Article Table Of Contents
Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.
But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of Irvine are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...
Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Irvine for 2021:
What's the best suburb of Irvine? Yorba Linda ranks as the best suburb of Irvine for 2021 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Yorba Linda, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 Irvine 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.
Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about California:
The 10 Best Irvine Suburbs To Live For 2021
/10
Population: 67,725
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $129,995
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.5%
More on Yorba Linda: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Yorba Linda is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Irvine area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Yorba Linda."
Everyone here is rich; families average $129,995 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Irvine region. And only 3.58% are out of work. Homes average more than $858,300 each.
/10
Population: 85,694
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $127,223
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 7.1%
More on Newport Beach: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Newport Beach is the second best 'burb we looked at near Irvine for 2021.
It ranks 4th for incomes in the area and only 2.85% of residents lack insurance, good for 5th best.
/10
Population: 50,663
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $112,689
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 4.7%
More on Aliso Viejo: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Here in Aliso Viejo, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Irvine metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Aliso Viejo.
/10
Population: 48,503
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $121,017
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 3.6%
More on Rancho Santa Margarita: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Rancho Santa Margarita ranks as the 4th best suburb of Irvine for 2021.
You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Rancho Santa Margarita and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 15,604
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 5)
Median Income: $107,724
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.6%
More on La Palma: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is La Palma.
La Palma gets kudos for having the 22nd most expensive homes in the Irvine area, where houses sell for an average of $659,100. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 5,861
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Income: $165,000
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 6.5%
More on Villa Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Villa Park is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.53% which is best in the area.
According to online reports, Villa Park is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Irvine area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 95,516
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Median Income: $118,477
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Mission Viejo: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Mission Viejo.
Mission Viejo schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it's only 8.1 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 64,878
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $110,434
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on San Clemente: Real Estate | Data | Photos
San Clemente is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 4.01% of people lack insurance, good for 11th in the area.
/10
Population: 65,808
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 3)
Median Income: $108,537
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on Laguna Niguel: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Is 'Everything Better In Laguna Niguel?'
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 33,769
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 4)
Median Income: $99,409
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 5.2%
More on Dana Point: Real Estate | Data | Photos
And rounding out the top ten for 2021 is Dana Point.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Irvine for 2021
Figuring out the best suburbs around Irvine was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- Low unemployment rate
- High Median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2015-2019 to research each suburb.
FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Irvine.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 73 suburbs to evaluate around Irvine.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 73 in each category, where 1 was the "best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Irvine." We're lookin' at you, Yorba Linda. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Welcome to the Best Irvine 'Burbs of 2021
We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Irvine, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more California reading, check out:
