Sunnyvale, California Population 2024

150,918

Sunnyvale is a city located in Santa Clara County California. Sunnyvale has a 2024 population of 150,918. Sunnyvale is currently declining at a rate of -0.71% annually and its population has decreased by -2.8% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 155,264 in 2020.

The average household income in Sunnyvale is $231,726 with a poverty rate of 5.3%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to - per month, and the median house value is -. The median age in Sunnyvale is 35.1 years, 34.4 years for males, and 36.1 years for females.

Sunnyvale is the seventh most populous city in the Bay Area of San Francisco, California. It's also the 4th largest city in Silicon Valley behind San Jose, Fremont, and Hayward. Sunnyvale is bordered by San Jose to the north, Los Altos to the southwest, and Santa Clara to the east. As part of Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale is home to the headquarters of many tech companies and several aerospace and defense companies.

Interestingly, Sunnyvale is also one of the few cities in the United States to feature a single unified Department of Public Safety, exclusively comprising personnel who are trained as firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical responders.

Diversity

About 47% of Sunnyvale's population is foreign-born, one of the country's highest foreign-born populations. Sunnyvale has an Asian-majority population. In the 1880s, Chinese workers made up roughly one-third of the farming workforce. The Asian Indian population is Sunnyvale's fastest growing group and will soon overtake the Vietnamese as the second-largest Asian population in Silicon Valley after the Chinese.

Population Growth

In 1920, 8 years after officially becoming a city, Sunnyvale had a population of just 1675 people. The 1950s brought a huge boom with an 18% population growth, bringing the population from 9,829 in 1950 to 52,898 in 1960.

Sunnyvale has continued year after year to rank as one of the top ten safest cities of its size in the U.S. 2018 saw SmartAsset name Sunnyvale the third safest city in the country for the third consecutive year. The city continues its modest population growth that is still behind most of California.

Upon the arrival of the Spanish in the 1770s at the Santa Clara Valley, Native Americans heavily populated the area. With the Spanish, however, came smallpox, measles, and other diseases new to the natives which greatly reduced their population. The region was under Mexican rule in the 1840s when a land grant was provided to Lupe Yñigo, one of the only Native Americans to hold a grant. By 1850, California was granted statehood in the United State.

In 1901, Sunnyvale was named in honor of its sunny region away from the fog of neighboring areas. Within a few years, Sunnyvale had its first fruit-packing factory. Today, California is the world’s largest producer of dried fruit. During WWII, however, the fruit industry started to give way to the high tech industry as workers from the fruit farms moved over to work in munitions factories.

Post-war, the farms were cleared to make way for new homes, factories and offices. Lockheed moved to Sunnyvale, and following them came numerous other high-tech companies, including AMD and Yahoo. By 2002, most remaining orchards were gone, replaced with homes and shops.

Sunnyvale Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Sunnyvale was:

  • Asian: 49.59%
  • White: 31.59%
  • Other race: 8.62%
  • Two or more races: 8.42%
  • Black or African American: 1.19%
  • Native American: 0.47%
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.12%
Land Area (mi²)
22.0 sq mi
Density (mi²)
6,850.60/sq mi
Growth Since 2020
-2.8% (-4,346)
The current population of Sunnyvale, California is 150,918 based on our projections of the latest US Census estimates.The last official US Census in 2020 recorded the population at 155,264.

Sunnyvale, California Population 2024

Population by Race

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Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
Asian76,65649.59%
White48,82431.59%
Other race13,3298.62%
Two or more races13,0108.42%
Black or African American1,8401.19%
Native American7220.47%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander1920.12%

Asian

White

Other race

Two or more races

Black or African American

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Sunnyvale Population by Race

Sunnyvale Population Pyramid 2024

Sunnyvale Median Age

35.1

Total

34.4

Male

36.1

Female

Sunnyvale Adults

There are 123,779 adults, (19,369 of whom are seniors) in Sunnyvale.

