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Computer History

Liza Loop showing me the first Apple computer that Wozniak personally gave to her. Yes, it is just a PC board, no case, but it still works when hooked up to a power supply, keyboard, and a monitor. It was kept in Milpitas for many years until the Sobrato Center kicked out the little museum. This photo was taken in Milpitas.

Apple II History
This project began as a description of how the Apple II evolved into a IIGS, and some of the standards that emerged along the way. It has grown into a history of Apple Computer, with an emphasis on the place of the Apple II in that history. By Steven Weyhrich.

Atari Games Museum
The following pictures were taken in May of 2003, when Midway decided to close their Milpitas facility. The Milpitas facility was the old ‘Atari Games’ building. I was able to get some pictures, before everything was moved out of the building.

Chief Yahoos: David Filo and Jerry Yang
“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can postpone to the day after.” This parody of the old proverb could very well be the motto of Yahoo! Inc. co-founders David Filo and Jerry Yang. By following such a philosophy of procrastination, they not only created the world’s most popular (and most profitable) World Wide Web search engine; they also made themselves multimillionaires in the process. Well, sort of.

Computer History Museum
Timeline of computing history, browse by topic, or send them information about computing history. Located in Mt. View.

Don Hoefler
The journalist credited with coining the phrase: “Silicon Valley.”

Folklore
Andy Hertzfeld’s book in blog format. Read about the origins of Apple and the Macintosh computer.

GoMilpitas Way Back
This site has archived my home page and some internal pages since 1999. If you’d like to see news headlines and such, take a look here.

Apple I replica creation: back to the garage
By Tom Owad. A Google book preview.

History of Computing Industrial Era 1976 – 1979
The Third Generation of computers starts approximately in this era. These computers are characterized by mainly electronic models but now fully programmable. From The History of Computing Foundation.

Homebrew Computer Club
That summer in 1975 at the Homebrew Club the Intel 8080 formed the center of the universe. The Altair was built around the 8080 and its early popularity spawned a cottage industry of small companies that either made machines that would run programs written for the Altair or made attachments that would plug into the various kinds of micro computers. Be sure to check out the early newsletters.

History of IBM Watson Media
In 1890 the U.S. Census Bureau knew its traditional methods of counting would not be adequate for measuring the population, so it sponsored a contest to find a more efficient means of tabulating census data.

COBOL programming through the years! Open Mainframe Project Q2 webinar
A timeline that begins in 1885 with short articles about this history of this business machine company.

An Illustrated History of Computers
The first computers were people! That is, electronic computers (and the earlier mechanical computers) were given this name because they performed the work that had previously been assigned to people. By John Kopplin.

Intel Museum
So you have “Intel Inside.” What exactly DO you have inside your computer?

The Jargon Dictionary
A comprehensive compendium of hacker slang illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humor. This file, jargon.txt, was maintained on MIT-AI for many years, before being published by Guy Steele and others as the Hacker’s Dictionary. Many years after the original book went out of print, Eric Raymond picked it up, updated it and republished it as the New Hacker’s Dictionary.

Lawrence Livermore Labs History
The single event that triggered the establishment of Lawrence Livermore was detonation of the first Russian atomic bomb in 1949.

Lo*op Center
Once located in the Sobrato Center in Milpitas, under the direction of Liza Loop, documents, artifacts, and stories were preserved to tell the history of educational computing.

National Semiconductor History 1959 1960’s
National Semiconductor started by making silicon mesa transistors for industrial and military uses. The company grew quickly after 1967 under CEO Charlie Sporck and new management, moving headquarters from Danbury, Connecticut, to Santa Clara, California in the heart of today’s Silicon Valley.

Pong Story
The video game history started in a strange and complicated way and it is important to avoid confusions with what happened in the 1950s and 1960s. The real video game history started with Ralph Baer as early as 1951.

The Promise: An Educator’s History of the Internet
An investigation into the history of the Internet and the promise for its use in the K-12 classroom.

Silicon Genesis
A unique collection of oral history interviews with pioneers of the semiconductor industry.

Steve Paul Jobs
Like the Bhagwan, driving around Rancho Rajneesh each day in another Rolls-Royce, Jobs kept his troops fascinated and productive. The joke going around said that Jobs had a ‘reality distortion field’ surrounding him. He’d say something, and the kids in the Macintosh division would find themselves replying ‘Drink poison Kool-Aid? Yeah, that makes sense’. – Robert X. Cringely, 1992.

Woz and Ann picking up new iPads April 3, 2010

Steve Wozniak, Still Fathering the Computer Revolution
He’s been called the Wizard of Woz. It was he who single-handedly designed an entire personal computer, the Apple I. It was he who designed the Apple II and wrote the software to make it run. Site has more good Woz sites, including Steve’s own website.

Pioneer Era – 1800s in Silicon Valley

In the 1800s the Mexicans, the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the Transcontental Railroad transformed the Bay Area from a bunch of sleepy cattle ranches to a booming economy.

Family Chronicles and Biographies of Milpitas Pioneer Families

History of Local Pioneers in the 1800s

Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum
Mining operations in New Almaden first began in 1845 under the claim of Mexican Cavalry Officer Captain Andres Castillero. Castillero discovered that the red rock used by the local Ohlone Indians to paint them and the walls of the Santa Clara Mission was cinnabar, an ore containing mercury. The valuable mercury was needed to process silver in Mexican silver mines.

Alum Rock Park History
California’s first and oldest park. The park which was founded in 1872, was simply referred to as the “reservation.” The name Alum Rock was derived from a huge rock that was believed to contain a high percentage of alum.

Alviso Adobe Park History
The first story of the Alviso Adobe, which is located near the intersection of Piedmont Road and Calaveras Road, was built some time in 1835 by José Maria de Jesus Alviso, who had been granted title to the land on which it stands by the governor of Alta California, José Castro, on September 23, 1835.

Ardenwood Farm
In 1849 George Washington Patterson joined the stream of young men leaving the Midwest for California’s gold fields. His dreams left little room for failure, but after a year and a half of mining he was ill and broke. And so he turned to work he knew well — farming.

