During the Spanish colonial period, reduccion, which was the method of relocating settlers towards the center of the poblacion, was practiced in San Jose, Centro Da Baloges. The practice was widely spread as part of the movement to spread Catholicism to the remote areas of Bulacan.

Therefore, in March 1750 a decree from the Archbishop of Manila on the creation of new municipalities was announced in Lagulo Church in Meycauayan; the decree included the list of families who volunteered to be relocated. From being a visita of Meycauayan, San Jose Del Monte was thereafter founded as a municipality on March 2, 1752. This reduccion from Meycauayan brought settlers to the place where the occupants were previously only the Itas and Dumagats. The name of the Town was taken from San Jose Del Monte, a phrase that is a combination of the patron saint of the town and “Del Monte”, which means “of the mountains”. Further accounts of the history of the Town can be found in the work of Dr. Jaime Veneracion of the Departamento ng Kasaysayan of the University of the Philippines Diliman.

The new municipality’s population, which was not exceeding 200 people, belonged to the family of farmers and stonecutters of Libtong and Meycauayan. They lived a simple lifestyle and raised fish, root crops, vegetables, fruits and other natural products. These families brought with them rice, wine, nganga, and salt from Lagulo (now Malhacan) in exchange for the wild pigs, deer, yantok and almasigan of the Itas and Dumagats. Solares, including intended lots for main roads, were peacefully distributed to the new occupants after being measured and surveyed.

Under the American regime in 1901, San Jose Del Monte (SJDM) was placed under the political supervision of Sta. Maria, Bulacan due to the town‘s lack of progress, peace, and order. In 1903, Act 932 of the US-established Philippine Commission bolstered this supervision. Then, on January 1, 1918, the Town became an independent municipality with Honorable Ciriaco Gallardo as the first Municipal Mayor thrugh Executive Order No. 100 by then Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison.

The City had its share of violent historical events. The Japanese Imperial Army took over the local government of San Jose Del Monte from 1942-1943. In resistance against the occupation of the Japanese, the population of the municipality formed its own guerrilla unit. Also, during the latter parts of the Second World War, SJDM experienced many casualties when the Americans bombed the Poblacion on January 11, 1945. This was repeated on January 14, 1945. Years later, dissidents burned the Municipal Building on October 10, 1950.

Further reorganizations inside the City happened as the population grew and as the system of national laws matured. The year 1961 marked the opening of the first Government Resettlement Project, the Sapang Palay Resettlement Area, which covered 752 hectares. In January 25, 1978, nine barangays were created under P.D. 1921. With the passage of the new local government code in 1991 emanated the reformulation of equal wealth sharing between the national and local units and the realization of the residents of having their own barangays. This move led to the creation of an additional 41 barangays under a Provincial Ordinance promulgated by RA 337 in December 1991.

The reorganization and increasing population also induced changes in the executive and legislative administration of the City as a whole. On September 10, 2000, SJDM was proclaimed as a Component City under Republic Act 8797. Due to such event, it was said to be the largest town in the whole province of Bulacan in terms of land area and population. In addition, the City, also known as the “Balcony of the Metropolis”, was recorded as the first City in the province of Bulacan and recorded as the 86th City of the Philippines.

On December 18, 2003, the City of San Jose became the 1st Lone Congressional District in Bulacan. As the new millennium marches on, the population of the City registers a booming population. It continues to grow as settlements mushroomed in strategic areas of the Municipality to catch the urbanization that is happening in the Greater Metro Manila Region.

On September 19, 2017, the city achieved the World’s Largest Lantern Parade in the Guinness World Records, the city government as an organizer with 14,173 participants carrying hand-made lanterns out of recycled can beer and soda completed the parade in Colinas Verdes barangay Tungkong mangga despite heavy rain.