Sunnyvale, CA
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sunnyvale () is a city located in the
Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...
in northwestern
Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and
Highway 101 Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (drum ...
and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north,
Moffett Federal Airfield Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November ...
and
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...
to the northwest, Mountain View to the northwest, Los Altos to the southwest,
Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 60,38 ...
to the south, and Santa Clara to the east. Sunnyvale's population was 155,805 at the 2020 census, making it the second most populous city in the county (after San Jose) and the seventh most populous city in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
. As one of the major cities that make up California's
high-tech High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or ...
area known as
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
, Sunnyvale is the birthplace of the
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
industry, former location of
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
headquarters. Many technology companies are headquartered in Sunnyvale and many more operate there, including several aerospace/defense companies. Sunnyvale was also the home to
Onizuka Air Force Station Onizuka Air Force Station or Onizuka AFS was a United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force installation in Sunnyvale, California, at the intersection of California State Route 237, State Route 237 and North Mathilda Avenue. It operated from 1960 to 20 ...
, often referred to as "the Blue Cube" because of the color and shape of its windowless main building. The facility, previously known as Sunnyvale Air Force Station, was named for the deceased
Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' (OV-099) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after HMS Challenger (1858), the commanding ship of a Challenger expedition, nineteenth-century scientific exp ...
astronaut
Ellison Onizuka was an American astronaut, engineer, and U.S. Air Force flight test engineer from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Cha ...
. It served as an
artificial satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scienti ...
control facility of the
U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...
until August 2010 and has since been decommissioned and demolished. Sunnyvale is one of the few municipalities in California to have a single unified Department of Public Safety, where all personnel are trained as
firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...
s,
police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...
s, and EMTs, so that they can respond to an emergency in any of the three roles.


History

The
Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...
was heavily populated by the indigenous
Ohlone The Ohlone ( ), formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the l ...
people when the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
first arrived in the 1770s. However, following the arrival of the Spaniards,
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
,
measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...
, and other
Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...
diseases greatly reduced the Ohlone population. While some of the Ohlone Native Americans died from diseases, others survived and were forced into
Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
by the Spanish. In 1777,
Mission Santa Clara Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality *Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * O ...
was founded by Franciscan missionary Padre Junipero Serra and was originally located in San Jose (near what is now the
San Jose International Airport San José Mineta International Airport —officially Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport—is a city-owned public airport in San Jose, California. Located northwest of Downtown San Jose, the airport serves both the city and the Sa ...
runway).


1800s

In 1843, Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas was granted to Francisco Estrada and his wife Inez Castro. Portions of the land given in this grant later developed into the cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale. Two years later, in 1844, another land grant was provided to Lupe Yñigo, one of the few Native Americans to hold land grants. His land grant was first called
Rancho Posolmi Rancho Posolmi also known as Ranch Yñigo was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Lupe Yñigo. The name refers to Posolmi village of the Ohlone. The grant encompas ...
, named in honor of a village of the
Ohlone The Ohlone ( ), formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the l ...
that once stood in the area. Martin Murphy Jr. came to California with his father as part of the
Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party The Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party consisted of ten families who migrated from Iowa to California prior to the Mexican–American War and the California Gold Rush. The Stephens Party is significant in California history because they were the ...
in 1844. In 1850, Martin Murphy Jr. bought a piece of Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas for $12,500. Murphy established a wheat farm and ranch named Bay View. Murphy had the first wood-frame house in
Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
; it was shipped from
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. The house was demolished in 1961 but was reconstructed in 2008 as the Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum. When he died in 1884, his land was divided among his heirs. In 1861, The San Francisco and San Jose Rail Road was allowed to lay tracks on Bay View and established Murphy's Station. Lawrence's Station was later established on the southern edge of Bay View. In the 1870s, small fruit orchards replaced many large wheat farms, because wheat farming turned uneconomical due to county and property tax laws, imports and
soil degradation Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a soil health, stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to soil erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession revert ...
. In 1871, Dr. James M. Dawson and his wife Eloise (née Jones) established the first commercial fruit cannery in the county. Fruit agriculture for canning soon became a major industry in the county. The invention of the refrigerated rail car further increased the viability of an economy based upon fruit. The fruit orchards became so prevalent that in 1886, the San Jose Board of Trade called
Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
the "Garden of the World". In the 1880s, Chinese workers made up roughly one third of the farm labor in Santa Clara County. This percentage reduced over time after the
Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a United States Code, United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for travelers an ...
was passed. In the following decade, the 1890s, many immigrants from
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
arrived to work in the orchards. In 1897, Walter Everett Crossman bought and began selling real estate. He advertised the area as "Beautiful Murphy" and later, in the 1900s, as "the City of Destiny". Also in 1897, Encinal School opened as the first school in Murphy. Previously, children in the town had to travel to Mountain View for school. The area also became known as Encinal.