The Bear Flag Revolt
With Fremont’s “army” nearby, and belief in the rumor that Castro was gathering forces to expel the Americans, the local settlers became emboldened enough to steal some horses meant for Castro’s army, then to storm Vallejo’s “fort” at Sonoma June 14, 1846.

California As We Saw It
Exploring the California Gold Rush. By Gary F. Kurutz, Curator of Special Collections, California State Library.

California during the Civil War: 10 Facts
While no battles took place on Californian soil, the state has a rich Civil War history. Learn more about the state of California during the Civil War with these ten facts.

Discovery of Gold in California
It was in the first part of January, 1848, when the gold was discovered at Coloma, where John Sutter was then building a saw-mill. A first-hand account.

Fallon House
Restored to how homes looked during the Civil War era in California, you can easily see this home and the Peralta Adobe next door in one trip.

Frémont in the Conquest of California
In the autumn of 1845 Frémont came on his second exploring expedition to California.

Gold Rush – American Experience on PBS
See if you have what it takes to strike it rich in the gold rush! Choose a character and try to strike it rich in our online role-playing game.

Gold Rush Chronicles
Here before you, in a leather-bound book on an old wooden table, is a history of the great California Gold Rush. Discover the colorful stories that lie unfurled on these pages and unlock a taste of that famous era. Learn how the Gold Rush affected the world not so long ago.

Guadalupe River Park
Local historians have always been aware that a settlement known as the Woolen Mills Chinatown was located near Taylor Street between 1887 and 1902.

History of the Donner Party – C. F. McGlashan
The far-famed Donner Party were, in a peculiar sense, pioneer martyrs of California. Before the discovery of gold, before the highway across the continent was fairly marked out, while untold dangers lurked by the wayside, and unnumbered foes awaited the emigrants, the Donner Party started for California.

Felton Homes and History
Felton had its start in 1843 when Isaac Graham transferred his limber mill from the Zayante land grant to the San Lorenzo River at Fall Creek. Local Felton wiki.

Historic Niles
The community of Niles is rich in history and has gained recognition as a truly unique spot in the San Francisco Bay Area.

History of the University of California
The University of California became a “public trust” in 1879 as part of a larger revision of California’s Constitution approved by California voters. Download full text.

History in the Vines: Fremont’s Wine Legacy
From the Spanish-Mission era up to Prohibition, south Fremont (then called the Washington Township), had once been one of the first and most productive wine regions in California.

The Houghton Donner House
156 E. St. John Street, San Jose, and right in the way of the Civic Center expansion, is a late -Victorian Italianate style and was home to two historically important San Joseans, early mayor Sherman Houghton and his wife, Donner Party survivor Eliza Donner Houghton. “Suspicious” fire burns historic Donner Houghton house to the ground in July 2007. More on the Donner Blog./P>

How California Came to be Admitted
The first Legislature assembled on December 15th for temporary organization in San Jose, the new seat of government. Of more significance, doubtless, was the fact that on the following Thursday, December 20, 1849, the State government of California was formally established. By Rockwell D. Hunt, Ph. D

Joseph D. Grant County Park
In 1839, a 15,000-acre Mexican Land Grant was awarded to Jose de Jesus Bernal and was named Rancho Canada de Pala. Jose de Jesus and his two brothers built adobes around a spring-fed pond on a ridge overlooking the Santa Clara Valley.

Juana Briones
A long-living ranchera acquired a large spread in Santa Clara Valley and shared it with others.

Lighthouses of the United States: Northern California
These early lights, like the Point Pinos Light and the Battery Point Light were built in a what was then a typical New England style. Ironically, there are no examples of this style surviving in New England, so the only place to see these traditional New England lighthouses is in California.Laguna Schoolhouse, Milpitas, CA (1865-1943)

Mexican California
Under Mexican rule governors were encouraged to make more grants for individual ranchos, and these grants were to be outright.

Mexican Years: 1822 to 1846
The early 19th century saw growing discontent in New Spain’s society. Revolts started in 1810 and extended through 1821, when a revolution led to formation of the Mexican Republic.

Mt. View History
In 1851, the Castro family built their first home and, later, donated land to the railroad, creating Mountain View’s first flag stop.

Peralta Family and the Rancho San Antonio
The Peralta Family had a huge rancho that encompassed most of the East Bay from present day El Cerrito down to San Leandro.

Santa Clara Valley Mill & Lumber Company – 1870’s
The demand for firewood and building lumber by the citizens and towns of the Santa Clara Valley produced a road over the summit from Saratoga to the San Lorenzo Valley in 1870.

A short history on wine making in California
The story of wine in California begins with the story of the Spanish in California. Vineyard planting in the state began with the Spanish Franciscan Missionaries starting with California’s first mission: Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769. Just as palm trees were planted so there would be palm fronds for Palm Sunday, vineyards were planted so there would be wine for communion. That first variety, planted by Father Junípero Serra, became so ubiquitous that it became known as the Mission grape and was the preeminent variety until 1880.

Stanford History
The first parcel, bought in 1876, was 650 acres along San Francisquito Creek. Purchase of adjoining parcels ran the total to 8,180 acres, the whole of which was given to the University in the 1885 Grant of Endowment with the stipulation that it never be sold.

William T. Sherman and Early California History
Sherman arrives in California and describes the Monterey area in 1847. Additional links tell of his experiences during the Gold Rush.

The Winchester Mystery House Story
Not long after Sarah returned to her family and home, another tragedy struck. William, now heir to the Winchester empire, was struck down with pulmonary tuberculosis. He died on March 7, 1881. As a result of his death, Sarah inherited over $20 million dollars, an incredible sum, especially in those days. She also received 48.9 percent of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and an income of about $1000 per day, which was not taxable until 1913.

Weather in Milpitas, California-Forecasts and History

See our weather forecast widget on every page in the lower right column. It includes hourly forecasts and you can click through to minute by minute forecasts so you know when a storm cloud is about to dump on exactly where you are.

Apocalyptic Wednesday!.

