Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 108,881, settled in 1776.
For a city of 108,881, Costa Mesa does well: it grades B, ranked 125th of 841 in California. Its public schools beat 81% of California towns on state tests and graduation and the median household earns $112K. The trade-offs: homes are expensive, about $1.4 million for a typical one and 14.8 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Costa Mesa’s typical home value is $1,419,000, where California’s towns sit at $709,000 and U.S. towns at $332,000. Costa Mesa is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. Costa Mesa is home to Orange Coast College.
Where Costa Mesa beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Orange Coast College | 14,830 |
| Vanguard University of Southern California | 1,956 |
| Pacific College | 238 |
3 colleges in town.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Costa Mesa is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 94% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1776, comes before those of 99% of the California towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 11,844 in 1950, 111,918 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2016 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Costa Mesa. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw39 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw13 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw22 mi MuseumUSS Iowa
Big draw33 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative ArtDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · SoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · USS Iowa: PH1 Jeff Hilton, Public domain · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Costa Mesa, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Costa Mesa.
Costa Mesa draws workers from Santa Ana and beyond and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
At 14.8 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $1.42M) costs more against local pay than in 92% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Home values rose 43% in five years, to about $1.42M, against 13% across California.
Costa Mesa’s median rent is $2,446 a month. Typical home values rose 6.4% in the year to September 2026. 40% of Costa Mesa households own their home.
| Costa Mesa | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 40% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,446 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A− for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.42M.
Its public schools are run by the Newport-Mesa Unified school district. Three of its 39 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maude B. Davis ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 570 | A+ |
| Costa Mesa HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 1,730 | B+ |
| Heinz Kaiser ElementaryTop results in townGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 539 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
80,735 jobs are based in Costa Mesa, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 22.4 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Most working residents leave Costa Mesa for work: only 13% work in town. 22% of workers work from home in Costa Mesa. The top destinations are Irvine (14%), Newport Beach (11%) and Santa Ana (6%).
| Costa Mesa | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 22% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $112,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
19 miles of trail in 30 parks and preserves. The trail density in Costa Mesa is 1.2 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Fairview Park, 214 acres with 5.2 miles of trail.
| Costa Mesa | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.4% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fairview Park | 5.2 mi | 214 |
| 2. Talbert Regional Park | 4.2 mi | 207 |
| 3. Canyon Park | 1.5 mi | 35 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Since 1983, 67 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Costa Mesa.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 6,935 U.S. towns with household incomes like Costa Mesa’s, it is healthier than 55%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Costa Mesa beats the California average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Costa Mesa | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 31% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 72% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 29% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Costa Mesa | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9.3% | 11.7% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.1% | 15.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 47.7°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 77.5°.
Costa Mesa has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Costa Mesa | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 48°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Costa Mesa's reported crime rate is above California's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 584 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Costa Mesa | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.8 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (24% statewide). Costa Mesa has lost 2.9% of its people since 2020, down to 108,881 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Costa Mesa | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 36.7 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.2 points). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.9, men 36.6.
| Costa Mesa | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.6% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.9% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.2% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.4% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.3% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.9% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 16.9% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 19% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.6% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.4% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
34 within 15 miles of the center of Costa Mesa
About 8 of every 100 Costa Mesa residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Where Costa Mesa’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
11 notable people were born in Costa Mesa.
City in California, United States
Costa Mesa ( KOH-stə MAY-sə; Spanish for 'Mesa Coast') is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city, one of the region's largest commercial clusters, with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light manufacturing. The population was 111,918 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Costa Mesa.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Mesa | #125 | B | D− | — | A− | A− |
| Newport Beach | #144 | B | D− | C | A− | A+ |
| Santa Ana | #599 | D | D− | C− | C+ | C+ |
| Irvine | #74 | B+ | D− | B− | A | A+ |
| Huntington Beach | #167 | B− | D− | C | A | A− |
Costa Mesa reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Costa Mesa with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Costa Mesa grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #125 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
11 notable people were born here, including April Ross and Ian McCall.
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