Ladera Ranch is an unincorporated community in Orange County, CA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Ladera Ranch

Ladera Ranch is an unincorporated community in California with household incomes running above the national average and a highly educated workforce. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Ladera Ranch deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and a population that has been shrinking.

The good

  • Higher-than-average incomes
  • Highly educated workforce

The not so good

  • Rent well above the national average
  • High home prices
  • Air quality concerns
  • Shrinking population
  • High student-teacher ratio
  • High rent burden for renters

How Ladera Ranch compares

Median household income

Ladera Ranch$184,458
California avg$99,122
US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Ladera Ranch$3,350
California avg$2,036
US$1,413

Median home value

Ladera Ranch$1,151,000
California avg$734,700
US$332,700

What it takes to move to Ladera Ranch

Based on Ladera Ranch's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$6,700

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

  • Income to keep rent under 30%: $134,000 a year
  • 67% of Ladera Ranch renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$230,200

a 20% down payment on the median home

  • With 10% down: $115,100
  • Homes cost 6.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 137% above US

$3,350/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $3,350 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are steep, with a median around $1,151,000. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $1,151,000 · 67% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

4.1% county unemployment

Unemployment in Orange County is 4.1%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Orange County (county-wide)

Safety

290 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Ladera Ranch doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Orange County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs close to the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 576/100k · Policed by Orange County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting aroundNear US average

27 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 27.2 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 28% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone
67%
Work from home
28%
Carpool
2.7%
Other
1.2%
Walk
1.1%
Public transit
0.4%

Climate

Summers are comfortable, with highs around 79°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 44°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)
30°40°50°60°70°80°90°3.5"Jan: 2.78" precipitationFeb: 3.39" precipitationMar: 1.62" precipitationApr: 0.80" precipitationMay: 0.20" precipitationJun: 0.11" precipitationJul: 0.11" precipitationAug: 0.02" precipitationSep: 0.16" precipitationOct: 0.49" precipitationNov: 1.13" precipitationDec: 1.87" precipitationJJan: high 68°F, low 44°FFFeb: high 68°F, low 45°FMMar: high 69°F, low 48°FAApr: high 73°F, low 50°FMMay: high 75°F, low 55°FJJun: high 76°F, low 58°FJJul: high 80°F, low 60°F81°AAug: high 81°F, low 61°FSSep: high 81°F, low 59°FOOct: high 77°F, low 55°FNNov: high 72°F, low 49°F44°DDec: high 67°F, low 44°F

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 89% above US

68% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a highly educated city, with over half the adult population holding a college degree. That tends to shape the job market and the broader culture, and it's a solid indicator of a strong professional scene.

Schools

4 public schools inside the boundary

There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 23:1, above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (33 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Ladera Ranch's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($3,350/mo) equals 22% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (28% of workers here already work from home) and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.

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