Orange Sky 9-9-2020 — **Dog still needs to be walked in spite of smoke in the air.**

Forecasts
Climate
Current Weather Conditions
Drought in San Francisco Bay Area
Historic Weather Events
Night Sky
Winter Storms

Forecasts

The Weather Channel
Hourly weather forecast for the Milpitas area, with other links to maps, travel conditions, gardening and allergy tips, advisories for those flying or boating. You may change settings.

Spare the Air
Click here to see if it’s a good idea or not to light a fire in your fireplace tonight. Runs from November 1 through February.

Wunderground: Milpitas 5-day Forecast
Also conditions at area airports, large and small.

Current

Air quality in Santa Clara
Air quality index (AQI) and PM2.5 air pollution in Santa Clara

How sunny skies typically form over California while other areas get poor weather.

Rainfall Maps from DWR/CNRFC
San Francisco Bay 1 Hr, 6 Hr, 24 Hr

US National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area/Monterey California
Facebook posts do not always reflect the most current information. For current official info, visit: Local Forecast Office for San Francisco Bay Area/Monterey, CA.

Confronting Climate Change in California
As we enter the 21st century, a powerful new agent — global climate change — will increasingly interact with the human pressures that continue to stress California’s natural environments. From the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Area Vibes: Milpitas CA Weather
For today and the coming week, as well as historic averages for each month. Lots of other data about Milpitas you may want to know.

Which City Has The Most Unpredictable Weather?
Not Milpitas! San Francisco’s weather patterns are unusual as compared to the rest of the country (September has historically been San Francisco’s warmest month, for instance). But they’re predictably unusual, at least on a day-to-day (if not necessarily hour-to-hour) basis. And San Francisco, like the rest of the West Coast, rarely gets severe weather. In other words, it is fairly easy for the weather forecast you see on TV to be correct.

Drought in San Francisco Bay Area

Burned hillside in Milpitas — **Fire on the hillside during July heatwave**

Inside Bay Area Drought
News, water saving tips, maps and data, on how drought is affecting the Bay Area.

Historic Weather Events

Storm Events Database
Search Results for Santa Clara County, California. 397 events were reported between 01/01/1980 and 01/31/2018 (13911 days). Sortable data base. You can also change the date range to suit your study. Due to Trump cuts to the NOAA budget, the data hasn’t been collected for several years.

Sunnyvale Tornado 1998
Tornadoes are extremely rare here, but one did occur in 1998. This one did some destruction in Sunnyvale. Here’s the weather analysis from SFSU. Stormy Recovery: 16 months after tornado, Sunnyvale church finally begins major repairs.

Wind Storm, October 22, 2000
GO MILPITAS ARTICLE
Photo essay by your Go Milpitas! Guide, Ann Zeise, showing damage done by windstorm.

Images

Mt Hamilton HamCams
We’ve added a second, fixed Hamcam (Hamcam #2) to provide the popular and useful western view, thus freeing the original Hamcam (Hamcam #1) to roam the mountain top at our whim.

Night Sky

Planets Visible in the Night Sky in San Jose, California, USA
Clear enough to see the stars tonight? Here’s what planets you’d see tonight.

2024 Perseid Meteor Shower: Peak Dates For Bay Area
The annual Perseid meteor shower is known as the fireball champion of meteor showers and can be seen over The Bay Area for most of August.

Winter Storms

Winter Storm in Milpitas Hills — **Monument Peak and Summitpoint homes in the snow one cold March day.**

California History Overview

Milpitas once had an encampment of Ohlone Indians. Two adobe rancheros still stand from the early days of the Spanish. An early motto was “As goes Milpitas, so goes the State!” For centuries, Milpitas has often taken the lead in new ways of living and governance. If you want to live in the City of the Future, with a lively part in California history, too, come live in Milpitas.

About Milpitas

The Milpitas Historical Society
General meeting is the second Wednesday of each month, 7 PM, in the assembly room of the Milpitas Community Library.

A History of Main Street: A Trip Through Historic Milpitas
A live presentation with Host: Bill Hare, President and Speaker: Joseph Ehardt, Research Docent, Educational Outreach Program. This special presentation was held on Saturday, December 19, 2020, on Facebook and Zoom.

Milpitas: A look back
Outline of Milpitas History from the Mercury News story published on Aug. 27, 2006.

Portuguese Pioneers in Milpitas
Settlers from the Azores, a group of islands west of Portugal, began coming to California in Gold Rush times, and later for the economic opportunities. As they encouraged families and friends to join them, they became an important element in California and in the Santa Clara Valley as hard-working farmers and land owners.

About California

California History and Culture – State Symbols
Here’s where you find all that information for that state report, like state bird or flower.

California History
A major collection of documents from and about California’s rich history. The documents range from books, maps, newspapers, and periodicals, to pictorial materials (including daguerreotypes, lithographs, stereographs, and paintings) and ephemera (such as posters, programs, pamphlets, and sheet music).

California History Online
Lovely California Historical Society website includes geographic information, California natives, early explorers, to modern times.

California as I Saw It: First-Person Narratives of California’s Early Years, 1849 to 1900
The collection covers the dramatic decades between the Gold Rush and the turn of the twentieth century. It captures the pioneer experience; encounters between Anglo-Americans and the diverse peoples who had preceded them; the transformation of the land by mining, ranching, agriculture, and urban development; the often-turbulent growth of communities and cities; and California’s emergence as both a state and a place of uniquely American dreams.

Heyday Books
Publishing books about California history, culture, and literature.

Mark Hylkema: California during the Spanish and Mexican Colonial Periods
Mark begins with the first Spanish explorers conquering the Aztecs, and tells about the Portolá expedition in 1769, when California suddenly went from prehistory to history, like “the flip of a switch.”

Santa Clara County Historical Landmarks
My mother used to call these hunks of stone with metal plaques “Hysterical Landmarks” because so often there is nothing left at the site but the stone! But you’ll find one at the garage where H-P got started and where Noyce invented his first semiconductor. None in Milpitas…hmmmm.

Historical Figures in Early California

Cabrillo
On June 27, 1542, an explorer under Spanish command, named Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, left the port of Navidad on the Pacific Coast of what is now Mexico and headed north.

Juan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza was the first European to establish an overland route from Mexico, through the Sonoran Desert, to the Pacific coast of California. New World Spanish explorers had been seeking such a route through the Desert Southwest for more than two centuries.

