Is Mission Viejo a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mission Viejo grades B+ overall, 87th among California's 841 graded towns. Its public schools beat 86% of California towns on state tests and graduation and it is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $1.2 million for a typical one and 12.5 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. Mission Viejo’s median rent is $2,839 a month, where California’s towns sit at $1,895 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. On history, just 4 of California’s 1,063 towns do worse. Mission Viejo is home to Saddleback College.
What makes Mission Viejo stand out
Where Mission Viejo beats most towns.
Saddleback College calls Mission Viejo home
How Mission Viejo grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Mission Viejo is from typical.
Its grades run from A for health (better than 86% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Disneyland and 90 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mission Viejo. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw37 mi MuseumUSS Iowa
Big draw26 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaAngel Stadium of Anaheim
Big draw20 mi Theme parkDisney California Adventure10.1M visitors a year
19 mi Stadium & arenaHonda CenterPhoto credits
Disneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · USS Iowa: PH1 Jeff Hilton, Public domain · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Angel Stadium of Anaheim: Staff Sgt. Chad McMeen, Public domain · Disney California Adventure: CrispyCream27, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Honda Center: Arnold C (Buchanan-Hermit), Attribution
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Moving to Mission Viejo: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mission Viejo, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Mission Viejo.
Mission Viejo fares better on crime within California than nationally 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.
6.8% of Mission Viejo is conserved land
32 miles of trail in 46 parks and preserves. The trail density in Mission Viejo is 1.8 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Oso Viejo Community Park, 90 acres with 1 miles of trail.
| Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.8 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.8% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oso Viejo Community Park | 1 mi | 90 |
| 2. Cordova Park | 0.8 mi | 11 |
| 3. Florence Joyner Olympiad Park | 0.7 mi | 21 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
For schools, Mission Viejo earns an A
Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.2M.
Its public schools are run by the Saddleback Valley Unified school district. Three of its 30 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Newhart MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,105 | C− |
| Trabuco Hills HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,475 | A |
| Oxford Preparatory Academy - South Orange CountyTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 704 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
For cost of living, Mission Viejo earns a D−
At 12.5 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $1.2M) costs more against local pay than in 88% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Home values rose 38% in five years, to about $1.2M, against 13% across California.
The typical Mission Viejo home is worth about $1,201,000, up 2.9% in a year, 58% above the California typical home. 77% of Mission Viejo households own their home.
| Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 77% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 58% | 55% | 48% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
For health, Mission Viejo earns an A
Against the 3,929 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mission Viejo’s, it is healthier than 54%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
24% of adults have obesity in Mission Viejo. Mission Viejo beats the California average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 8.4% of adults smoke cigarettes in Mission Viejo.
| Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 29% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.4% | 11% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Mission Viejo | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.1% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Very high risk in Mission Viejo, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1995, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mission Viejo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mission Viejo has mild winters and pleasant summers
January nights average 47°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 83.4°.
Mission Viejo has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Mission Viejo’s January low is 47°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 47°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 83°F | 89°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most of Mission Viejo’s workers commute out: the town has 0.8 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Mission Viejo for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Mission Viejo grew to 32,005 in 2023, 1,696 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Irvine (16%), Los Angeles (6%) and Santa Ana (4%).
| Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $136,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Less crime per resident in Mission Viejo than in 57% of U.S. towns
At 15.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 85% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,269 to 886 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Everything we know about Mission Viejo
Colleges nearby
14 within 15 miles of the center of Mission Viejo
About 6 of every 100 Mission Viejo residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Famous people from Mission Viejo
56 notable people were born in Mission Viejo.
About Mission Viejo
City in California, United States
Mission Viejo ( vee-AY-hoh; corruption of Misión Vieja [miˈsjon ˈbjexa]; Spanish for 'Old Mission') is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado in size. Its population as of 2020 was 93,653. Mission Viejo is suburban in nature and culture, and consists of residential properties, offices and businesses. The city is noted for its tree-lined neighborhoods, receiving recognition from the National Arbor Day Foundation. The city's name is a reference to Rancho Mission Viejo, a …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 18 sq mi
- Elevation
- 561 ft
- ZIP code
- 92690, 92691, 92692
- Area code
- 949
Mission Viejo’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Mission Viejo.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission Viejo | #87 | B+ | D− | B | A | A |
| Lake Forest | #88 | B+ | D− | B | A− | A |
| Rancho Santa Margarita | #36 | A− | D− | A− | A | A |
| Laguna Niguel | #69 | B+ | D− | B+ | A | A |
| Laguna Hills | #158 | B | D− | B− | A− | A |
| San Juan Capistrano | #121 | B | D− | B− | A | A− |
| Las Flores | #97 | B+ | D− | — | A | A |
| Ladera Ranch | #60 | A− | D− | — | A | A+ |
Las Flores and Ladera Ranch report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mission Viejo with a neighbor →
Questions about Mission Viejo
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Mission Viejo, CA a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mission Viejo grades B+ overall, better than 69% of U.S. towns and #87 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−.
Is Mission Viejo, CA expensive?
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−.
What is Mission Viejo, CA known for?
56 notable people were born here, including David Henrie and Noah Munck.