1057 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte on 4 December 2020; the conversion was rejected on a referendum held on 30 October 2023, by the voters of Bulacan including the concerned city.

[5] San José del Monte derived its name from Saint Joseph, whose statue was found in a veritable forest.

These families, most if not all from Lagulo (now Malhacan) in Meycauayan, brought with them rice, wine, nganga, and salt in exchange for the wild pigs, deer, yantok, and almasigan of the Itas and Dumagats, the native inhabitants of the area.

Solares, including intended lots for main roads, were peacefully distributed to the new occupants after being measured and surveyed.

Extant Catholic Church records reveal that the first parish priest was Father Antonio de Moral.

At the advent of American rule, it was made a part of Santa Maria until 1918 when the town was recreated and Ciriaco Gallardo appointed the first municipal president.

Due to the large number of residents, Bulacan Governor Roberto Pagdanganan recalled in 1996 that the relocation did not ensure new livelihoods for its informal settlers, thus turning many squatters toward criminality; he noted that the town had the highest crime rate in the province according to police reports.

[7] In 1988, Eduardo Roquero was elected mayor of the municipality by a margin of eight (8) votes against his closest opponent, reelectionist Reynaldo Villano.

[8] On 14 February 2024, Luneta Morales, an 83-year-old choir member was killed due to chest injuries while 63 attendees suffered multiple injuries when the "Vicariate of Saint Joseph" Saint Peter the Apostle Church (San Jose del Monte, Bulacan) 30-year-old balcony-gallery, weakened by infesting termites collapsed during an Ash Wednesday service past 7 a.m. Dennis Villarojo said "those affected and their families are being assisted by the Diocese of Malolos with parish priest Fr.

[12][13] In December 1999, district representative Angelito Sarmiento filed the bill converting the then municipality of San Jose del Monte into a component city.

Despite a low turnout, the cityhood was approved mostly by migrants, mainly from Metro Manila which composed seventy percent of the residents by then; only nine of the 59 villages voted against the bill.

San Jose del Monte became the first city in Bulacan since Malolos failed in the cityhood bid in December 1999.

[17] On 4 December 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte declared San Jose del Monte as a highly urbanized city through Proclamation No.

On 11 September 2023, COMELEC, released a resolution that synchronized the plebiscite on 30 October 2023, along with the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

[24] The elevation of the city ranges from approximately 40 to 900 meters (130 to 2,950 ft) above sea level; the relief transitions from warm lowland to cool upland as one goes eastward.

Major natural waterways of San Jose del Monte are the Kipungok, Santo Cristo, and Santa Maria River systems.

Draining to these rivers are creeks and streams, which act as catchment areas for the surface water runoff of the city.

Most of the city's population come from former informal settlers along the creeks, esteros, riverbanks and railway tracks of Metro Manila.

The clustering pattern for both built-up and agricultural uses is partly due to the decisions made by settlers about the hilly conditions that dominate the topography.

Most households in the western half of San Jose del Monte opted to convert their lands to residential uses while others maintained the farms.

The City Agriculture Office maintains a 1.65-hectare (4.1-acre) Mini Forest Project in Barangay Muzon along the San Jose del Monte–Marilao Road and a mahogany planting site.

It is originally made up of only five barangays: Poblacion, Halang (Muzon), Sapang Palay, Santo Cristo, and Gaya-Gaya.

Historical maps of Bulacan, before the creation of Doña Remedios Trinidad, indicate that both territories of San Jose del Monte and Norzagaray stretch up to Tayabas province.

As such, San Jose del Monte exhibited an increasing percentage share of the provincial population from as low as 2% in 1960 to 9% in 1990 and then to 17% in 2015.

The city has three major business district growth areas: Tungkong Mangga, Muzon, and Sapang Palay (Sampol).

The minor business districts include Towerville in Minuyan Proper, Palmera in Kaypian, Northgate in Santo Cristo, Citrus, Poblacion 1, Grotto in Graceville, Francisco Homes, Gumaoc, and San Rafael III.

The following are the main arteries of San Jose del Monte's road network which link the 59 barangays with Metro Manila and the rest of Bulacan.

The initial location of the said station, named San Jose del Monte Station, would be located near the area of Colinas Verdes, a subdivision in Tungkong Mangga, San Jose del Monte, passing through Tala, North Caloocan, and barangay Ciudad Real.

However, due to the appeals the residents of Pangarap Village in Tala over years of land dispute and right-of-way issues, in 2021, the railway leading to the station was realigned, now passing through Quirino Highway instead of passing through the said disputed residential community, and the new site of San Jose del Monte station would now be located on a vast vacant lot alongside Skyline Hospital and Medical Center.

The city hosts the biggest National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) sub-station in the country in Barangay Dulong Bayan.