Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 318,764, settled in 1914. Home to University of California-Irvine.
Irvine is a city of 318,764, and it grades B+ overall, 74th among California's 841 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its schools outperform 92% of the state's. The trade-offs: homes are expensive, about $1.5 million for a typical one and 15.4 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 71% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Irvine, above both the California town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Irvine is home to University of California-Irvine. Irvine has 3 places on the National Register.
Where Irvine beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| University of California-Irvine | 35,954 |
| Irvine Valley College | 7,416 |
| Westcliff University | 4,526 |
212,375 counted in 2010 and 307,670 in 2020; an estimated 318,764 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Irvine is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,381 in 1970, 307,670 in 2020. The archive holds 23 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Irvine. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw17 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw29 mi MuseumUSS Iowa
Big draw38 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaAngel Stadium of AnaheimDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · SoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · USS Iowa: PH1 Jeff Hilton, Public domain · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0 · Angel Stadium of Anaheim: Staff Sgt. Chad McMeen, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Irvine, 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 Irvine.
Irvine fares better on crime within California than nationally, draws workers from Santa Ana and beyond and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
At 15.4 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $1.48M) costs more against local pay than in 93% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Home values rose 54% in five years, to about $1.48M, against 13% across California.
The median rent in Irvine is $2,997 a month. The typical Irvine home is worth about $1,482,000, down 1.9% in a year, 95% above the California typical home. 45% of Irvine households own their home.
| Irvine | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,997 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 45% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A is the best School Grade on its borders; Tustin (A−) is next. Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.48M.
Its public schools are run by the Irvine Unified school district. Three of its 85 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orchard HillsLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,373 | C− |
| Arnold O. Beckman HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,776 | A |
| University HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,307 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
123 miles of trail in 215 parks and preserves. Irvine’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile. Shady Canyon Open Space Preserve, at 1,721 acres with 3.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. San Joaquin Marsh Reserve | 8.5 mi | 515 |
| 2. Bommer Canyon Open Space Preserve | 4.8 mi | 918 |
| 3. Shady Canyon Open Space Preserve | 3.4 mi | 1,721 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 5% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide.
23% of adults have high blood pressure in Irvine. Irvine beats the California average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 19% of adults have obesity in Irvine.
| Irvine | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 29% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 31% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.9% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Irvine | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5% | 10.6% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.2% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
279,609 jobs are based in Irvine, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 214,257 in 2013 to 279,609.
About one in 3 of Irvine’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Irvine grew to 279,609 in 2023, 65,352 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Los Angeles (7%), Newport Beach (5%) and Santa Ana (5%).
| Irvine | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $137,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 1983, 29 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Irvine.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 46.7°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 83.3°.
Irvine has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Irvine | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 47°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 83°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 16.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 83% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 5,162 to 3,927 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
26 within 15 miles of the center of Irvine
College town 16 of every 100 Irvine residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
5 colleges in town.
3 places in Irvine on the National Register of Historic Places.
38 notable people were born in Irvine.
City in Orange County, California, US
Irvine ( UR-vyne) is a planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s. The city was formally incorporated on December 28, 1971. The 66-square-mile (170 km2) city had a population of 318,629 as of June 2025. As of 2025, it is the second most populous city in Orange County, fifth in the Greater Los Angeles region, and 63rd in the United States. Several major corporations in the technology and semiconductor sectors maintain their headquarters in Irvine. Irvine is also home to several higher-education institutions including the…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Irvine.
At #74 in CA, it grades higher overall than all 7 graded towns on its borders; Lake Forest (B+) comes closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irvine | #74 | B+ | D− | B− | A | A+ |
| Tustin | #255 | C+ | D− | C | A− | A− |
| Newport Beach | #144 | B | D− | C | A− | A+ |
| Lake Forest | #88 | B+ | D− | B | A− | A |
| Santa Ana | #599 | D | D− | C− | C+ | C+ |
| Laguna Woods | #153 | B | D | A− | A− | B |
| Laguna Hills | #158 | B | D− | B− | A− | A |
| Costa Mesa | #125 | B | D− | — | A− | A− |
Costa Mesa reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Irvine with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Irvine grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #74 of 841 in California. It grades A+ for health, B− for safety 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−.
38 notable people were born here, including Will Ferrell and Yeat.
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