Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sunnyside earns a D, ranked 270th of 285 in Washington, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 90% of the country. The median household income is $61K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: it is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns. 39% of residents are under 18 in Sunnyside, against 22% in Washington’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 35 of Washington’s 395 towns do better. US Post Office-Sunnyside Main is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Sunnyside beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Sunnyside is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,379 in 1910, 16,375 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 2 maps from 1910 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sunnyside, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Sunnyside.
Sunnyside carries less natural-hazard risk than most of Washington (mostly earthquakes), fares better on crime within Washington than nationally and trades workers with Yakima and other neighbors.
36% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Sunnyside. Sunnyside beats the Washington average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 23. 19% of adults report frequent mental distress in Sunnyside.
| Sunnyside | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 17% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 18% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 10% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 65% | 71% | 79% |
| What stands out | Sunnyside | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.4% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 19.9% | 24.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 32.9% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Sunnyside School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 820 | – |
| Sunnyside High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,122 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $1,753, against $4,556 across Washington, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Sunnyside home is worth about $318,000, about the same as a year ago, 46% below the Washington typical home. Sunnyside’s median rent is $1,026 a month.
| Sunnyside | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,026 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 34.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 64% of Washington’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 474 to 394 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Sunnyside is 22.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Sunnyside | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.9 per 1,000 residents | 15 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Sunnyside has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 27° and about 10 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Sunnyside has about as many jobs (6,779) as working residents, but only 1,628 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Sunnyside’s working residents works in town. 19% of Sunnyside residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Sunnyside grew to 6,779 in 2023, 680 more than in 2013.
| Sunnyside | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 87% of Washington towns, with expected losses of about $304 per resident a year; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Sunnyside | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.6% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sunnyview Park | 0.3 mi | 31 |
| 2. South Hill Park | 0.2 mi | 17 |
| 3. Central Park | 0.1 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Sunnyside; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Sunnyside residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
14 notable people were born in Sunnyside.
City in Washington, United States
Sunnyside is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. The population was 16,375 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Yakima County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sunnyside grades D overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #270 of 285 in Washington. It grades D for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.5 years of the area's median household income ($70,656 across the Yakima, WA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
14 notable people were born here, including Bonnie J. Dunbar and Rob Thomas.
