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D−History
History · Laguna Niguel

Laguna Niguel was first counted by the census in 1970

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #835 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Laguna Niguel was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1970.

1970first census
0on the National Register
0.4%homes built before 1940
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Biff.Martin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Laguna Niguel began

When was Laguna Niguel founded?

1970

Laguna Niguel first appears in the census in 1970. Two smaller post offices, Lagona Beach (1891) and Lagona (1894), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 4,644 in 19702020 census: 64,35556 years

How historic is Laguna Niguel?

D−

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Laguna Niguel’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laguna Niguel is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #835 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Laguna Niguel’s overall grade.
Founding era1970, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.4% of homes (±0.3) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 2%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)#835 of 847

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Laguna Niguel’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Laguna Niguel’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Laguna Niguel are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Laguna Niguel.Famous sons and daughtersGiancarla Trevisan, Gavyn Bailey and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Laguna Niguel’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Laguna Niguel’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lagona Beach
1891–1893
Lagona
1894–1904
Laguna Beach
1904–today
18901960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Laguna Niguel

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Giancarla TrevisanItalian sprinter · b. 1993
Gavyn BaileyAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1998
C
Christopher KlotzAmerican soccer player · b. 1984
J
Josh KellerAmerican soccer player · b. 1975
Julie DoyleAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
R
Ryan MartinAmerican middle-distance runner · b. 1989
The story

How Laguna Niguel came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Laguna Niguel.

Read it all →

The first recorded inhabitants of the Laguna Niguel area were the Acjachemem Native Americans, who may have had a village called "Niguili" near the confluence of Aliso Creek and Sulphur Creek. Aliso Creek marked the boundary between the Acjachemem and Tongva people. In the 1700s, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish missionaries established the nearby Mission San Juan Capistrano to convert the Acjachemem to Christianity. The Mission lands, which included the present-day boundaries of Laguna Niguel, were divided into private land grants in 1821 upon Mexico's independence from Spain.

ChaptersEarly inhabitants and settlersLaguna Niguel CorporationIncorporation and conflict with Dana PointIncorporated city

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Laguna Niguel, 1891 to 1998

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Lagona Beach post office opens
  3. 1893Post officeThe Lagona Beach post office closes
  4. 1894Post officeThe Lagona post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904Post officeThe Lagona post office closes
  7. 1904Post officeThe Laguna Beach post office opens
  8. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1975Born hereJosh Keller is born here
  10. 1984Born hereChristopher Klotz is born here
  11. 1993Born hereGiancarla Trevisan is born here
  12. 1998Born hereGavyn Bailey is born here
By decade

Laguna Niguel, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Laguna Niguel City Limit Sign2025Laguna Niguel City Limit SignViewfrombadlands2021ViewfrombadlandsBadlands-park-laguna niguel2021Badlands-park-laguna niguelLife guard tower at Aliso Creek Beach in2018Life guard tower at Aliso Creek Beach inNiguel Hills Middle School2017Niguel Hills Middle SchoolNiguel Botanical Preserve2015Niguel Botanical PreserveOrder Here2013Order HereRufous Hummingbird - Flickr - GregTheBusker2012Rufous Hummingbird - Flickr - GregTheBuskerLagunaniguel2008LagunaniguelPhotographs of the Chet Holifield Federal Building2006Photographs of the Chet Holifield Federal Building
On the map

Laguna Niguel on the map, 1948 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Laguna Niguel. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Laguna Niguel on the 1948 USGS mapLaguna Niguel on the 1968 USGS mapLaguna Niguel on the 1974 USGS mapLaguna Niguel on the 1981 USGS map1948San Juan Capistrano sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Laguna Niguel.

People over time

Laguna Niguel, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,00019802000202064,355

Grew from 4,644 people in 1970 to 64,355 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Laguna Niguel’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

San Juan Capistrano13 historic placesB−Laguna Beach4 historic placesB+Dana Point1 historic placeC−Laguna HillsIts storyD−Aliso ViejoIts storyD−Mission ViejoIts storyD−

Questions about Laguna Niguel’s history

What year was Laguna Niguel founded?

The Laguna Niguel post office opened in 1970, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1989.

How does Laguna Niguel rank for history?

Laguna Niguel is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #835 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Laguna Niguel?

0.4% of Laguna Niguel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1986.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.