Governors of California
A tribute to the individuals who have served as chief executive of the State of California from 1849 to present.

Notable People of Milpitas
The “Notable People” project adds to our knowledge about the history of Milpitas. For more information, please click on a link located on the right sidebar of the Historical Society’s page.

History of Russian America
So moved was Rezanov by the misery of the colonists that he purchased a vessel from Americans in Alaska and sailed to San Francisco Bay early in 1806 to purchase grain and, if possible, to establish trade relations with the Spanish in Upper California on a continuing basis.

Sir Francis Drake
The British explorer, Sir Francis Drake, sailed up the coast of California in 1579. Could he have discovered Milpitas?

Population Growth of Milpitas From 2023-2024

Milpitas has been growing at an unprecedented rate compared to other Santa Clara County Cites. We’ve been growing faster than all but one other nearby cities. The population estimate for Milpitas in 2024 is 81,773 people. Milpitas is the 117th largest city in California. It is a little smaller than Mountain View, and a little larger than Palo Alto. More people moved into Milpitas in the last year. We gained 0.17% of our previous population, 138 people.

This report provides revised population estimates as of January 1, 2023, and provisional population estimates as of January 1, 2024, for the state, counties, and cities and includes a calculation of annual percent change. These population estimates incorporate 2020 Census counts.

The Housing Unit Method (HUM) is used to estimate total and occupied housing units, household size, household population, and group quarters population. American Community Survey (ACS) data were used to distribute 2010 census housing units into our standard housing types (single detached units, single attached units, two to four units, five plus or apartment units, and mobile homes). Housing units are estimated by adding new construction and annexations and subtracting demolitions, and adjusting for units lost or gained by conversions. Annual housing unit change data are supplied by local jurisdictions and the U.S. Census Bureau. Occupied housing units are estimated by applying a derived civilian vacancy rate to the estimated civilian housing units. Vacancy rates are based on 2010 Census benchmark data, adjusted to incorporate the directional changes described by the latest available ACS data. Exact data on foreclosures or other housing market indicators are not reliably available to adjust vacancy rates and are not used.

From E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State–January 1, 2023 and 2024, Department of Finance. Check each January and May for updates.

For more information, contact the California State Census Data Center Network
Phone: (916) 323-4086
Released on May 1, 2023

Census Data for Milpitas
If you’ve come to this page to see if your family or business would thrive in Milpitas, you are in the right place to find census data for Milpitas.

In a nutshell, the population for Milpitas is 81,773, a increase of 138 people, or a 0.17% increase overall.

Best Place to Live: the Great Town of Milpitas, California

Maps of California, showing location of Santa Clara County, and the county showing location of Milpitas.

Why is Milpitas a Best Place to Live?

Milpitas is a fair sized, suburban city that is situated between San Jose and Fremont, but has retained that small town feel, making us a best place to live. City Council and School Board meetings are social events, and are currently online during Covid-19, so even if you live elsewhere, you can still attend. Politically, we tend to vote Democrat, but every nuance of progressive politics is evident.

Being in Northern California, it is cooler than the southern end of the state, yet because of the Silicon Valley mountains that block the worse weather, it tends to be “nice” year around so heating and cooling bills are trivial. Frost is rare, and it never snows in the valley. Heat is seldom unbearable. Prevailing winds are typically toward the eastern hills, so if grass fires start there, they tend to go away from the town. Landslides are not a concern.

Location of Our Great Town

Santa Clara County
aka Silicon Valley
SE San Francisco Bay Area
California, United States
37n26 (Latitude)
121w54 (Longitude)
13.6 square miles
Zip code is 95035
P.O. Box Zip code is 95036
Area Code is 408
(Some cell phones and faxes have 669 or 650 area codes.)
Time Zone: Pacific We do observe daylight savings time.

Highlights making Milpitas a Best Place to Live

ECONOMY
California Labor Force & Unemployment Rates by County
Updated monthly at the time of the official EDD Press Release for Santa Clara County

Change in 2024

COST OF LIVING
Milpitas, California’s cost of living is 110% higher than the national average. Compare Milpitas’s Cost of Living to where you live now.

WEATHER & CLIMATE

Milpitas is the best place to be in August, July and September our most pleasant months, while December and January are the least comfortable months when you might need an umbrella. February is often surprisingly warm. Today’s Weather | Climate Averages. Milpitas is 20 ft (6 m) above sea level. The climate here is mild, and generally warm and temperate. The average temperature in Milpitas is 15.3 °C | 59.5 °F. In a year, the rainfall is 496 mm | 19.5 inch.

VOTING
Report of Registration as of March 11, 2022 Registration by County:
Santa Clara
1,266,750 Eligible
999,033 Total Registered
508,027 Democratic
165,468 Republican
24,799 American Independent
3,715 Green
Voting data and information for Milpitas.

POPULATION
Milpitas’s population is 81,773 people. From 2010 to 2024, it has had a population growth of 22.6%. Learn More about our growth.

TRANSPORTATION
Transportation expenses like bus fares and gas prices are 23% higher than the national average. Data older than June 13, 2020 about average commute time is outdated, as the BART station opened in Milpitas. This substantially shortens commute time to places along the BART routes. For example, a commuter can get from Milpitas to the Salesforce Plaza in San Francisco in 1:12h, including a 10 minute walk. Google Employees can catch Google Bus on Calaveras, just west of Hillview.

REAL ESTATE
The median home cost in Milpitas is $1,661,670 and median rent is $5,052/month. Highest Appreciating Milpitas Neighborhoods Since 2000: the best are Cielo Terra Serena Villa/Granada and Central Milpitas. Check out the homes in the area.

SCHOOLS
Milpitas Unified School District’s 2024-25 proposed budget will be adopted July 1, 2024. To see the right hand numbers you must download the pdf file. The General Fund Expenditures are $173,303,489.

MUSD’s Strategic Goal #1, Build a Culture of We, is about diversity, equity, and inclusion in our policies, practices, and especially, in our relationships with one another. Striving for this goal requires a commitment to learning about others, and ourselves, which is why we have established a Culture of We Equity Team this year to accelerate our growth.

