IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Costa Mesa, CA
Costa Mesa is a mid-size city of 110,330 people in Orange County, California. It's about 35 miles from Riverside, CA. Summer highs average 78°F and winter highs 67°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $1.1M and rent runs about $2k a month.
110,330people
$1.1MTypical home
$2,446/moRent
78° / 67°Summer / winter
0"Snow
319Sunny days
40Rain/snow days
Is Costa Mesa right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Mid-size city of 110,330
- Part of a metro area
- About 6,980 people per sq mi
- 35 mi to Riverside, CA
- 35 mi to Riverside, CA
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $1.1M (≈$7,032/mo)
- Median rent $2,446/mo
- Median household income $112k
- Property tax about 0.6% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 78°F
- Winter highs around 67°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 59°F)
- 319 sunny days a year (162 totally clear)
- 46 cloudy days a year
- 18 of 90 winter days are gray
- 40 days a year with rain or snow
- Basically no snow
- Snow days are rare
- Rarely hits 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Above-average violent crime (534 per 100k)
- About average property crime (2,065 per 100k)
People
- Median age 37
- 26% of households have kids
- 13% are 65 or older
- 45% have a college degree
- Very diverse community
- 8% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 25 min
- 4% walk or take transit to work
- 3 mi to SNA airport
- 3 mi to SNA (major hub)
- 31 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 50% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1972
- 96% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 75 ft
- 4 mi to the ocean
- 107 mi to a big lake
- 14 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 45 mi to the nearest ski area
- 8 mi to the nearest campground
- 97 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 4,417 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 302 bars within 25 mi
- 2,158 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 9 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 70 museums within 25 mi
- 25 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 4 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 36% of California districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 3 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 3 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- Dog park in town
- 4 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Orange County: D+3 in 2024
- California: D+20 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- High drought risk
- Very low winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk