What it's like to live in Orange
Orange is a mid-size city in California with household incomes running above the national average, crime rates well below 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. Orange deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and larger class sizes than the national average.
The good
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Low crime rates
- Highly educated workforce
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- High home prices
- Air quality concerns
- High student-teacher ratio
- High rent burden for renters
How Orange compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Orange
Based on Orange's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$4,654
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $93,080 a year
- 51% of Orange renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$189,160
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $94,580
- Homes cost 8.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 65% above US
$2,327/mo median rent
Rent is expensive here, at $2,327 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 $945,800. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.
Median home value $945,800 · 51% of renters cost-burdened
Job marketNear US average
4.1% unemployment
Unemployment here is 4.1%, close to the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 40% below US
196 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 939/100k · Orange Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
26 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 25.8 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 18% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 86°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 49°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
5 hospitals
There are 5 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 3.3 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▲ 10% above US
40% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 40% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
29 public schools inside the boundary
There are 29 public schools inside the boundary and 13 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 (35 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Orange's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and crime rates well below the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($2,327/mo) equals 24% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit anyone prioritizing low crime and remote workers (18% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.
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