Census Data for Milpitas

If you’ve come to this page to see if your family or business would thrive in Milpitas, you are in the right place to find census data for Milpitas.

Money magazine lists Milpitas among nation’s top 50 small cities
In 2014 Milpitas is was named the 29th best small city in the USA to live in. There is a lot of Silicon Valley money in Milpitas. Tech giants like Solectron Corp, Infineon Technologies, KLA, and Lumentum are big employers. The city is centralized and convenient to other cities. It’s also a magnet for a well-educated diverse population.

California Demographics
The Demographic Research Unit of the California Department of Finance is designated as the single official source of demographic data for State planning and budgeting.

California Demographic Research Unit Reports
Population growth estimates and projections. Historic immigration patterns.

The Demographic Research Unit (DRU) of the California Department of Finance

Estimates – Official population estimates of the state, counties and cities produced by the Demographic Research Unit for state planning and budgeting.
Projections – Forecasts of population, births and public school enrollment at the state and county level produced by the Demographic Research Unit.
State Census Data Center – Demographic, social, economic, migration, and housing data from the decennial censuses, the American Community Survey, the Current Population Survey, and other special and periodic surveys.
Data In Action – Interactive visualizations, charts, and maps that illustrate the data that the DRU tabulates and produces.
DRU Data Hub – DRU’s interactive data portal for exploring, sharing, and visualizing data. It includes maps, dashboards, and other applications featuring a range of demographic, housing and socioeconomic data.

E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State — January 1, 2023 and 2024
From the Department of Finance, so should be best data available online, as the State depends on these numbers for distributions of funds.
Released in May each year.
Total Population of Milpitas January 1, 2024: 81,773. (Note: this and the USDOC population report are very different!)
Table columns can be sorted.

Year	Population	% Change
2024	81,773	0.16%
2023	81,635	0.12%
2022	80,862	0.72%
2021	80,287	1.04%
2020	77,180	1.27%
2019	76,211	1.64%
2018	74,980	0.88%
2017	74,327	-1.59%
2016	75,528	1.87%
2015	74,140	6.06%
2014	69,903	3.03%
2013	67,845	1.47%
2012	66,864	0.34%
2011	66,637	-0.03%
2010	66,659	-5.87%
2009	70,817	2.01%
2008	69,419	4.43%
2007	66,472	1.83%
2006	65,276	0.43%
2005	64,998	0.05%
2004	64,964	-0.06%
2003	65,000	1.88%
2002	63,800	1.43%
2001	62,900	-3.61%
2000	65,254	1.48%
1999	64,300	2.72%
1998	62,600
1990	50,686
1980	37,820
1970	26,561
1960	6,572

U.S. Department of Commerce – U.S. Census Bureau
Quick Facts for Milpitas, California. See whole file for more data.
Population Estimates, July 1, 2023, (V2022): 77,321.
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2018-2022: $1,155,000
Foreign born persons, percent, 2018-2022: 53.7%
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16 years+, 2018-2022: 26.6 minutes
Median household income (in 2022 dollars), 2018-2022: $166,769
Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2018-2022: 68.0%
Households with a broadband Internet subscription, percent, 2018-2022: 96.6%

Milpitas Household Income Statistics from World Population Review
Milpitas is a city located in Santa Clara County California.

Milpitas has a 2024 population of 75,349. Milpitas is currently declining at a rate of -1.56% annually and its population has decreased by -5.96% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 80,127 in 2020.

The average household income in Milpitas is $195,424 with a poverty rate of 5.9%. The median age in Milpitasis 36.1 years: 35.5 years for males, and 37.3 years for females.

Milpitas Demographics
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Milpitas was:

Asian: 69.88%
White: 13.31%
Other race: 7.21%
Two or more races: 6.82%
Black or African American: 2.2%
Native American: 0.46%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.13%

Milpitas, CA vs Palo Alto, CA vs Mountain View
Compare Cities Overview. This census link has many more comparisons you might like to see. Add our own cities to compare.
– Median household income in Milpitas is $166,769. Palo Alto is $214,118. Mountain View is 174,156.
– Persons age 65+ in Milpitas is 12.2%, in Palo Alto 19.3% and in Mountain View 11.4%
– Largest Racial Group in Milpitas is Asian, in Palo Alto White, and in Mountain View White.
– Unemployment Rate in Milpitas is 5.3%, and in Palo Alto 3.5%. Both lower than US Rate of 6.0%.
– Minority owned employer firms (2017) in Milpitas is 1,130, in Palo Alto 804, and in Mountain View 628.
– Population per square mile: Milpitas (13.48 sq mi) – 6, 066, Palo Alto (24.10 sq mi) – 2,820, and
Mountain View (11.96 sq mi) – 7,235.
If you are looking for a balanced community, Milpitas is great!

Joint Venture’s Silicon Valley Index
A nationally recognized publication that has been telling the Silicon Valley story since 1995. Released every January, the indicators measure the strength of our economy and the health of our community-highlighting challenges and providing an analytical foundation for leadership and decision making.

Milpitas Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports
The fiscal year of the City of Milpitas ends on June 30. After completion of an extensive external audit process, the annual comprehensive financial report (ACFR) is published.

Silicon Valley Indicators: Live Update
Find the Silicon Valley Population up to the minute numbers. When I last looked, we had a little under 3 million people.
One birth every 19 minutes
One death every 33 minutes
Gain one international immigrant every 65 minutes
Lose one domestic migrant every 12 hours
Net gain of one person every 4 hours (or 6 people per day)

See also Population Growth of Milpitas From 2023-2024
Also growth in Santa Clara County and all its cities.

History of Milpitas – 1900s

The Milpitas Monster was filmed in 1975 and 1976 and released to market in 1980, 80 Minutes, Color, Rated PG. Starring: Douglas A. Hagdohl, John “Pop” Kennedy, Scot A. Henderson, Daniel G. Birkhead, Scott Parker, Priscilla House, and William C. Guest. Screenplay by David E. Boston. Music by Robert R. Berry, Jr. Produced and Directed by Robert L. Burrill. Based on a story by David R. Kottas and Robert L. Burrill. Watch the trailer.

