More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Sunnyvale to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Sunnyvale are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Sunnyvale ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Sunnyvale area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Sunnyvale proper, although Saratoga certainly tries.
We examined the 43 biggest suburbs of Sunnyvale to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in California lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Sunnyvale in terms of quality of life.
$113,318 median income · $848,427 median home price
Located in
Alameda County, California
We’ll get the ball rolling with Hayward, the absolute worst place to live around Sunnyvale according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Hayward beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 4th worst in the Sunnyvale area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 3rd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Hayward.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$101,600 median income · $716,248 median home price
Located in
Alameda County, California
Welcome to Oakland. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 28.7 miles to Sunnyvale. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $101,600 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$101,420 median income · $817,480 median home price
Located in
Alameda County, California
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Sunnyvale suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see San Leandro on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Sunnyvale suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$113,493 median income · $1,034,441 median home price
Located in
San Mateo County, California
If you live in East Palo Alto, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 5th lowest Sunnyvale suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 16th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Sunnyvale. Remember, we looked at 43 cities for this study.
East Palo Alto is about 8.1 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$115,475 median income · $1,344,332 median home price
Located in
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz has the distinction of being a Sunnyvale suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Santa Cruz has the 15th lowest home values in the metro Sunnyvale area, where the median price is $1,344,332. The median income is $250,001.
Santa Cruz has an unemployment rate of 7.2% which ranks 2nd worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$156,169 median income · $1,159,533 median home price
Brisbane has 4,692 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 5.5%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$146,427 median income · $1,463,614 median home price
Located in
Santa Clara County, California
Ah, San Jose. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Sunnyvale.
It’s the place with the 17th most out of work residents in the Sunnyvale metro area (5.1%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
$102,976 median income · $1,233,202 median home price
Located in
Santa Cruz County, California
Capitola is a city about 28.6 miles from Sunnyvale, but Sunnyvale probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Capitola has the 7th most uninsured people, 3rd worst incomes, and has the 4highest unemployment rate (2.7%) in the entire Sunnyvale metro area.
Homes only cost $1,233,202 for a reason. That’s cheap for Sunnyvale standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$141,272 median income · $1,327,402 median home price
Located in
San Mateo County, California
If you absolutely have to live near Sunnyvale, then San Bruno might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Sunnyvale suburb.
About 5.0% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$137,697 median income · $1,155,484 median home price
Located in
Alameda County, California
Rounding out the ten worst Sunnyvale suburbs to call home is Alameda.
Located 27.7 miles outside the city, Alameda is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 8th highest unemployment rate (5.7%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is California’s statewide median.
California statewide median: $99,122
California statewide median: $774,582
California statewide median: 6.6%
California statewide median: 12.0%
On the map
Where the worst Sunnyvale suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Sunnyvale for 2026
