San Jose’s economic dominance continued to shine in U.S. News and World Report’s latest quality-of-life rankings, and while some residents were happy with the city’s prosperity, others said they were not too pleased to pay the costs associated with that explosion in wealth.
The media organization measures quality of life based on residents’ satisfaction with their daily lives in the city, according to its rankings, released earlier this week. Factors affecting the city’s score include crime, quality and availability of health care, quality of education and average commute time.
San Jose is ranked No. 4, with Ann Arbor, Michigan in the top spot on the rankings list, and Boulder, Colorado and Madison, Wisconsin in the second and third slots, respectively.
Some San Jose residents said in interviews with the Bay Area News Group this week that they were pleased with the quality of life, mentioning safety, the weather and a multitude of eateries and activities as reasons for their satisfaction. However, many of them also shared their gripes with high housing prices, economic insecurity and homelessness.
Lina Sugimoto, a registered nurse, described her quality of life as “comfortable.” She said she liked the weather and how safe her neighborhood was and didn’t mind the city’s “fair” traffic. She praised the city’s variety of food and activities and its proximity to other destination cities, like Las Vegas.
In the informal capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose boasts a low violent crime rate compared to the national average. U.S. News reported that about 316 violent crimes are committed per 100,000 people. However, the incidence of property crime is much higher, with about 2,223 crimes committed per 100,000 people, according to U.S. News.
Mayor Matt Mahan attributed low violent crime rates to the quality of schools, availability of jobs and the police’s capacity to investigate crimes, which created an satisfactory environment for people with a lot of opportunity. In the future, Mahan said he hopes to improve recruitment and retention in law enforcement and create basic dignified shelters for homeless people to live in.
“It doesn’t surprise me that we rank high in quality of life,” Mahan said, praising the city’s dynamic local economy, diverse population and opportunities for upward mobility.
Isela Gonzalez, a case manager and lifelong San Jose resident, watched earlier this week as one of her children played with the water spouts in Plaza de Cesar Chavez as she minded her younger child in a stroller. She said she didn’t like living in the city when she was younger, but added that, since having her children, the city feels like home and she feels like she’s exploring it with new eyes.
Gonzalez, who lives in affordable housing, said she is grateful for the resources provided by the city, but the cost of living still “stresses [her] out every day.”
“I’m just trying to work with it and trying to do my best to get an education and go up in life,” Gonzalez said. “It’s hard, but you just try to work around it.”
For some locals, the influx of tech companies — which brought jobs and wealth, but also a host of issues, including dramatically escalating home prices — has been a drawback. Of the top five cities on U.S. News’ ranking, San Jose is the least affordable city to live in, according to the survey, receiving a score of 4.6 out of 10 for value.
People walk to San Pedro Square Market in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Ramon Ramirez, a 35-year-old San Jose native, said that he has seen much of the city change through gentrification — and as prices for necessities like food, electricity and gasoline have risen. He lamented those expenses and noted that while his local friends were important to him, the cost of living might drive him away eventually.
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“I don’t think I’d want to stay here because I don’t think I could afford to eventually buy a house here,” Ramirez said.
Leah Toeniskoetter, CEO of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce, said that 60% of the workforce in the city is employed by large companies. Because many of these companies are not based in San Jose, the unemployment rate in the city remains lower as people commute out of the city for work, Toeniskoetter said.
Although many people complain about high prices, Toeniskoetter said that businesses can improve the quality of life in San Jose by giving back to the community and continuing to hire more people.
“The stronger the business community, the stronger opportunity you would have for somebody entering the workforce, the better experience you would have as a resident of the city,” Toeniskoetter said.