Sunnyvale Age Dependency

48

Age Dependency Ratio

18.6

Old Age Dependency Ratio

29.5

Child Dependency Ratio

Sunnyvale Sex Ratio

Female73,82247.76%
Male80,75152.24%

Sunnyvale Population by Age

Sunnyvale Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All58,6462.6144.455.6
Married31,0263.2154.145.9
Non Family20,9441.529.770.3
Female4,3743.345.554.5
Male2,3023.4744.555.5

3.14

Average Family Size

2.61

Average Household Size

44.4%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Sunnyvale Households and Families

Male

Female

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Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Sunnyvale Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Sunnyvale Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

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The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 97.55%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 81.57%.

Sunnyvale Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

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$110,729

Average Earnings

$133,785

Average Male

$83,838

Average Female

Sunnyvale Earnings by Educational Attainment

Sunnyvale Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Sunnyvale Language

40.55% of Sunnyvale residents speak only English, while 59.45% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Asian and Pacific Island languages, which is spoken by 30.86% of the population.

Sunnyvale Language

Sunnyvale Poverty by Race

rate

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Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
Asian76,5233,7414.89%
Hispanic25,5972,1108.24%
White42,0221,6503.93%
Other13,2261,1488.68%
Multiple12,8861,0908.46%
Black1,8171327.26%
Native722729.97%
Islander19263.13%

5.3%

Overall Poverty Rate

4.43%

Male Poverty Rate

6.25%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Sunnyvale

The race most likely to be in poverty in Sunnyvale is Native, with 9.97% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Sunnyvale is Islander, with 3.13% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 1.07%. Among those working part-time, it was 7.87%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 13.16%.

Sunnyvale Poverty

rate

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Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade12.12%
High School11.42%
Some College7.41%
Bachelors or Greater3.17%

Sunnyvale Poverty Rate by Education

rate

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Rate
Poverty
Male Unemployed25.28%
Female Unemployed16.12%
Female Employed2.83%
Male Employed1.78%

Sunnyvale Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Sunnyvale Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

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mean

median

Income by Household Type

Sunnyvale Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

54.8%

Overall Marriage Rate

54.3%

Male Marriage Rate

55.4%

Female Marriage Rate

Sunnyvale Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Sunnyvale Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is 45-54, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

Sunnyvale Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Sunnyvale Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

3,888

Number of Veterans

3,383

Male Veterans

505

Female Veterans

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Sunnyvale Veterans by War

count

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Sunnyvale Veterans by Age

count

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Sunnyvale Veterans by Race

Sunnyvale Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

4.05%

Veteran Poverty Rate

28.27%

Veteran Disability Rate

Sunnyvale Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

71.8%

Labor Force Participation

68.8%

Employment Rate

4.1%

Unemployment Rate

Sunnyvale Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Sunnyvale Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Sunnyvale Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

35.44%

Born in Sunnyvale

50.64%

Native Born

49.36%

Foreign Born

30.52%

Non Citizen

18.84%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

50.64% of Sunnyvale residents were born in the United States, with 35.44% having been born in California. 30.52% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.

Sunnyvale Place of Birth

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change

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Year
Population
Growth
Growth Rate
2029145,485-1,087-0.74%
2028146,572-1,086-0.74%
2027147,658-1,087-0.73%
2026148,745-1,086-0.72%
2025149,831-1,087-0.72%
2024150,918-1,086-0.71%
2023152,004-1,087-0.71%
2022153,0911,0610.7%
2021152,030-3,234-2.08%
2020155,2641,9621.28%
2019153,302-151-0.1%
2018153,4539910.65%
2017152,4626810.45%
2016151,7818470.56%
2015150,9341,8101.21%
2014149,1241,3330.9%
2013147,7912,2611.55%
2012145,5302,6641.86%
2011142,8662,0801.48%
2010140,78600%
2000131,76014,53112.4%
1990117,22910,6119.95%
1980106,61810,64211.09%
197095,97643,07881.44%
196052,89843,069438.18%
19509,8295,456124.77%
19404,3731,27941.34%
19303,0941,41984.72%
19201,675-143,810-98.85%
showing: 29 rows

Sunnyvale Population by Year