ZIP 94089 vs ZIP 94085

This side-by-side compares ZIP 94089 (Sunnyvale, CA) and ZIP 94085 (Sunnyvale, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 94089 has a population of 19,245 at 1,240 people per square mile, while ZIP 94085 has 21,247 at 2,350 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 94089 reports a median household income of $158,304 against $192,417 in ZIP 94085, with per-capita income of $87,327 vs $106,055. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 57.6% in 94089 and 64.7% in 94085. Poverty rate reads 6.8% vs 7.2%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 4.3% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $387,800 in 94089 versus $1,534,400 in 94085, with median rent of $3,162 and $3,216 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 52.9% vs 38.1%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.