Household incomes in Sunnyvale top those of 97% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 6.0% of residents, next to 13.8% for Texas as a whole. Sunnyvale grades A− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 5% work in Sunnyvale itself; outside it, Dallas draws the most (38%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Sunnyvale: the figures worth knowing
Much of Sunnyvale works one town over
51% of working residents work in a town that borders Sunnyvale: Dallas (38%), Mesquite (9%) and Garland (4%). Next door ↓
Sunnyvale has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Sunnyvale went from 3,427 in 2013 to 5,402 in 2023, +58%. The jobs ↓
Sunnyvale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 27 across Texas. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Sunnyvale
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sunnyvale is better than 82% of U.S. towns, #137 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Sunnyvale’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (7.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sunnyvale could be anywhere from B to A+.
33% of the jobs in Sunnyvale make or build things
5,402 jobs are based in Sunnyvale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sunnyvale, 2013 → 2023: 3,427 → 5,402. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sunnyvale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Sunnyvale: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sunnyvale workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,254 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Texas: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Sunnyvale on a workday afternoon
On a workday 4,048 residents head out to work, 228 work right here, and 5,174 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Sunnyvale on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Sunnyvale work
Where Sunnyvale clocks in
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Half of Sunnyvale commutes less than 15 miles
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most trips from Sunnyvale start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sunnyvale is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #412 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.0% across Texas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,765 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.4% of Sunnyvale households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sunnyvale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Sunnyvale is 749th of 2,891 U.S. towns of 6,300 to 12,200 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Hickory Creek TX | 6,875 | $149K | 2.6% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Alamo Heights TX | 7,632 | $183K | 2.5% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Oak Point TX | 6,909 | $126K | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 747 | Sugar Grove IL | 9,381 | $121K | 4.7% | 5.3% | 4% | A− |
| 748 | Ambler PA | 6,840 | $77K | 6.0% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| 749 | Sunnyvale TX | 9,008 | $170K | 6.0% | 7.0% | 5% | A− |
| 750 | Exeter RI | 6,540 | $111K | 12.8% | 1.0% | 8% | A− |
| 751 | Suffern NY | 11,796 | $105K | 6.1% | 5.2% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,891 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Sunnyvale, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Sunnyvale and its neighbors: 51% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Dallas. Darker towns draw more of Sunnyvale’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Sunnyvale: questions
What is the median household income in Sunnyvale?
$170,348 (±$12,486) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sunnyvale?
6.0%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sunnyvale?
33 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sunnyvale work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dallas (38%, 12 mi), Mesquite (9%, 3 mi), Garland (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sunnyvale walkable?
Sunnyvale is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sunnyvale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sunnyvale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sunnyvale
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.