1900s

In 1901, the residents of Murphy were informed they could not use the names Encinal or Murphy for their post office. Sunnyvale was given its current name on March 24, 1901. It was named Sunnyvale as it is located in a sunny region adjacent to areas with significantly more fog. Sunnyvale continued to grow and in 1904,
dried fruit Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed prior to cooking or being eaten on its own. Drying may occur either naturally, by sun, through the use of industrial dehydrators, or by freeze drying. ...
production began. Two years later, Libby, McNeill & Libby, a
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
meat-packing company, decided to open its first fruit-packing factory in Sunnyvale. Today, a water tower painted to resemble the first Libby's fruit cocktail can label identifies the former site of the factory. Also in 1906, the
Joshua Hendy Iron Works The Joshua Hendy Iron Works was an American engineering company that existed from the 1850s to the late 1940s. It was at one time a world leader in mining technology and its equipment was used in constructing the Panama Canal, amongst other major ...
relocated from San Francisco to Sunnyvale after the company's building was destroyed by fire after the 1906 earthquake. The ironworks was the first non-agricultural industry in the town. The company later switched from producing mining equipment to other products such as marine
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
s. In 1912, the residents of Sunnyvale voted to incorporate, and Sunnyvale became an official city. Fremont High School first opened in 1923. The year 2023 marked the school's 100 year anniversary. In 1924,
Edwina Benner Edwina Adaha Cochrane Benner (August 1, 1885 – May 14, 1955) was the mayor of Sunnyvale, California, from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1937 to 1938. She served as councilmember from 1920 until 1948. Commonly described as the first female mayor i ...
was elected to her first term as mayor of Sunnyvale. She was the second female mayor in the history of the state of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. In 1930,
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
decided to place the West Coast
dirigible An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat ( lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding ...
base in Sunnyvale after "buying" the parcel of farmland bordering the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
from the city for $1. This
naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...
airfield was later renamed Naval Air Station Moffett and then
Moffett Federal Airfield Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November ...
and is commonly called Moffett Field. In 1939, the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its ...
(NACA, the forerunner of
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
) began research at
Ames Laboratory Ames National Laboratory, formerly Ames Laboratory, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Ames, Iowa, and affiliated with Iowa State University. It is a top-level national laboratory for research on national sec ...
. During World War II, the war economy began a change from the fruit industry to the high-tech industry in Santa Clara County. The Joshua Hendy Iron Works built marine steam engines, naval guns and rocket launchers to aid in the war effort. As the defense industry grew, a shortage of workers in the farm industry was created. Immigrants from
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
came to Sunnyvale to fill this void of workers. Following the war, the fruit orchards and
sweetcorn Sweet corn (''Zea mays'' convar. ''saccharata'' var. ''rugosa''), also called sweetcorn, sugar corn and pole corn, is a variety of maize grown for human consumption with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally occurring rec ...
farms were cleared to build homes, factories and offices. In 1950, the volunteer fire department and the paid police department were combined into the department of public safety. In 1956, the aircraft manufacturer Lockheed moved its headquarters to Sunnyvale. Since then, numerous high-tech companies have established offices and headquarters in Sunnyvale, including
Advanced Micro Devices Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a Information technology, hardware and F ...
and
Yahoo Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, an ...
. The first prototype of
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
's coin-operated ''
Pong ''Pong'' is a 1972 sports video game developed and published by Atari for arcades. It is one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but B ...
'', the first successful video game, was installed in Sunnyvale in August 1972, in a bar named Andy Capp's Tavern, now Rooster T. Feathers. Atari's headquarters were located at 1196 Borregas Avenue in north Sunnyvale. By 2002, the few remaining orchards had been replaced with homes and shops. However, there are still city-owned orchards, such as the Heritage Orchard next to the Sunnyvale Community Center. In 1979, an indoor mall called Sunnyvale Town Center opened in what used to be a traditional downtown shopping district. After years of successful operation, the mall started to decline in the 1990s. After numerous changes in plans and ownership, the mall was demolished in 2007.


