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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Irvine, CA
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Irvine profile


Living in Irvine



Irvine is a large city located in the state of California. With a population of 313,685 people and 49 associated neighborhoods, Irvine is the 14th largest community in California. There's nothing like the smell of a brand new house, and in Irvine, you'll find that a large proportion of houses were recently built. New growth in residential real estate is an indication that people are choosing to move to Irvine, and putting down their money on brand new construction. Irvine’s real estate is, on average, some of the newest in the nation. Irvine does seem to be experiencing an influx of affluent people, because the median household income is $122,948.00.

Irvine home prices are not only among the most expensive in California, but Irvine real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Irvine has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Of important note, Irvine is also a city of artists. Irvine has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Irvine’s character.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 23.15% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Irvine is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on the local Irvine culture, lifestyle and music scene. In fact, Irvine is one of only a few big cities that are also major college towns. The combination of big city status and thousands of college students gives Irvine on one hand, a sophisticated style, while on the other also provides a youthful feel and lots of diversions and entertainment for students. Believe it or not, Irvine is one of the biggest "college towns" in America, generating lift to the economy of the entire region, and issuing forth thousands of newly-minted college students every spring, powering the innovation economy, the arts, and a lively club scene.

This makes it a good place to live for young singles in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting their professional careers. Although Irvine is a large city, this demographic is significant enough that young professionals will find many others like themselves here, with really good opportunities for friendships, recreation, romance, and more.

If knowledge is power, Irvine is a pretty powerful place. 70.02% of the adults in Irvine have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Irvine in 2018 was $59,354, which is upper middle income relative to California, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $237,416 for a family of four. However, Irvine contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Irvine is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Irvine home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Irvine residents report their race to be Asian, followed by White. Irvine also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 11.24% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Irvine include German, English, Irish, Iranian, and Italian.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Irvine's cultural character, accounting for 39.57% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Irvine is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.