Housing in Central at a glance
- Population
- about 117,654
- Housing units
- about 48,598
- Median value, owner-occupied homes
- $1,142,000San Jose: $1,233,200 (-12%)
- Median gross rent
- $2,410 a monthSan Jose: $2,669 (-10%)
- Owner-occupied homes
- 31.6%San Jose: 55.8%
- Homes built before 1980
- 55.3%
- Median year built
- 1971
Renters rule in Central: 30,256 households against only 13,951 owners, an owner share of 31.6% that is the lowest in San Jose and 24.2 points under the city. Willow Glen, Alum Rock and South stand at 59.6%, 58.4% and 53.2%, all higher than that. Central lies north-west of the centre, and its $1,142,000 median value, 12% beneath the city, ranks eighth of ten, above Alum Rock's $985,000 and South's $863,000 yet far below Willow Glen's $1,679,000. Rent is $2,410, 10% lower and seventh of nine, close to Alum Rock's $2,380, while Willow Glen's is higher at $2,550 and South's lower at $2,210. This is a large sector, with 117,654 residents in 48,598 housing units. The stock is middle-aged: 55.3% predates 1980, eighth of ten, and the median home is from 1971, a year after Alum Rock's. Alum Rock's pre-1980 share is higher still, at 69.3%.
Questions about Central
What is the median home value in Central, San Jose?
$1,142,000 for owner-occupied homes, against $1,233,200 for San Jose as a whole (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary). It is the owners' own estimate of their home's value, not a sale price.
What is the median rent in Central?
$2,410 a month in gross rent (rent plus utilities paid by the renter), against $2,669 in San Jose (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Do most people in Central own or rent?
Most rent: 31.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, against 55.8% in San Jose (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Data and method
Data as of: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (retrieved 2026-11-02).
Estimate from the 27 census tracts whose internal point lies within the official boundary: counts are summed, and each median is recomputed from the summed value, rent and year-built brackets (grouped median, linear interpolation). The gap with the city is measured with the same method on the whole city.
Central is one of the 10 most populous of 15 planning areas of San Jose: estimated population about 117,654 (Payotte estimate: Census ACS 2020-2024 populations of the census tracts whose internal point lies inside the boundary; boundaries from City of San José GIS, Planning Areas (open data layer 544), consulted 2026-11-02).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B01003, B25001, B25003, B25034, B25063, B25064, B25075, B25077; U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer files (census tract internal points). City figures: the same survey, published for San Jose as a whole. Home values are owners' estimates, not sale prices.
Near Central
The closest sectors of San Jose, by distance between population centres.
Other sectors of San Jose
Five trades, one spot each
Payotte lists one professional per trade in Central. No one is listed yet: every spot is open.
- Real estate agentOpen spot
- Mortgage loan officerOpen spot
- Home inspectorOpen spot
- Real estate attorneyOpen spot
- AppraiserOpen spot
Work in one of these trades in Central? Ask for your spot.