2000s

Sunnyvale celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary on August 25, 2012. According to the Bay Area Census, there was a total population of 130,885 people in households and 875 people in group quarters in 2000. In 2023, the city has a population of 145,302 residents; however, the city's population is declining at a rate of −6.77% since the 2020 census, which claimed that Sunnyvale had a population of 155,860 residents.


Downtown development

In November 2009, previously closed portions of the main streets in downtown Sunnyvale were reopened as part of the ongoing downtown redevelopment of the Sunnyvale Town Center mall, marking the first time in over three decades that those street blocks have been open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Part of the project involved building new apartment buildings, however during the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
the property was repossessed by
Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
in 2009; the developer countersued, leaving the project in legal limbo through 2015. The two office buildings are now fully occupied by
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...
. Mixed-use developments have been built at the former Town and Country location near the Plaza del Sol just north of Murphy Avenue. By mid 2015, new multistory apartment complexes had opened, including a number of ground-floor businesses, and the lawsuit against Wells Fargo was resolved in the bank's favor. The development was sold to Sares Regis in late 2016. Redwood Square reopened as a park in 2017. Many apartments are occupied, and more are being completed in 2020. A
Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market, Inc. (colloquially referred to as simply Whole Foods) is an American multinational supermarket chain store, chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from Hydrogenated fat, hydrogenated fats and artificia ...
and
AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (doing business as AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC) is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered ...
multiplex opened in October 2020.


Major businesses

In the 2010s, Sunnyvale became home to operations from numerous major technology companies including
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
,
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...
(now headquartered in Sunnyvale),
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
,
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
,
Meta Meta most commonly refers to: * Meta (prefix), a common affix and word in English ( in Greek) * Meta Platforms, an American multinational technology conglomerate (formerly ''Facebook, Inc.'') Meta or META may also refer to: Businesses * Meta (ac ...
, Walmart Labs, and
23andMe 23andMe Holding Co. is an American personal genomics and biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, California. It is best known for providing a direct-to-consumer genetic testing service in which customers provide a saliva testing, sali ...
. Google announced major development plans in the Moffett Park area in 2017 adjacent to
Moffett Field Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November ...
, with these offices ultimately opening in 2022. In addition, Amazon and Meta began leasing buildings in Sunnyvale in 2017 and 2021, respectively.


Geography

Sunnyvale is located at . According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and (3.09%) is water. Its elevation is 130 feet above sea level.


Climate

Like most of the San Francisco Bay Area, Sunnyvale has a
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Csb''), with cool, moist winters and warm, very dry summers. Average daytime summer temperatures are in the high 70s, and during the winter, average daytime high temperatures rarely stay below . Snowfall is rare, but on January 21, 1962, and February 5, 1976, measurable snowfall occurred in Sunnyvale and most of the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
. Sunnyvale was briefly hit by tornadoes in 1951 and 1998, but otherwise they are extremely rare.


Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Sunnyvale had a population of 155,805. The population density was . The racial makeup of Sunnyvale was 46,551 (29.9%)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 2,228 (1.4%)
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1,081 (0.7%) Native American, 77,842 (49.9%) Asian, 491 (0.3%)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 14,181 (9.1%) from other races, and 13,431 (8.6%) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino people of any race were 25,372 persons (16.3%).
Non-Hispanic Whites Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
were 27.8% of the population in 2020, compared to 74.7% in 1980. There were 59,567 households, out of which 16,133 (27%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 31,557 (53.0%) were married opposite-sex couples living together, 4,069 (6.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,908 (4.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 3,382 (5.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 657 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 14,970 households (25.1%) were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54. There were 38,750
families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(65.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.09. The population was spread out, with 32,453 people (20.8%) under the age of 18, 9,641 people (6.2%) aged 18 to 24, 57,977 people (37.2%) aged 25 to 44, 34,330 people (22.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 20,683 people (13.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.3 males. There were 63,065 housing units, of which 45.8% were owner-occupied, and 54.2% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%. 72,485 people (46.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 80,220 people (51.5%) lived in rental housing units.


2020


Economy

Companies based in Sunnyvale include
Infinera Infinera Corporation was an American vertically integrated manufacturer of Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM)-based packet optical transmission equipment based in San Jose, California. It was also a manufacturer for IP transport technologie ...
,
Fortinet Fortinet, Inc. is an American cybersecurity company with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. The company develops and sells security solutions like firewalls, endpoint security and intrusion detection systems. Fortinet has offices located ...
,
Intuitive Surgical Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is an American biotechnology company that develops, manufactures, and markets robotic products designed to improve clinical outcomes of patients through minimally invasive surgery, most notably with the ''da Vinci'' Surg ...
,
Juniper Networks Juniper Networks, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The company develops and markets networking products, including Router (computing), routers, Network switch, switches, network management so ...
,
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...
,
Proofpoint, Inc. Proofpoint, Inc. is an American enterprise cybersecurity company based in Sunnyvale, California that provides software as a service and products for Email security#Privacy concerns, email security, identity threat defense, data loss preventio ...
, Matterport, Inc., and Trimble Inc. In the 1950s to the 1970s, Sunnyvale had
chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...
farms. Takanoshin Domoto, by 1885 was growing chrysanthemums and carnations at their small nursery in Oakland. ''Bay Area Chrysanthemum Growers Association'' (BACGA) was established in 1956. The 1991 Andean Trade Preference Act "war on drugs" made Colombian, Peruvian, Bolivian and Ecuadorian flowers tariff-free. Half Moon Bay and Redwood City were also chrysanthemum business locations.


Largest employers

According to the city's 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:


Government and politics

The City of Sunnyvale uses the council–manager form of government, with a city council consisting of seven members elected to fill individual seats. Starting in November 2020, the mayor is directly elected to a four-year term in a city-wide election. The six council members are elected to four year terms from six districts in even-year elections. The vice-mayor is selected from the six city council members by the mayor and city council, serving a one-year term. The city council hires a
city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...
to run the day-to-day operations of the city government. Sunnyvale is the largest city in the United States that uses a consolidated department of public safety, with sworn officers who are fully cross-trained to perform
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
,
firefighting Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...
, and
emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services, pre-hospital care or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to d ...
. Officer assignments are rotated annually, with some specialist assignments lasting up to five years. Sunnyvale has had a consolidated DPS since 1950. In the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, Sunnyvale is in , and in . In the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Sunnyvale is in .


Education

For elementary and middle schools, most of the city is in the Sunnyvale School District, while some parts are in the
Cupertino Union School District The Cupertino Union School District (abbreviated as CUSD) is a school district in Santa Clara County, California. CUSD's jurisdiction covers the communities of Cupertino, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Saratoga, and Los Altos. CUSD oper ...
, the Santa Clara Unified School District, and the Mountain View Whisman Elementary School District. For high schools, most of the city is in the
Fremont Union High School District Fremont Union High School District (abbreviated FUHSD) is a school district in Silicon Valley, California. It serves the communities of Cupertino, California, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, California, Sunnyvale, San Jose, California, San Jose, Los Altos ...
(the parts that are part of the Sunnyvale School District or Cupertino Union School District for primary schools), and those areas of Sunnyvale are divided between Fremont High School and Homestead High School. Some parts of the city are in the Santa Clara Unified School District. French American School of Silicon Valley (FASSV, ) is a private elementary school in Sunnyvale, which opened in 1992. It is recognized as a French international school by the
AEFE The Agency for French Education Abroad, or Agency for French Teaching Abroad, (; AEFE), is a national public agency under the administration of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (France), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France that assures the qualit ...
. Library services for the city are provided by the
Sunnyvale Public Library The Sunnyvale Public Library is a public library in Sunnyvale, California. History The library was originally the Reading Room, which opened in 1908. It grew from 50 books to 500 within a year. In 1914, the collection, which had been managed ...
, located at the Sunnyvale Civic Center.


