San Jose, California, lies in a valley surrounded by beautiful rolling hills, and it’s close to the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay. The city of San Jose is about 50 miles from San Francisco and only 40 miles from San Francisco International Airport. San Jose is the county seat of Santa Clara County and is one of the nation’s most affluent counties.
Street names like Blossom Hill Road give a nod to the once vast agricultural economy that built San Jose into affluence long before the tech companies moved in. Today, more than a million people live in San Jose, making it the third most populous city in California.
How expensive is San Jose, California?
Living in San Jose is very expensive. To live in San Jose, you’ll pay an average of 81% more for housing, utilities, and transportation than the national average. The median cost for a one-bedroom apartment in San Jose is about $2,000 which is a 5% decrease from 2020, yet still makes this Silicon Valley city the fourth most expensive rental market in the United States.
Depending on your usage and what part of San Jose you live in, the average price for your water bill is $100.00, the average PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) bill runs around $150 to $200 a month, and a combination of internet, cable, and telephone services costs about $175 a month.
What is the cost of living in San Jose, California?
According to payscale, the overall cost of living in San Jose is 49% higher than the national average with housing costs soaring to 148% higher than the national average. Utilities are also quite expensive, averaging about 26% more than the rest of the country pays.
While you have access to lots of specialty grocery stores such as Whole Foods, Zanotto’s Family Market, and Trader Joe’s, you’ll pay about 21% more for groceries than the national average. The restaurants in San Jose rival those in San Francisco, but the prices are a bit more reasonable than SF prices. San Jose has a vibrant public transportation scene with access to CalTrans, B.A.R.T, and the VTA bus system, however, the average cost for transportation runs about 11% more than the rest of the country.
Why is the cost of living in San Jose so expensive?
Over the past 20 years, the job market soared in the Bay Area as big tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple, and Cisco Systems moved into Silicon Valley. With an influx of high-payed employees, restrictive housing regulations, and limited space to build new housing, the cost of living in San Jose has skyrocketed. The cost of building materials and labor has increased drastically with the tech boom adding to the high cost of living in San Jose.
How expensive is an apartment in San Jose?
San Jose is spread over 180 square miles, so depending on the neighborhood, you can find one-bedroom apartments that can cost up to $3,900 a month in the Willow Glen area. Studios in The Villas neighborhood run up to $3,245 a month and a two-bedroom apartment in the Dry Creek area can cost up to $4,373.
How do I find cheap apartments in San Jose?
Before you begin your search for an affordable or cheap apartment in San Jose, you need to determine several factors, including if you want to live near the University campus, near downtown, or if you plan on driving or using public transportation.
Consider these avenues and resources to help you find a cheap apartment:
- Get a roommate: If you know someone you could comfortably share a living space with, a roommate can help you cut the cost of living in San Jose. You can also search for roommates at bulletin boards at the local schools, library, coffee shop, or grocery store. Before signing a rental or leasing agreement, also sign a roommate agreement template so you’re all on the same page about rules and policies pertaining to renting an apartment together.
- Use Zumper as a resource: Zumper is constantly updating its rental listings, and you can search and reserve an apartment right online. If you sign up for Zumper’s Instarent feature you’ll know within 24 hours of you’ve been approved for an apartment. When you visit Zumper’s website for apartments in San Jose, you can add filters for the type of cheap apartment you’re looking for and receive notifications when a rental property fitting your criteria becomes available.
What is the cheapest rent in San Jose?
While you can find cheap rentals in San Jose, you want to factor in how far away the apartment is from your workplace or where you go to school, and the amenities. If you have to drive to work or school, the commute time is often more than an hour to get to San Francisco and various parts of San Jose. You may find yourself sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic throughout all of San Jose and the Bay Area.
The average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in San Jose is $2,031. The cheapest neighborhoods to rent an apartment in San Jose include North San Jose, Blossom Valley, East San Jose, Evergreen, and Santa Teresa. You can occasionally find cheap studio apartments for as little as $950 a month, but they’re not always in the most desirable locations and may be in converted garages or basements.
When you’re setting a budget for how much you can spend on renting a cheap apartment in San Jose, California, you should budget about $1,150 for a studio and about $2,000 for a one-bedroom. Using a San Jose salary calculator and inputting an average of $2,000 a month for rent, about $600 a month for utilities, transportation costs, groceries, and having some money left over to enjoy the dining, entertainment, and nightlife scene, you need to make at least $150,000 per year to live comfortably in San Jose.
If you have a good-paying job in San Jose, take advantage of many free things to do in the area, and choose to live in one of the more affordable neighborhoods, San Jose is a great place to live. Start your search for an apartment in San Jose, California, and find the perfect place for your budget and lifestyle.
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