On January 26, 1954, Milpitas residents incorporated as a city, including the Ford Factory. See what else happened in the 1900s.

Milpitas in the 1900s

On January 26, 1954, faced with getting swallowed up by a rapidly expanding San Jose, Milpitas residents incorporated as a city that included the recently built Ford Auto Assembly plant. When San Jose attempted to annex Milpitas barely seven years later, the “Milpitas Minutemen” were quickly organized to oppose annexation and keep Milpitas independent. An overwhelming majority of Milpitas registered voters voted “No” to annexation in the 1961 election as a result of a vigorous anti-annexation campaign.

The Milpitas Historical Society December 19, 2020

1:31:54 hours long. Presentation on the history of Main Street in Milpitas from the 1850s through 2020.

‘54 How Milpitas came to ban red lining in its charter.

Calaveras Overpass
The Calaveras Overpass is built to meet the present and growing traffic loads of a progressive city. [They thought!]

The IT Law Wiki – United States v. Thomas, 74 F.3d 701 (6th Cir. 1996)(full-text).
July 1994. Robert and Carleen Thomas, operators of Amateur Action BBS in Milpitas, California, were tried and convicted of sending “pornography” across state lines by a Memphis jury.

The Great Mall holds a great Ford secret
The huge 1.4 million square-foot facility often served as Ford’s outpost to produce the most popular models for distribution along the west coast. By 1962, the busy factory churned out 135,963 vehicles annually. Over the years it was home to Falcons, Escorts, Rancheros, F-Series pickups, Pintos, many Mercury vehicles, and of course, Mustangs. But as competition increased throughout the 1970s and 80s, this boomtown went bust.

History 1957-1982 by Wayne E. Briggs
The purpose of this history is to preserve the record of events in the building of the Sunnyhills United Methodist Church and of the persons behind those events before it becomes unalterably destroyed by imperfect memories.

Looking back at the Ford Motor Company plant in Milpitas
To honor the company that played a role in accelerating Milpitas’ early growth, we’re sharing some photos that have never been seen before, mostly of Ford’s very last day of operations. We also had the opportunity to interview two former Ford employees. By Rhoda Shapiro, The Milpitas Beat

Milpitas Historical Site Inventory
A map showing historically significant locations in the city of Milpitas.

Milpitas’ top stories over a 60-year span
Overview of stories posted in the Milpitas Post since 1955. “Milpitas received a look at its new community newspaper. The Milpitas Post was born with a 2,000 press run with most of the copies distributed to workers at the gates of the new Ford plant, where the assembly lines were due to roll Feb. 21.”

Police Department History
The City’s first Police Chief was Thomas Letcher. Letcher had just one fulltime Sergeant under his command, while patrol duties were handled by Auxiliary Police Officers working on a part-time basis.

River’s Edge
In 1981 a Milpitas High School student killed his girlfriend, then brought his buddies to see the body. No one told the cops. We’d prefer to forget this crime, but it was made into a movie in 1987. Our “river” here being but a small creek, the film was made up on the American River.

River’s Edge – About the Actor
Daniel Roebuck used flash to try to win the role, dike the flow of “ridiculous sitcom ‘fat guy’ parts,” and scrub away the taint of “Cave Girl.” He entered the audition room with a Tollette-like getup – fatigue jacket, slicked hair, beer can in hand. He downed a brew in his character’s style: full gulp, nerveless, apathetic. Site includes comments about the film versus what really happened.

Sunnyhills Neighborhood History
Sunnyhills was the first planned racially-integrated community in the United States in 1956, arranged by a Union co-op of the United Auto Workers. Today, Sunnyhills still has one of the highest levels of integration of any neighborhood.

Youths’ Silent on Murder Victim Leaves a California Town Baffled
By Wayne King, Special To the New York Times
Dec. 14, 1981. What has shocked this fast-growing community of 38,000 are reports by police investigators, acknowledged by students and school administrators, that the defendant boasted of the crime, then loaded other young people into his white pickup truck and drove them into the hills to view the body. Others, hearing of ”the body in the hills,” went on their own to look.

Silicon Valley

Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch
A visit to the Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch in the Santa Teresa County Park Historic Area immerses you in the realities of living and working on a family ranch more than 100 years ago. A self-guided walk around the park takes you back in time, through a historic ranch house, gardens and barn, all restored and equipped with furnishings and tools typical of California farm life in the early 1900’s.

Disturbing Facts About The 1933 Bay Area Kidnap And Murder Of Brooke Hart
Brooke Hart was the young, good-looking, and athletic heir to his family’s department store fortune. Which is what made him a prime target in the depression of 1933. In November of that year, Hart was kidnapped and murdered and his captors were publicly lynched in California’s last ever public lynching. The Brooke Hart kidnapping shook the nation and is a horrifying glimpse of justice gone wrong in American history. The escape route of the kidnappers went along Piedmont and Evans Road in Milpitas.

Campbell Historical Museum and Ainsley House
The Ainsley House is the 1926 home of canning pioneer John Colpitts Ainsley. It showcases life in Santa Clara Valley during the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Vintage Photos Of Silicon Valley Before It Became A Giant Tech Hub
Silicon Valley is generally considered the center of the tech universe today. But before Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and a host of other major tech companies set up shop there, the Santa Clara Valley was the center of a different industry altogether.

Frontier Village
Frontier Village, San Jose, California, old postcards, photos and other historic images, provide a great visual look back at Frontier Village’s history. The western themed amusement park was located at Monterey Road and Baranham Lane in San Jose, California.

Palo Alto Historical Association
We present programs the first Sunday of the month October through December and February through May. The programs are free and open to the public. Held at the Lucie Stern Community Center, they feature a speaker or speakers on subjects of local interest. Our annual banquet, with a speaker, is held in early June.

Sunnyvale Historic Images
A record of the evolution of our community, past and present.

Swift Justice: Murder and Vengeance in a California Town
by Harry FarrellIn 1933, a couple of losers kidnapped and killed the son of a department store owner in San Jose, California. Little did they know of the fury they would unleash. The men were captured, and then, just hours after the victim’s body was found, a mob stormed the city jail and held “a necktie party” (lynching) in a nearby park. Harry Farrell is a superb writer who researched this case so thoroughly that he has the details to produce an unnerving degree of suspense.