Private schools in Sunnyvale

* FASSV (French American School of Silicon Valley) * Stratford School * The King's Academy (Religious) * Challenger School * Rainbow Montessori * Helios School * Jazmin Chandler * Resurrection School (religious) * Silicon Valley Academy (religious) * South Peninsula Hebrew day school (religious) * Sunnyvale Christian School (religious)


Neighborhoods

The southern half of Sunnyvale is predominantly residential, while most of the portion of Sunnyvale north of Highway 237 is zoned for industrial use. Within this southern half are several neighborhoods that account for a large number of
Eichler Several people are named Eichler: * August W. Eichler (1839–1887), German botanist * Caroline Eichler (1808/9–1843), German inventor, first woman to be awarded a patent (for her leg prosthesis) * Eunice Eichler (1932–2017), New Zealand Salvat ...
homes throughout residential Sunnyvale. More specifically, there are 16 housing tracts containing over 1100 Eichler homes. The far eastern section of El Camino Real in Sunnyvale has a significant concentration of businesses owned by Indian immigrants.


Parks

There are 476 acres of parks in the Sunnyvale area. These include Las Palmas Park, Ortega Park, Seven Seas Park, Fair Oaks Park, Washington Park near downtown, two public golf courses, and Baylands Park, site of the annual
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
Picnic. Charles Street Gardens, Sunnyvale's oldest and largest community garden, is located adjacent to Sunnyvale's Public Library. In 2017 the Santa Clara Unified School District took over operation of Full Circle Farm Sunnyvale, which leased the land from the district, and plan to focus the farm on education.


Transportation

Several major roads and freeways go through Sunnyvale: * Interstate 280 (Junipero Serra Freeway) *
U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...
* State Route 82 ( El Camino Real) * State Route 85 (Stevens Creek Freeway) * State Route 237 (Southbay Freeway)


Public transportation

Sunnyvale is served by
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, more commonly known simply as the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is a Special district (United States), special district responsible for public transit services, Congestion management agen ...
(
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
and
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es) and by
Caltrain Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a commuter rail line in California, serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose, California, San Jose at the Tamien station with weekday r ...
commuter rail. Two Caltrain stations are located in Sunnyvale: the
Sunnyvale station Sunnyvale station is a Caltrain station in Sunnyvale, California. The station is within walking distance of Sunnyvale's historic downtown and the Cityline Sunnyvale shopping center. History On July 27, 1861, Martin Murphy Jr. donated part ...
in the Heritage District downtown, and the Lawrence station in eastern Sunnyvale, north of the Ponderosa neighborhood.


Bicycle

Sunnyvale has been listed by the
League of American Bicyclists League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...
as a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee advises the city council on the continued development of the bicycle plan for the city.


Airports

For commercial passenger air travel, Sunnyvale is served by three nearby international airports: * Norman Y. Mineta
San Jose International Airport San José Mineta International Airport —officially Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport—is a city-owned public airport in San Jose, California. Located northwest of Downtown San Jose, the airport serves both the city and the Sa ...
(SJC), 9.5 miles from downtown Sunnyvale by car. It is also accessible by Caltrain, VTA light rail, and VTA bus. Caltrain and light rail stations require a transfer to a free shuttle bus to get to the airport terminal. *
San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is the primary international airport for the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. Owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco, the airport has a San Francisco mailing ...
(SFO), 27.7 miles by car. SFO is transit accessible from Sunnyvale via Caltrain and
Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running to Antioch, and Oakland Airport Connecto ...
(BART). * Metropolitan
Oakland International Airport Oakland International Airport is an international airport in Oakland, California, United States. The airport is located south of downtown Oakland and east of San Francisco, serving the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The airport is ...
(OAK), 37.5 miles by car. Access to Oakland airport by public transit is possible via multiple transfers.


