Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale has plethora of things that will keep you occupied and entertained. The moment you set your foot in the city, you know you’re in a charming place where all you need to do is experience and watch the way the city allures you. With high-tech fame, well-preserved history and myriad outdoor activities, it has become one of the preferred choices for holidaying. It draws business travelers who like to blend pleasure and leisure with business. It is one of the safest cities in California with high quality of life and employment rate, and that is the main reason why people choose to stay here. There are several other facts, as well, that contribute to its popularity. So, here are a few facts on Sunnyvale that will definitely blow you away and make your trip go smoother. Take a look-
Image By gaku. (YAHOO in 2001.) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Sunnyvale Geographic and Demographic Fast Facts
- Sunnyvale is located in the U.S. state of California.
- It lies in the Santa Clara County and bordered by Mountain View (west), San Jose (north), Santa Clara (East) and Cupertino (south).
- It ranks at the seventh spot in terms of population in the San Francisco Bay Area with a population of 140,095.
- It is located close to two of the most popular and largest cities of California- San Francisco (approx 40 miles) and San Jose (approx 12 miles). Redwood Forests and the Pacific Ocean are also in close proximity to Sunnyvale.
- It is nestled between highways 280 and 101.
- The altitude of Sunnyvale is 130 feet above sea level.
- The ethnic composition of Sunnyvale includes White-43.0%, African American-2.0%, Native American-0.5%, Asian-40.9%, Pacific Islander-0.5%, from other races-8.7%, and two or more races-4.5%.
Sunnyvale History Fast Facts
- The area where Sunnyvale is now located was occupied by Ohlone Indians, followed by Spanish in the late 1770s. The early settlers used the area for fruit orchards.
- In 1864, railroad was introduced which helped in the expansion of the economy. Canneries were built near the railroad that helped to process the fruits from the nearby orchards.
- In 1904, dry fruits production started in the area and Sunnyvale continued to flourish.
- In 1906, the Hendy Iron Works shifted from San Francisco to Sunnyvale, which resulted in an increase in the industrial development in the area.
- In 1912, Sunnyvale was officially incorporated as a city.
- In 1956, Lockheed Missiles and Space Company came to Sunnyvale and it turned into one of the biggest employers of Sunnyvale, thus contributing to the city’s growth and development.
- In the 1950s and 60s, the city experienced tremendous growth and in 1970s, the population reached to 96,000.
- In 1971, microprocessor was introduced and the city became the hub of research, manufacturing and development of semiconductors and computers which resulted in the creation of Silicon Valley. The high-tech era started!
- In 2012, Sunnyvale celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Sunnyvale Government and Economy Fast Facts
- Sunnyvale follows a Council-Manager type of government.
- Headquarters of several Fortune 500 companies are in Sunnyvale- Yahoo!, Advanced Micro Devices, SanDisk, Juniper Networks, Ariba, NetApp, Applied Micro and Spansion,
- The quality of living and employment rate in Sunnyvale is great.
- The largest employers in Sunnyvale are: Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Apple Inc, Yahoo! Inc, Google, NetApp Inc, Juniper Networks Inc, and Hewlett Packard.
Sunnyvale Important and Interesting Fast Facts
- The global and popular internet brand- Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale.
- It is one of the cities in the United States to possess one unified Department of Public Safety where every personnel are trained as police officers, EMTs and firefighters. This helps the personnel to respond to any kind of emergency- Medical, Fire or Police.
- Sunnyvale was included in the list of the “All-America City Award” by National Civic League (2002).
- It was ranked thirty-two on the Safewise list (2013) of “Top 50 Safest Cities in U.S. state of California”.
- It was ranked eighteen in the list of “Safest Cities Overall in the United States” by Morgan Quitno Awards (2005) and seventh in United States by Forbes Magazine (2009).
- As per the FBI’s crime report, Sunnyvale is one of the safest cities in the US.
- It is tagged as a “Bicycle Friendly Community” by the National League of American Bicyclists.
- Teri Hatcher, the Golden Globe Winner, grew up here.
- “The Sunnyvale Sun” is the local newspaper of Sunnyvale.