Thomas Foon Chew: Founder of the Bayside Cannery
In 1906, Thomas Foon Chew took over his father’s Precita Canning Company, renaming it The Bayside Canning Company, and turning it into the third largest cannery in the world. Using a technique to can asparagus while retaining crispness and freshness, Chen became known as the Asparagus King.

Valley of the Heart’s Delight
Asks new questions about San Jose’s crime of the century – and whether a lynch mob murdered two innocent men in St. James Park. Hart’s abandoned Studebaker was found in Milpitas.

Velma Lucille Bernal Mendoza
An obit with lots of history both of the 1900’s and earlier eras. Born in San Jose, California on December 13, 1901, she is a direct descendant of Juan Francisco Bernal who came to Northern California with the de Anza expedition of 1776.

Victorian Preservation Association of Santa Clara Valley
A non-profit organization for those who share an interest in the older buildings of our community, especially turn-of-the-century homes.

Bay Area

The October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake-Selected Photographs
This publication contains 103 digitized color 35-mm images from Open-File Report 90-547 (Nakata and others, 1990). Our photographic coverage reflects the time and resources available immediately after the event and is not intended to portray the full extent of earthquake damage. USGS photos.

Neal Cassady
‘The bus came by and I got on, that’s when it all began; There was Cowboy Neal at the wheel of the bus to Nevereverland’ -Cassady, the genius behind the Beat Generation, settled in Los Gatos.

Story of an Eyewitness
May 5, 1906. Jack London went to the scene of the San Francisco Fire & Earthquake and wrote the following dramatic description of the tragic events he witnessed in the burning city.

Who’s Who of the Haight-Ashbury Era
This is a list of short (thumbnail size) biographies of people who were somehow involved with this event.

Stink in Milpitas-Smell Map

The Silicon Valley odor problem seems incomprehensible. Learn about the history and current issues of the stink from Newby Island Landfill.

When I was a youngster 60 or so years ago, we had a song we would sing as we drove from Oakland to Santa Cruz for a day at the Beach-Boardwalk. We’d drive our parents nuts with the repetitive drone of “doo-do-n-do-doo” over and over again, and then shouting out the name of each city we went through for the whole hour+ drive. Each had a specific hand gesture, and I don’t remember most of them any longer, but for Milpitas we’d make the gesture of rolling up the car windows with window cranks (Remember those?) while really rolling up the windows as fast as we could. No air conditioned cars back in those days! Windows down the whole way…except through Milpitas. The stink was so bad back in the 50’s and 60’s and…so on. Back then the explanation was the rotten fruit and fruit peels from the canneries around here.

So why, 60 years later, does Milpitas still stink?

Milpitas has a history of odor problems that are related to industrial activities, landfills, and waste processing facilities in the surrounding areas. The smell that occurs when there are odor issues in Milpitas can come from many different sources, including sewage treatment plants, landfills, garbage dumps, petrochemical plants, and other industrial facilities. The exact source of the bad air smell can be difficult to pinpoint, and it may also be due to natural factors such as atmospheric conditions or wind patterns. Milpitas has worked to address the odor issues by regulating the industrial facilities and working with neighboring cities and counties to find solutions that reduce the odors.

Milpitas Smell Map

Milpitas Odor Info
The number one thing you can do is call the BAAQMD odor hotline (1-800-334-ODOR (6367)) every time you smell it, see the reporting page. Subscribe to a BAAQMD email list. The City of Milpitas is trying to do several things to help with the odor issue. However, Milpitas has no jurisdiction on The Newby Island Landfill OR the San Jose Waste Water Treatment Plant.

According to the Milpitas Odor Control Action Plan, potential sources of odors in the Milpitas area include:

A child explains the Silicon Valley odor problem to us adults in this Milpitas Odor Info video. Learn about the history and current issues surrounding Newby Island Landfill Expansion in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Politics and Lawsuits

Dateline June 12, 2018. Republic Services and other facilities throughout California lobbied and killed AB 1975 (the odor taskforce bill). Opposition worked it hard this year and got facilities throughout the state to send letters and call their assembly members. Not enough votes to get the bill off the Assembly floor. It is very disappointing that other state assemblymen would go against a harmless bill that merely mandates the participation of odor nuisance offenders in a local task force. Kansen Chu’s staff will continue working with the air districts and local enforcement agency to see if something else can be done outside of legislation in the meantime. (Kansen Chu is no longer our state assembly member, and I don’t know if Alex Lee or Bob Wieckowski (our State Senator) has taken up the problem.)

Milpitas landfill reaches $210K settlement with Air District over pollution violations
September 1, 2022. CBS News
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced a settlement Thursday over numerous violations at the Newby Island Landfill in Milpitas. Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc., and International Disposal Corp. of California agreed to pay $210,000 to settle with the air quality district. The settlement covers 30 notices of violation from 2014 to 2020 for non-compliance with air quality regulations at the landfill.

City Hall Phone Numbers to Talk to Someone

BAAQMD 3/20/2017 discussion of the San Jose/Milpitas odor issues
Watch Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty grilled BAAQMD staff. He has gotten a lot of complaints from his constituents. He spoke out against San Jose’s bad decision and BAAQMD’s inaction. He called out the poor facilities siting near resident and that San Jose clearly stuck it to Milpitas and Fremont. He suggested San Jose should have used the existing ACE rail tracks to send waste to Altamont Landfill (in rural Livermore with no odor complaints) instead of processing waste within urban areas.

Milpitas, Calif., Opts to Continue Litigation Over Landfill Expansion Decision
The Milpitas City Council voted to continue litigation against the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for not considering odor complaints in approving a landfill expansion.
Waste360 Staff | Jun 16, 2017

In November 2016, after putting off its decision for several months, Milpitas selected Garden City Sanitation Inc. as its new hauler, replacing longtime collector Republic Services.

