San José, by neighborhood
Willow Glen · Rose Garden · Naglee Park · Japantown · Downtown · Cambrian · Almaden Valley · Blossom Valley · Santa Teresa · Edenvale · Communications Hill · Evergreen · Silver Creek · Alum Rock · East Foothills · Berryessa · North San José · Alviso · West San José
The age of the wiring tracks the neighborhood closely enough to be useful. The pre-war belt — Naglee Park, the Rose Garden, older Willow Glen — is where fuse boxes, knob-and-tube remnants and ungrounded two-prong receptacles still turn up. The great post-war tracts of Cambrian, Blossom Valley and Berryessa are mostly 100-amp services with 1960s and 1970s panels, which is exactly the population now hitting the EV-charger capacity question. Evergreen, Silver Creek and Almaden's later phases are largely 150–200 amp and modern, where the calls are about additions and failed devices rather than about the service itself.
The towns around it
Campbell · Santa Clara · Sunnyvale · Cupertino · Saratoga · Los Gatos · Milpitas
Each of these is its own permitting authority with its own counter, its own fee schedule and its own inspection queue. The electrical code underneath is the same statewide code; what differs is the paperwork and how long it takes.
The unincorporated islands, which catch people out
Several pockets inside and against San Jose are not in the city at all: Burbank, the Cambrian Park pocket, Fruitdale, parts of East Foothills and the Alum Rock area among them. They have San Jose mailing addresses and San Jose neighbors, and their permits, inspections and fees belong to the County of Santa Clara, not to the city. The County says so directly: a San José mailing address does not establish that the County is the permit authority, and the reverse trips up just as many people. The County's Property Explorer will tell you which you are in, and it is worth two minutes before anyone applies for anything on your behalf.
What "we cover this area" means here
It means two concrete things. First, a photo estimate for an address on this list is answered against the rules that actually apply to it — city or county, and the fee schedule that goes with it. Second, when work follows, the permit and inspection route is the one that address requires rather than the one that is most convenient. It does not mean a branch office in your neighborhood; there is no counter to visit, and this site does not pretend otherwise.
If your address is outside the list — Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Fremont, the Peninsula — the general answers on this site still hold, but the permit specifics do not, and the cost bands are a different market.
Jurisdiction statements come from the County of Santa Clara Department of Planning and Development and the City of San José Building Division. Boundaries change through annexation; verify your own address before relying on either.