Park
Residential West San José neighborhood near I-280 in City Council District 1, represented by a city-registered neighborhood association.
Nearby schools belong to more than one district (Cupertino Union, Moreland, Campbell Union/Fremont Union high schools); confirm by address.
Country Lane
Residential West San José neighborhood in City Council District 1, represented by the Country Lane Neighborhood Association; Country Lane Elementary School is part of the Moreland School District.
Cambrian/Pioneer
Cambrian
South San José district (ZIP 95124) with Willow Glen to the north, Campbell to the northwest, Los Gatos to the south and west, and Almaden to the east; the 'Cambrian Park' name was in local newspapers by the 1950s. Its commercial hub is Cambrian Park Plaza (1953) at Camden and Union avenues, and the 1910 We and Our Neighbors Clubhouse is on the National Register.
Schools: Cambrian School District and Union School District (K–8); Campbell Union High School District (Leigh and Branham high schools) · Most of Cambrian is in San José; a small part is the unincorporated Cambrian Park census-designated place, much of which Campbell annexed in 2012.
Almaden
Almaden Valley
Residential valley in South San José (ZIP 95120) between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Teresa Hills, bordering Los Gatos, with about 12,900 housing units (2019). Almaden Expressway is the main arterial, and nearby open space includes Almaden Lake Regional Park, Almaden Quicksilver County Park and the Los Alamitos Creek Trail.
Schools: San José Unified School District for most of the area (Leland and Pioneer high schools); some northwestern areas in Campbell Union and southwestern areas in Los Gatos Union
Almaden Country Club
Almaden Valley community around the Almaden Golf & Country Club, listed among the valley's named sub-neighborhoods and represented by a city-registered neighborhood association.
Graystone
Almaden Valley neighborhood also known as Pfeiffer or Graystone of Almaden; the area's Goodrich (Graystone) Quarry operated from the late 1800s.
Calero
New Almaden
Historic mercury-mining community in the Capitancillos Hills at the southwestern edge of Almaden Valley (ZIP 95042), where mining ran for about 135 years until the county bought the mines in 1976. Remnants of miner housing, the 1854 Casa Grande (home of the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum) and the 4,147-acre Almaden Quicksilver County Park remain; the mines were named a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
South
Communications Hill
Hilltop neighborhood in the San Juan Bautista Hills bounded by SR-87, Monterey Road, Capitol Expressway and Curtner Avenue, built since 2002 under the 1992 Communications Hill Specific Plan as dense mixed-use housing, with a village center under construction as of December 2024. Features include the 1972 Oak Hill tower, Oak Hill Memorial Park, the Grand Staircase trail and nearby Capitol (Caltrain and light rail) and Curtner light rail stations.
Some parcels were annexed to San José in December 2014.
Seven Trees
South San José neighborhood (ZIP 95111) that was an unincorporated census-designated place until San José annexed it on November 23, 2009; the Seven Trees Community Center and Library serves the area.
Little Saigon
Vietnamese American commercial and residential district bounded by I-280, Senter Road, US-101 and roughly Owsley Avenue, centered on Story Road with Grand Century Mall and Vietnam Town. Lee's Sandwiches and Pho Hoa opened their first locations here.
Edenvale
Edenvale
South San José neighborhood (ZIPs 95111, 95123, 95136) bounded by Seven Trees, Blossom Valley, Santa Teresa and the Silver Creek Hills; once a separate town, it is home to the historic Hayes Mansion. Much of the former Frontier Village amusement park (1961–1980) became housing, and parks include Edenvale Gardens, Great Oaks, Hellyer Lake and Martial Cottle.
Schools: Oak Grove School District; East Side Union High School District (Andrew P. Hill High School)
Blossom Valley
South San José neighborhood (ZIPs 95123 and 95136) northeast of Almaden Valley, east of Cambrian and south of Communications Hill, with Westfield Oakridge as its main shopping center.
Santa Teresa
San José's southernmost urban district (about 56,000 residents in 2021), between the Santa Teresa Hills and US-101, settled as the 1834 Rancho Santa Teresa and later home to IBM's Cottle Road campus. It mixes homes, apartments and tech campuses, with Santa Teresa County Park, the Cottle Transit Village, VTA light rail at Cottle, Santa Teresa and Snell, and Caltrain's Blossom Hill station.
Schools: Oak Grove School District and East Side Union High School District (Santa Teresa High School); southernmost areas in Morgan Hill Unified
Coyote
Coyote Valley
Largely agricultural and open-space valley at San José's southern edge, crossed by US-101 and Monterey Highway; the city bought 937 acres for open space in 2019 and rezoned northern Coyote Valley from industrial to agricultural and open-space use in 2021. It includes Laguna Seca, the county's largest freshwater wetland.
