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Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I'd much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I'd rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Irvine might be more expensive than living in rural California, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
So what exactly are those Irvine neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further -- you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Irvine are the cheapest.
The Cheapest Neighborhoods In Irvine For 2022
What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in Irvine for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Great Park looks to be the cheaptest Irvine neighborhood to live in.
At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for -- some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Irvine. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Irvine that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you're interested in the worst neighborhoods in Irvine.
Once you're done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.
For more California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Irvine For 2022
Population: 185
Cost Of Living Index: 88 (cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.0 (2nd cheapest)
More on Great Park: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 3,764
Cost Of Living Index: 148 (7th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.2 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (9th cheapest)
More on Turtle Ridge: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 4,212
Cost Of Living Index: 120 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.2 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.032 (23rd cheapest)
More on Rancho San Joaquin: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 7,336
Cost Of Living Index: 140 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.6 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (18th cheapest)
More on Business District: Homes For Sale | Data
Population: 1,581
Cost Of Living Index: 160 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 6.7 (16th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.0 (2nd cheapest)
More on East Industrial Complex: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 24,509
Cost Of Living Index: 165 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.9 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (5th cheapest)
More on Northwood: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 22,899
Cost Of Living Index: 165 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.2 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (13th cheapest)
More on Lower Peters Canyon: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 6,367
Cost Of Living Index: 151 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 7.5 (17th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (7th cheapest)
More on Irvine Health And Science Complex: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 8,436
Cost Of Living Index: 162 (12th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.8 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (11th cheapest)
More on University Park: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 1,298
Cost Of Living Index: 157 (9th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 6.0 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (16th cheapest)
More on San Joaquin Marsh: Homes For Sale | Data
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Irvine Hoods In 2022
In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Irvine, we had to determine what criteria defines "cheap".
Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 24 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the "Cheapest City Neighborhood In Irvine." We're lookin' at you, Great Park.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the cheapest places Irvine. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Irvine
If you're measuring the neighborhoods in Irvine where prices are low and it's cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Irvine aren't all cheap. Shady Canyon takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Irvine.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more California reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Cities In California
- Richest Cities In California
- Safest Places In California
- Worst Places To Live In California
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Irvine For 2022
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Park | 88 |
| 2 | Turtle Ridge | 148 |
| 3 | Rancho San Joaquin | 120 |
| 4 | Business District | 140 |
| 5 | East Industrial Complex | 160 |
| 6 | Northwood | 165 |
| 7 | Lower Peters Canyon | 165 |
| 8 | Irvine Health And Science Complex | 151 |
| 9 | University Park | 162 |
| 10 | San Joaquin Marsh | 157 |
| 11 | Northwood Point | 205 |
| 12 | West Park | 170 |
| 13 | El Camino Real | 161 |
| 14 | Uc Irvine | 121 |
| 15 | Oak Creek | 171 |
| 16 | Woodbridge | 171 |
| 17 | El Toro Marine Air Station | 217 |
| 18 | Research Park | 139 |
| 19 | University Town Center | 133 |
| 20 | Turtle Rock | 229 |
| 21 | Walnut Village | 172 |
| 22 | Spectrum | 172 |
| 23 | Quail Hill | 288 |
| 24 | Shady Canyon | 245 |
