Cupertino vs. Sunnyvale: Transit, Eichlers, Zoning and the Market

Cupertino and Sunnyvale share a border in Santa Clara County, about 3 miles apart center to center, and Apple’s headquarters is in Cupertino. They differ in transit, in housing stock and in the market itself. Here’s the comparison, with a live-market snapshot from our City Match-Up.

The basics

• Caltrain and light rail. Sunnyvale has two Caltrain stations, Sunnyvale and Lawrence, and VTA light rail. Cupertino has neither.
• Electricity. Both get power from Silicon Valley Clean Energy, delivered by PG&E.
• Transfer tax. Neither city adds its own, so a $2 million sale carries $2,200 in county transfer tax in either one.
• School districts. Cupertino is served mainly by the Cupertino Union School District and the Fremont Union High School District, with a small corner in Santa Clara Unified. For any address in either city, check the district’s boundary lookup.

Homes and rules

• Eichlers. Our index lists 10 Eichler tracts in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino, Fairgrove. See Silicon Valley Eichler tracts and Fairgrove.
• Single-story zoning. Sunnyvale has single-story combining districts on many Eichler blocks, the first adopted in 2001. Cupertino’s code allows a single-story overlay, and Fairgrove’s R1-e zoning carries Eichler design rules. See overlays by city and Sunnyvale’s districts.
• Near work. Our Homes Near Tech Campuses page opens on Apple Park and shows every home for sale within 1, 2 or 3 miles.

The market, in a snapshot

From our City Match-Up on October 18, 2026, for houses, condos and townhomes, with sales from the previous 90 days:

• Homes for sale: 55 in Cupertino, 98 in Sunnyvale.
• Sales in 90 days: 79 in Cupertino, 201 in Sunnyvale.
• Median sale price: $2.92 million in Cupertino, $1.94 million in Sunnyvale.
• Median price per square foot: $1,605 in Cupertino, $1,246 in Sunnyvale.
• Median sale-to-list: 100.7% in Cupertino, 102.4% in Sunnyvale.
• Months of supply: 2.1 in Cupertino, 1.5 in Sunnyvale.

Medians follow the mix of homes, and these numbers change daily, so open the live City Match-Up and switch to houses only to compare like with like. For more on what makes Cupertino Cupertino, see Which Cities Are in Silicon Valley?

Weighing the two? Call the Boyenga Team at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.