Los Altos vs. Sunnyvale: Trains, Zoning, Eichlers and the Market

Los Altos and Sunnyvale are about 4 miles apart center to center in Santa Clara County. Sunnyvale has trains and many more Eichler tracts; Los Altos has neither a station nor a large Eichler inventory. Neither adds a city transfer tax. Here’s the comparison, with a live-market snapshot from our City Match-Up.

The basics

• Trains. Sunnyvale has two Caltrain stations, Sunnyvale and Lawrence, and seven VTA light rail stops. Los Altos has no rail station. See Homes Near Caltrain and Homes Near VTA Light Rail.
• Downtowns. Los Altos has its downtown around Main and State streets; Sunnyvale’s Historic Murphy Avenue is a short walk from its Caltrain station. See Homes Near Downtown.
• Electricity. Both get power from Silicon Valley Clean Energy, delivered by PG&E.
• School districts. Check the district’s boundary lookup for any address.

At closing

Neither adds a city transfer tax, so a $2 million sale carries only the county’s $2,200 in either city. See our transfer tax guide.

Homes and rules

• Single-story zoning. Both use overlays: Los Altos created its R1-S overlay in 2000 and has adopted it in several neighborhoods, and Sunnyvale has single-story combining districts on many Eichler blocks. See Sunnyvale’s districts and overlays by city.
• Eichlers. Our index lists 10 Eichler tracts in Sunnyvale and two in Los Altos, Fallen Leaf Park and San Antonio Court. See Silicon Valley Eichler tracts.
• Next door. See Los Altos vs. Mountain View, Mountain View vs. Sunnyvale and Cupertino vs. Sunnyvale.

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: 29 in Los Altos, 98 in Sunnyvale.
• Sales in 90 days: 75 in Los Altos, 201 in Sunnyvale.
• Median sale price: $4.73 million in Los Altos, $1.94 million in Sunnyvale.
• Median price per square foot: $1,995 in Los Altos, $1,246 in Sunnyvale.
• Median sale-to-list: 104.6% in Los Altos, 102.4% in Sunnyvale.
• Months of supply: 1.2 in Los Altos, 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.

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.