Only North Coyote Valley is in San José; it contains the unincorporated village of Coyote, and the area south of Bailey Avenue is in Morgan Hill.
Evergreen
Evergreen
Large East San José district at the foot of the Diablo Range south of Alum Rock, once part of Rancho Yerba Buena; Montgomery Hill marks John J. Montgomery's 1911 glider experiments. Housing includes Spanish-style single-family homes and townhomes, with Evergreen Village Square, Lake Cunningham, Evergreen Valley College and parks such as Groesbeck Hill and Fowler Creek.
Schools: Evergreen School District; East Side Union High School District (Evergreen Valley and Silver Creek high schools)
Silver Creek
Valley neighborhood in the Evergreen district (ZIP 95138) along the Diablo Range foothills, separated from Edenvale and Santa Teresa by the Silver Creek Hills, much of which is protected in the Silver Creek Open Space Preserve. It includes the gated Silver Creek Valley Country Club community, developed from the 1990s around a golf course that opened in the early 1990s.
Schools: Evergreen School District (Silver Oak and James Franklin Smith elementary schools); East Side Union High School District (Silver Creek High School)
The Villages
Adult community in Evergreen begun in 1966 by Guy F. Atkinson Co. and Mackay Homes on about 1,200 acres, master-planned by Sasaki, Walker and Associates around an 18-hole golf course that links clustered residential 'villages.'
Planned as an adult community; confirm current age rules with the association.
Alum Rock
Alum Rock
East San José district between Coyote Creek and the Diablo Range, from Mabury Road south to Ocala Avenue, built up on former orchard land in the 1940s and 1950s. It takes its name from a rock in Alum Rock Park, California's oldest municipal park, and includes Emma Prusch Farm Park and Overfelt Gardens.
Schools: Alum Rock Union Elementary School District; East Side Union High School District (James Lick, Mt. Pleasant and William C. Overfelt high schools) · Some portions remain unincorporated (Alum Rock census-designated place).
East Foothills
Hillside community (census-designated place, ZIP 95127) about 4 miles east of Downtown San José, with about 2,240 homes, 84% owner-occupied as of 2020.
Schools: Alum Rock Union Elementary (most) and Berryessa Union (small portion); East Side Union High School District · Unincorporated Santa Clara County; San José mailing addresses.
Mayfair
Working-class neighborhood founded in the early 1900s, east of King Road and bordered by I-680, and a hub of the Chicano Movement; César Chávez began his activism at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church here. Landmarks include the Mexican Heritage Plaza, Mayfair Park and Rancho del Pueblo golf course.
Schools: Alum Rock Union School District
Little Portugal
Historic Portuguese American neighborhood centered where East Santa Clara Street becomes Alum Rock Avenue, roughly between 23rd and 34th streets, anchored by Five Wounds Portuguese National Church and long-running bakeries and social clubs. A 28th Street/Little Portugal BART station is planned in the second phase of the Silicon Valley BART extension.
Straddles the city's Central and Alum Rock planning areas.
Mount Pleasant
East San José neighborhood in the Alum Rock district toward the eastern foothills, served by the five-school Mount Pleasant Elementary School District and Mt. Pleasant High School.
Schools: Mount Pleasant Elementary School District; East Side Union High School District (Mt. Pleasant High School)
Berryessa
Berryessa
Northeast San José district between Milpitas (Landess Avenue) and Alum Rock (Mabury Road), a 19th-century apricot and prune farming area developed into suburban neighborhoods in the 1960s and 1970s, with newer townhome developments. It is home to the San Jose Flea Market and Penitencia Creek and Berryessa Creek parks, and is served by VTA light rail and BART.
Schools: Berryessa Union School District; East Side Union High School District · A small part is unincorporated Santa Clara County.
North
North San José
Area north of the urban core extending to San Francisco Bay and Milpitas, mixing employment campuses with newer residential development under city policies that balance housing and jobs. VTA light rail runs along the North First Street and Tasman corridors, with access to US-101, I-880 and SR-237.
Alviso
Alviso
Bayfront district founded in 1852 as an independent town and consolidated with San José in 1968, about 13 feet below sea level between the Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek. The Alviso National Register Historic District, Alviso Marina County Park and the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge are here.
Schools: Santa Clara Unified School District
Neighborhood names follow city sources where they exist; informal names are noted. School assignments can change, so confirm by address with the district. Source: City of San Jose.
Questions about a street or tract in San Jose? Call 408.373.1660 or email homes@boyenga.com.