The Ferris wheel at the Irvine Spectrum Center.

 

Population: 213,600 
 

Irvine has all the surf, sand, and sun Southern California is known for, with 44 miles of bike trails, 20,000 acres of parks and preserves, and a beach 10 miles away. 
 

Thanks to smart planning, this big city can feel surprisingly small. The 40-year-old community is divided into 40 "villages," and a minimum of five acres of park space is added for every 1,000 newcomers. Home prices are high, but new development is creating more affordable options - along with new schools, bike paths, and green spaces.
 

Irvine stats

Financial	City stats	Best places avg.
Median family income (per year)	$116,232	$96,825
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)	$88,727	$93,218
State sales tax	7.25%	5.57%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	9.30%I	7.31%
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	1.00%I	3.08%
Auto insurance premiums (Average price quotes, for the state)	$1,991	$1,596
Job growth % (2000-2011)*	41.58%	25.01%
Housing
Median home price	$522,500	$269,768
Average property taxes	N.A.	$6,517
Education
Colleges, universities and professional schools (within 30 miles)	40	8
Test scores reading (% above/below state average)	57.1%	28.2%
Test scores math (% above/below average)	36.6%	29.2%
% students attending public/private schools (located within town limits)	96.3/3.7	91.5/8.5
Quality of life
Air quality index* (% of days AQI ranked as good)	69.5%	77.3%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)	1	2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)	13	20
Median commute time (in minutes)	18.5	22.2
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer	11.5%	14.9%
% population walk or bike to work	6.2%	3.2%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters (within 15 miles)	71	33
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	7,044	3,134
Bars (within 15 miles)	251	199
Public golf courses (within 30 miles)	233	169
Libraries (within 15 miles)	72	70
Museums (accredited by AAM; within 30 miles)	6	10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles)	4	6
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)	0.2	1.4
Weather
Annual rainfall (inches)	13.54	34.21
% clear days in the area	44	32
High temp in July ° F	82.8°	86.8°
Low temp in Jan ° F	42.9°	18.4°
Meet the neighbors
Median age	35.5	35.2
Completed at least some college (% of residents)	84.2%	72.6%
Married %	50.0%	57.9%
Divorced %	9.2%	8.0%
Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)	303.9	118.4
From the September 2012 issue Notes: *County data (I) Income tax notes: 17 states have statutory provision for automatically adjusting to the rate of inflation the dollar values of the income tax brackets, standard deductions, and/or personal exemptions. Massachusetts, Michigan, and Nebraska index the personal exemption only. Oregon does not index the income brackets for $125,000 and over. Because the inflation adjustments for 2012 are not yet available in some cases, the table may report the 2011 amounts. For joint returns, taxes are twice the tax on half the couple’s income. The personal exemption takes the form of a tax credit instead of a deduction. California imposes an additional 1% tax on taxable income over $1 million, making the maximum rate 10.3% over $1 million. (II) Sales tax notes: California (1%) and Virginia (1%) levy mandatory, statewide add-on sales taxes at the local level; these are included in their state sales tax rates. Due to an error by our data provider, an earlier version listed incorrect stats for this city's number of colleges.