Lake Forest, CA vs Irvine, CA

Side-by-side comparison from the latest government data.

MetricLake Forest, CAIrvine, CA
Population86,281311,690
Median Household Income$135,175$136,719
Median Rent$2,672/mo$2,997/mo
Median Home Value$937,000$1,191,500
Cost of Living (US = 100)114114
Renters Paying 30%+ of Income60.4%50.2%
Poverty Rate8.5%10.8%
Unemployment Rate4%4.2%
Violent Crime Rate /100k16579
Property Crime Rate /100k7011,155
Median AQI5353
Good AQI Days /yr138138
Summer Highs87°F84°F
Winter Lows48°F44°F
Snowfall0 in/yr0 in/yr
Avg Commute25.5 min24.7 min
Hospitals—1
Avg Hospital Rating——
Students per Teacher24.826.4
College Degree Rate50.8%70.6%
Foreign-Born %27.4%39.8%
Population Growth (2020–2025)+0.5%+3.6%

Green = clearly better (more than 5% apart). Population, growth, weather, hospital count and foreign-born share aren’t scored.