Mraz attended Lee-Davis High School in Mechanicsville, Virginia and graduated in 1995. Mraz is of Czech descent through his grandfather, who moved to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1915. His surname is Czech for "frost".
As a teenager, Mraz participated in local theater with SPARC (School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community). He played Joseph in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Mraz attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, for a short time, studying musical theater before moving to San Diego, California.
Mraz lives a health-conscious lifestyle and enjoys eating mostly raw vegan foods. He owns an avocado farm in Northern San Diego Countynear Fallbrook. Jason Mraz is an active supporter of several charities including VH1's Save The Music Foundation, MusiCares, Free the Children, Life Rolls On and SPARC. He has been named the 2010 SIMA Humanitarian of the Year. He also received the Clean Water Award in 2010 from the Surfrider Foundation. Mraz previously dated fellow musician and former model, Tristan Prettyman.