Rancho Mission ViejoCA
A town settled in 1845, now home to 11,971 people.
Is Rancho Mission Viejo a good place to live?
Rancho Mission Viejo’s strongest is health (A+) — it is healthier than 97% of U.S. towns. It also does well on incomes: the median household earns $193K. What holds it back is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.2 million, 12.5 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. The overall grade lands at B, 122nd of 841 in California. Set against the rest, it does better than 64% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Cleveland National Forest, at 447 acres. The town’s median rent is $3,501 a month, against $1,895 a month in California’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap.
What makes Rancho Mission Viejo stand out
Where Rancho Mission Viejo beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
How Rancho Mission Viejo grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Rancho Mission Viejo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Disneyland and 68 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rancho Mission Viejo. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw34 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaAngel Stadium of Anaheim
Big draw29 mi Theme parkDisney California Adventure10.1M visitors a year
27 mi Stadium & arenaHonda Center
30 mi MuseumRichard Nixon Presidential Library and MuseumPhoto credits
Disneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · 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 · Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum: The original uploader was Sorcha at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5
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Moving to Rancho Mission Viejo: who provides what
Rancho Mission Viejo is unincorporated, so Orange County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Rancho Mission Viejo.
Rancho Mission Viejo has less food insecurity than most of California 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.
For health, Rancho Mission Viejo earns an A+
Its widest gap with California is food insecurity: 7.2% of its 7,809 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.9% statewide. Against the 1,062 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rancho Mission Viejo’s, it is healthier than 61%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
The share of adults in Rancho Mission Viejo who sleep under 7 hours: 32%. The town does better than the California average on 23 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. One in ten adults in Rancho Mission Viejo report frequent physical distress; 6.9% smoke cigarettes.
| Rancho Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 29% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.9% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Rancho Mission Viejo | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.2% | 17.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.4% | 10.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Public schools in Rancho Mission Viejo beat 88% of California districts
Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.2M.
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. The Capistrano Unified school district runs its public schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| EsenciaLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 996 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
In Rancho Mission Viejo, the FEMA risk score runs higher than in the typical California or U.S. town
64% of Rancho Mission Viejo’s expected losses from natural hazards come from wildfires, followed by inland flooding at 25%. One declared disaster, in 2017, has brought federal aid to Rancho Mission Viejo households. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 100% of U.S. communities.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For cost of living, Rancho 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 that grade. Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; San Juan Capistrano is next at $1.34M.
Among households in Rancho Mission Viejo, 76% are owner-occupiers. The typical home value here is about $1,195,000, up 1.1% in a year, 57% above the California typical home. Homes sold in Rancho Mission Viejo spent a median 56 days on the market.
| Rancho Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 64% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Rancho Mission Viejo has set aside 2.3% of its land for conservation
In Rancho Mission Viejo, the trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile. Count the trails in 11 parks and preserves and they come to 59 miles.
| Rancho Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.6 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Esencia Sports Park | 1.5 mi | 29 |
| 2. Boulder Pond & Playground | 0.9 mi | 11 |
| 3. Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park | 0.4 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Mild winters and pleasant summers in Rancho Mission Viejo
January nights average 47.3°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 82.2°.
Snow almost never falls. The January low here is 47°F.
| Rancho Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 47°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 89°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Compared with most of California and the rest of the country, fewer of Rancho Mission Viejo’s residents live below the poverty line
Jobs based here grew from 2,161 in 2013 to 3,216. 35.5% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
The top destinations are Irvine (15%), Los Angeles (6%) and Mission Viejo (4%). Rancho Mission Viejo had 3,216 jobs in 2023, up 1,055 from 2013. In Rancho Mission Viejo, 36% of workers do their job from home. Just 2% of the town’s working residents have a job in town.
| Rancho Mission Viejo | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 36% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $193,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Everything we know about Rancho Mission Viejo
Colleges nearby
4 within 15 miles of the center of Rancho Mission Viejo
About 5 of every 100 Rancho Mission Viejo residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Rancho Mission Viejo
Place in California, United States
Rancho Mission Viejo (Spanish: Rancho Misión Vieja, meaning "Old Mission Ranch") is an active 23,000 acres (9,300 ha) ranch and farm, habitat reserve, residential community, and census-designated place in South Orange County, California. Rancho Mission Viejo is one of the Mexican Ranchos of California, with Rancho Mission Viejo forming from a series of land grants to John Forster in 1845. The remaining part of Rancho Mission Viejo consists of a nearly 17,000-acre (6,900 ha) nature reserve (The Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo) and multiple residential communities slated to open in phases between 2010 and 2030. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,378.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1845
Rancho Mission Viejo’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Rancho Mission Viejo.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B; San Juan Capistrano (B) is closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rancho Mission Viejo | #122 | B | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Coto de Caza | #75 | B+ | D− | — | A | A+ |
| San Clemente | #119 | B | D− | B− | A | A |
| Las Flores | #97 | B+ | D− | — | A | A |
| San Juan Capistrano | #121 | B | D− | B− | A | A− |
| Ladera Ranch | #60 | A− | D− | — | A | A+ |
Rancho Mission Viejo, Coto de Caza, Las Flores and Ladera Ranch report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Rancho Mission Viejo with a neighbor →
Questions about Rancho Mission Viejo
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Rancho Mission Viejo, CA a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Rancho Mission Viejo grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #122 of 841 in California. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Rancho 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−.