The district includes the campus of Santa Clara University and the corporate headquarters of several Silicon Valley companies, such as Apple Inc, Intel Corp., and Yahoo.

The district was mostly unchanged during the 2021 redistricting, although it now encompasses a smaller portion of Fremont.

They are partitioned by Mission Peak Regional Park, Witherly Ln, Mission Blvd, Washington Blvd, Farallon Cmn, Paseo Padre Parkway, Grimmer Blvd, Blacow Rd, Omar St, Butano Park Dr, Farina Ln, Nimitz Freeway, Highway 84.

The 17th and 16th are partitioned by Stevens Creek Blvd, Santana Row, Olsen Dr, S Winchester Blvd, Williams Rd, Eden Ave, Lexington Dr, Valley Forge Way, Gleason Ave, Moreland Way, Payne Ave, Saratoga Ave, Doyle Rd, Highway G2, Royal Ann Dr, Wisteria Way, Rainbow Dr, Highway 85, S De Anza Blvd, Prospect Rd, Fremont Older Open Space, Permanente Creek, Highway 280, N Foothill Blvd, Homestead Rd, Stevens Creek, W EL Camino Real, Magritte Way, Highway G6, Highway 101, and Enterprise Way.

The 17th district takes in the north side of the city of San Jose, part of the census designated place Alum Rock, and the cities of Milpitas, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Cupertino.