Crime

Sunnyvale has consistently ranked as one of the safest ten cities (for cities of similar size) in the United States according to the FBI's crime reports. From 1966 to at least 2004, Sunnyvale never placed below fifth in safety rankings among U.S. cities in its population class. In 2005, Sunnyvale ranked as the 18th-safest city overall in the U.S., according to the Morgan Quitno Awards. In 2009, Sunnyvale was ranked 7th in U.S. by Forbes Magazine in an analysis of America's safest cities. In 2018, Sunnyvale was named the safest city by SmartAsset.com for the third year in a row.


Gangs

According to Sunnyvale's Department of Public Safety, confirmed gang members make up less than one percent of the population, although 95% of the crime is gang on gang violence. Sunnyvale's Gang Task-force agency as well as the FBI note three main gangs that exist in Sunnyvale, thrice allying to either Sureño or Norteño families, one existing since the 1960s.


Mass shooting

On February 16, 1988, Richard Farley shot 11 people, killing seven of them, at his former employer ESL Incorporated in north Sunnyvale, across Borregas Avenue from
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
. The 1993 made-for-television film ''
I Can Make You Love Me ''Stalking Laura'', also known as ''I Can Make You Love Me'', is an American 1993 made-for-television psychological thriller film starring Richard Thomas and Brooke Shields. It is based on the true story of American mass murderer Richard Farley ...
'' starring
Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...
and
Richard Thomas Richard Thomas or Dick Thomas may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Dick Thomas (singer) (1915–2003), American singing cowboy and actor * Richard Thomas (actor) (born 1951), American actor * Richard Thomas (author) (born 1967), America ...
was based on the event.


Folklore

A long-standing legend of Sunnyvale is of a ghost that haunts the town's
Toys 'R' Us A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...
store (now
REI Recreational Equipment, Inc., doing business as REI, is an American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation. It was formerly governed, and continues to brand itself, as a consumers' co-operative. REI sells camping gear, hiking, clim ...
). A purported psychic,
Sylvia Browne Sylvia Celeste Browne (''née'' Shoemaker; October 19, 1936 – November 20, 2013) was an American writer and self-proclaimed medium and psychic. She appeared regularly on television and radio, including on '' The Montel Williams Show'' ...
, claimed to have made contact with the ghost on the 1980 TV show ''
That's Incredible! ''That's Incredible!'' is an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of '' You Asked for It'', '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and '' Real People'', the show featured people ...
'' and named him Johnny Johnson. This story was also explored in a 1991 episode of '' Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories''. Browne stated that he had been a Swedish preacher who worked as a farm hand in the orchard where the toy store now stands and that he bled to death from an accidental, self-inflicted axe injury to his leg.


Notable people


Twin towns – sister cities

Until 1970, Sunnyvale had a
sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...
relationship with
Chillán Chillán () is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Ñuble Region, Diguillín Province, Chile, located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the center of the country. It has been the capital of the new Ñuble Region since ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
. In 2013, the city entered into a three-year Friendly Exchange Relations Agreement with
Iizuka is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 124,757 in 63833 households, and a population density of 580 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Iizuka is the central city of the Chikuh ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
; in July 2016, the city council voted to change this to a sister city relationship.


See also

*
List of cities and towns in the San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a metropolitan region surrounding the San Francisco Bay estuary, estuaries in Northern California. According to the 2010 United States Census, the region has over 7.1 million inhabi ...
* : People from Sunnyvale, California


References


External links

*
''Sunnyvale Sun''
{{Authority control 1912 establishments in California Cities in Santa Clara County, California Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated coastal places in California Silicon Valley Populated places established in 1912