OPINION: We Must Get Rid of The Smell
By Eric Shapiro, in Opinion on July 23, 2018.
In my mind, often, I say the word “Smellpitas.” Sometimes, while complaining, I say it out loud. And a dear colleague tells me “Milstinkas” is out there, in good, solid circulation. What exactly’s going on here? And how has it been allowed to sustain for so many years?

“They” keep telling us, “The number one thing you can do is call the BAAQMD odor hotline every time you smell it.” So the City put up this webpage with a form that allows you to complain about a bad odor. You will need to have location services turned on so they can map exactly where you reported the smell.

Report odor to 1-800-334-6367 or click here.

How bad is the stink?

Well, we have our own twitter hashtag for it: #MilpitasStinks.
Notice that most posts are fairly long ago. Has the air improved or have residents quit complaining?

We tried to limit expansion

Should a South Bay landfill on the border of San Jose and Milpitas be allowed to expand? Neighbors say no, and with a decision later this month, many neighbors are escalating grass-roots efforts to stop the expansion. NBC Bay Area’s Marianne Favro reports with a closer look at their last-ditch efforts to curb the unbearable smell. (Published Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015)

Home Buyers Beware!

The south end of town is spared the smell. Anywhere south of Calaveras Blvd. to the San Jose border. The older neighborhoods with yards are on the hill side (east side) of Milpitas and have names like Parktown (homes clustered around parks), and Milford. The southwest side of town, where BART is going in and Light Rail already exists, has lots of brand new condo-style homes. If you are very rich, living in a mansion in the hills is an option, but you will need to worry about wildfires, landslides, rattlesnakes, and coyotes eating pets. Oh, and wells going dry, and less than optimal sewage systems.

Where is the Newby Island Landfill, and What is Near it?

Note that the San Jose/Santa Clara waste water treatment plant is also in the same area. The future plans for this facility includes major odor mitigation strategies like covering the sludge drying area. However, this will take many years to fund and implement.

See also ~ Recycling & Garbage

Mission/Rancho Era – 1700s

Milpitas was along the route taken by the De Anza Expedition, and between Mission San Jose and Mission Santa Clara. There is a sign posted near the intersection of Calaveras and Milpitas Blvd., near City Hall, showing where the expedition passed through.

Alviso Adobe Park
The adobe’s history can be traced back to 1834, when its original owner, José Maria de Jesus Alviso, penned a petition describing what he had built: “two walled houses,” outside of which were 600 cattle, a 600-vine vineyard, and an orchard bearing 60 fruit trees. The function of the petition was for Alviso to gain formal ownership of the property, which he cited as “the place named Milpitas.” Tours are offered at 1PM, 2PM, and 3PM on the second Saturday of every month. You can RSVP here. If you have the app AdventureLab on your smart phone, there are 5 clues outside at this location. There is also 1 geocache.
2087 Alviso Adobe Ct.

A demonstration of the 20-foot-long wrap the women on the De Anza Expedition wore to carry their babies and supplies.

Adobe Peralta House
The Peralta Adobe is San José’s oldest address. Built in 1797, the Peralta Adobe is the last remaining structure from El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe.

California Missions Interactive Internet Field Trip
In May of 1995, some bicyclists road along the El Camino (King’s Highway) between 12 of the California Missions. They kept up an internet dialog with 4th grade students in Palo Alto.

The California missions school project is becoming a thing of the past. Here’s why
Building missions from sugar cubes or popsicle sticks does not help students understand the period and is offensive to many,” the new History-Social Science Framework adopted last year says. “Missions were sites of conflict, conquest, and forced labor. Students should consider cultural differences, such as gender roles and religious beliefs, in order to better understand the dynamics of Native and Spanish interaction.”

California Missions Resource Center
Your comprehensive guide to discovering the history behind the California missions and the people who founded and shaped the character of California.

El Camino de San Jose
El Camino nominally links the missions, but Mission San José in Fremont is nowhere near today’s El Camino Real. So what route did early Californians take from Mission Santa Clara to Mission San José? It goes along Main Street and Milpitas Boulevard in Milpitas!

A History of Mexican Americans in California
Hispanic settlement of what is now California began in 1769 when the Presidio and Catholic mission of San Diego were established.

Juan Bautista De Anza
National Historic Trail. In 1775-76 he led a contingent of 30 soldiers and their families to found a presidio and mission on the San Francisco Bay. Here is a map showing where he came to Milpitas. Translation of diaries of De Anza, Font and Eixarch.

Milpitas
Images of America
by Robert Burrill
$21.95 or $25 with author signature.
Call 408-263-5468 to order.
Robert L. Burrill, Milpitas filmmaker and photography teacher for more than 35 years, has combed the archives of the Milpitas Historical Society, private local collections, and his own works to find more than 200 vintage photographs chronicling the heritage, enterprise, and wit of Milpitas from the 1700s to the present day.

The Missions
The Franciscans came to California not merely to convert the tribes to Christianity but to train them for life in a European colonial society. Conversion was seldom an entirely voluntary process.

Model Behavior
The agony of the tradition of 4th grade Mission model building. The author wonders: What does this really teach? By David Templeton

Peralta Adobe
A 200-year old adobe home in the heart of downtown San Jose. This page tells you about its history.

Photo Gallery of California Missions & Other Hispanic Sites
A good site to begin your research into historic Spanish California. Contact information for dozens of historic places of this era.

Read More About the California Pioneer Era

Family Chronicles and Biographies of Milpitas Pioneer Families

History of Local Pioneers in the 1800s

Apocalyptic Wednesday!.

Forecasts

Current

Drought in San Francisco Bay Area

Historic Weather Events

Images

Night Sky

Winter Storms

About Milpitas

About California

Historical Figures in Early California

Maps of California, showing location of Santa Clara County, and the county showing location of Milpitas.

Why is Milpitas a Best Place to Live?

Highlights making Milpitas a Best Place to Live

Milpitas in the 1900s

Silicon Valley

Bay Area

So why, 60 years later, does Milpitas still stink?

Milpitas Smell Map

Politics and Lawsuits

How bad is the stink?

We tried to limit expansion

Home Buyers Beware!

Where is the Newby Island Landfill, and What is Near it?

How to Make GoMilpitas into an app on your iPhone or iPad.

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