To figure out how bad a Sunnyvale suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Sunnyvale.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 43 suburbs to evaluate around Sunnyvale.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 43 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Sunnyvale.” We’re looking at you, Hayward.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Sunnyvale.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Sunnyvale Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hayward | 6.14 | 158,801 | $113,318 | $848,427 |
| 2 | Oakland | 8.50 | 439,418 | $101,600 | $716,248 |
| 3 | San Leandro | 9.14 | 87,826 | $101,420 | $817,480 |
| 4 | East Palo Alto | 10.57 | 29,069 | $113,493 | $1,034,441 |
| 5 | Santa Cruz | 12.57 | 61,607 | $115,475 | $1,344,332 |
| 6 | Brisbane | 12.86 | 4,692 | $156,169 | $1,159,533 |
| 7 | San Jose | 13.64 | 990,138 | $146,427 | $1,463,614 |
| 8 | Capitola | 15.21 | 9,689 | $102,976 | $1,233,202 |
| 9 | San Bruno | 16.43 | 42,307 | $141,272 | $1,327,402 |
| 10 | Alameda | 17.00 | 77,238 | $137,697 | $1,155,484 |
| 11 | South San Francisco | 18.43 | 64,305 | $136,578 | $1,242,214 |
| 12 | Half Moon Bay | 18.57 | 11,391 | $157,884 | $1,573,307 |
| 13 | Newark | 18.79 | 46,903 | $169,064 | $1,260,998 |
| 14 | Morgan Hill | 19.00 | 45,425 | $163,920 | $1,356,869 |
| 15 | San Mateo | 19.14 | 103,105 | $153,504 | $1,686,905 |
| 16 | Santa Clara | 19.43 | 130,256 | $178,958 | $1,782,192 |
| 17 | Scotts Valley | 19.57 | 12,044 | $143,750 | $1,260,978 |
| 18 | Milpitas | 20.00 | 78,578 | $178,798 | $1,502,891 |
| 19 | Millbrae | 20.00 | 22,689 | $163,476 | $2,082,465 |
| 20 | Burlingame | 20.71 | 30,525 | $174,000 | $2,761,630 |
| 21 | Fremont | 20.86 | 228,295 | $181,506 | $1,543,132 |
| 22 | Pacifica | 21.00 | 37,261 | $160,523 | $1,284,847 |
| 23 | Campbell | 21.14 | 42,781 | $145,268 | $1,977,422 |
| 24 | Livermore | 21.71 | 85,522 | $160,775 | $1,122,823 |
| 25 | Belmont | 22.14 | 27,337 | $205,297 | $2,332,686 |
| 26 | Menlo Park | 23.29 | 32,727 | $210,025 | $2,865,159 |
| 27 | Pleasanton | 23.43 | 76,960 | $190,124 | $1,601,646 |
| 28 | San Ramon | 25.50 | 85,993 | $196,161 | $1,543,534 |
| 29 | Mountain View | 26.14 | 83,732 | $189,917 | $2,037,086 |
| 30 | Palo Alto | 26.71 | 67,237 | $231,101 | $3,722,200 |
| 31 | Dublin | 26.86 | 70,803 | $214,385 | $1,305,295 |
| 32 | Danville | 27.29 | 43,401 | $232,216 | $1,908,521 |
| 33 | Monte Sereno | 28.50 | 3,461 | $250,001 | $2,108,567 |
| 34 | Hillsborough | 28.64 | 11,099 | $250,001 | $5,279,135 |
| 35 | Los Gatos | 28.86 | 32,786 | $217,554 | $2,705,289 |
| 36 | Portola Valley | 30.07 | 4,305 | $250,001 | $4,275,093 |
| 37 | Los Altos Hills | 30.79 | 8,377 | $250,001 | $6,102,345 |
| 38 | Atherton | 31.71 | 6,993 | $250,001 | $7,890,841 |
| 39 | San Carlos | 32.07 | 29,614 | $237,470 | $2,459,877 |
| 40 | Woodside | 32.93 | 5,126 | $250,001 | $3,891,384 |
| 41 | Cupertino | 33.00 | 58,566 | $234,707 | $3,189,452 |
| 42 | Los Altos | 33.79 | 30,698 | $250,001 | $4,713,315 |
| 43 | Saratoga | 33.86 | 30,319 | $250,001 | $4,189,623 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 43 suburbs within 30 miles of Sunnyvale.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Sunnyvale where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Sunnyvale with Hayward casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Sunnyvale are Hayward, Oakland, San Leandro, East Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, Brisbane, San Jose, Capitola, San Bruno, and Alameda.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Sunnyvale aren’t all bad. Saratoga takes the cake as the best place to live around Sunnyvale. Not sold on California? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Sunnyvale FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Sunnyvale?
Hayward ranks as the worst suburb around Sunnyvale for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Oakland and San Leandro are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Sunnyvale?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Sunnyvale are Hayward, Oakland, San Leandro, East Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, Brisbane, San Jose, Capitola, San Bruno, and Alameda. We scored all 43 places within 30 miles.
Why does Hayward rank as the worst suburb?
Hayward posts the roughest combined numbers of the 43 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $113,318, a median home value of $848,427, and a poverty rate of 9.6%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Sunnyvale?
Saratoga lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Sunnyvale by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Sunnyvale list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
