California

Distance from San Mateo to Sunnyvale

Straight-line distance

19.7mi

San Mateo, CA and Sunnyvale, CA are 19.7 miles (31.7 km) apart in a straight line. From San Mateo, the shortest path starts out heading SE (128°).

kilometers
31.7
nautical miles
17.1
heading from San Mateo
128° SE
heading from Sunnyvale
308° NW
San MateoSunnyvale

Orange line: great-circle path · ring: midpoint · thin lines: county borders

How far San Mateo is from Sunnyvale

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of San Mateo and Sunnyvale is 19.7 miles, 31.7 km or 17.1 nautical miles. That is the shortest path over the Earth's surface, computed with the haversine formula on a sphere with the mean Earth radius, 6,371.0 km. A course held on one compass bearing (a rhumb line) would be 19.7 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
19.7
Kilometers
31.7
Nautical miles
17.1
Bearing from San Mateo
127.6° SE
Bearing arriving at Sunnyvale
127.8°
Bearing from Sunnyvale
307.8° NW

Halfway between San Mateo and Sunnyvale

The great-circle midpoint is at 37.473135, -122.168284 (37°28'23.29"N 122°10'5.82"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Menlo Park, CA, with 33,040 residents, 1.2 miles from the midpoint. To find towns near the midpoint of any two places, use the halfway tool.

Time zones and daylight

Both use America/Los_Angeles, so there is no time difference. On June 21, San Mateo gets 14 h 46 min of daylight and Sunnyvale 14 h 45 min; on December 21, 9 h 34 min and 9 h 35 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Sunnyvale has 1.5 times the population of San Mateo. From July 2020 to July 2024, San Mateo changed by -2.5% and Sunnyvale by +1.0%. Both are in California.

  1. 01San Mateo, CA103,006 (-2.5%)
  2. 02Sunnyvale, CA156,792 (+1.0%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is San Mateo from Sunnyvale?

19.7 miles, 31.7 km or 17.1 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Sunnyvale from San Mateo?

SE. The great-circle path leaves San Mateo on a bearing of 127.6° and arrives at Sunnyvale on 127.8°. The return trip starts on 307.8°.

What is halfway between San Mateo and Sunnyvale?

The midpoint is at 37.473135, -122.168284. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Menlo Park, CA, 1.2 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between San Mateo and Sunnyvale?

Both use America/Los_Angeles, so there is no time difference.

Which is bigger, San Mateo or Sunnyvale?

Sunnyvale, with 156,792 residents in July 2024 against 103,006 for San Mateo, 1.5 times as many.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and Vintage 2024 estimates; time zones from Open-Meteo.

  1. 01Census 2024 Gazetteer, places
  2. 02Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  3. 03SunCalc library (Vladimir Agafonkin), algorithms after Jean Meeus
  4. 04IANA time zone database (clock times and daylight saving rules)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.