Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 54/100
C−
Median home value$1,191,500
Los Angeles $871,300
Median rent$2,997/mo
Los Angeles $2,063/mo
Cost-burdened households43%
Los Angeles 46%
Irvine
Orange County311,690 residents2 school districts
67
C+
Suburbgrade score
9th of 60 Los Angeles suburbs. Strong on amenities and commute & transport, held back by housing & affordability.
67
Los Angeles median 55
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Irvine yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 67 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Irvine is like to live in, by category
Bars show Irvine against Los Angeles. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 72/100
B−
Within-state proficiency91st pct
Los Angeles median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio26.7
Los Angeles median 22.9
Graduation rate95%
Los Angeles median 92%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 58/100
C
Housing cost index136
Los Angeles 100
Eff. tax rate0.81%
Los Angeles 0.66%
Local sales tax7.75%
Los Angeles median 10.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 77/100
B
Mean commute24.7 min
Los Angeles 29.5 min
Under 30 minutes69%
Los Angeles 54%
Transit stops / sq mi11
Los Angeles median 11 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 82/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés90
Los Angeles median 92 · within 2 miles
Groceries8
Los Angeles median 9 · within 2 miles
Parks165
Los Angeles median 47 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 63/100
C+
Median household income$136,719
Los Angeles $95,958
Unemployment5.9%
Los Angeles 6.8%
Professional occupations67%
Los Angeles 43%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Irvine yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Irvine on housing & affordability
Irvine's weakest grade is C−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Newport Beach6 mi from IrvineB− 72 B− Yorba Linda15 mi from IrvineC+ 60 C San Clemente18 mi from IrvineC 66 C+ Mission Viejo8 mi from IrvineC 67 C+ Laguna Niguel11 mi from IrvineC 66 C+ Lake Forest6 mi from IrvineC− 67 C+ Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Irvine
Is Irvine, CA a good place to live?
Irvine scores 67 out of 100, 9th of 60 Los Angeles suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Irvine expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C. The median home is $1,191,500, 37% above the Los Angeles median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.81%. $2,997/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Irvine?
Schools grade B−. The districts serving Irvine sit at the 91st pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 95% graduation rate and a 26.7 student–teacher ratio. Irvine is served by Irvine Unified and Tustin Unified. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Irvine?
The mean commute is 24.7 min, with 69% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 28% working from home. Transit density is 11 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Irvine?
Within two miles there are 8 groceries, 90 restaurants and cafés and 165 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Irvine old or new?
The median home in Irvine was built in 2002 — newer than the Los Angeles median of 1969. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 57% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.