San Juan Capistrano, California

Area Profile

35,095 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for San Juan Capistrano, in Orange County.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 27% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 36% of 4,199 cities measured63
SchoolsTop 45% of 4,162 cities measured53
Growth3,100th of 4,224 cities measured39
Housing affordability3,890th of 4,218 cities measured38
ClimateTop 4% of 4,225 cities measured100
Physical resilience3,884th of 4,226 cities measured11
Access3,092nd of 4,226 cities measured84
Economic stabilityTop 48% of 4,226 cities measured59
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $129,457, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 43% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 21.9 students for every teacher.

Buying strains owner incomes far more than renting strains renter incomes — the median home is 7.4 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 30% of renter income.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
35,095
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$129,457
Top 8% nationally
Density
2,432/sq mi
14.4 sq mi of land
Median age
46.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Nearest major airport
RIV
35 mi · March ARB
Median home value
$993,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8%, lower than in 69% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.9% over the past year, to 17,262 employed residents.

43% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 84% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $129,457 is higher than in 92% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsOrange County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$104,10584th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftOrange County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$96,22182nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,9652024 ACS 5-Year$129,457Top 8%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,7862024 ACS 5-Year$63,646Top 8%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%Top 39%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.7 minBottom 45%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year43.4%Top 16%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year66.2%20th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202617,262Bottom 18%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.7%Bottom 42%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.9%Bottom 24%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,95118th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.0%Top 44%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$77,270Top 24%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$55,850Top 33%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.8%Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year17.3%81st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.22.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024129k112k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $129,457 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides385,530$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers160,270$42,110
Retail Salespersons130,650$37,700
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand120,720$42,390
Office Clerks, General112,270$48,100
Cashiers109,940$36,980

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

43% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 63% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 21.9 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
21.9
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
42.8%
Top 41% in California
Reading proficiency
63.3%
Top 27% in California
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
San Juan Hills HighCapistrano Unified2,64123.449%84%
Marco Forster MiddleCapistrano Unified93020.741%53%
San Juan ElementaryCapistrano Unified66226.543%36%
Harold Ambuehl ElementaryCapistrano Unified32424.941%49%
Del Obispo ElementaryCapistrano Unified31020.742%47%
Kinoshita ElementaryCapistrano Unified30223.228%31%
Opportunities for Learning - Capistrano · charterOpportunities for Learning - Capistrano District18520.615%45%
Capistrano Union HighCapistrano Unified1039.43%22%
OCASA College Prep · charterOCASA College Prep District8313.8——
Bridges Community DayCapistrano Unified124.0——
College and Career AdvantageCollege and Career Advantage0———

54.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 15% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 114.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division is up 46% over five years, and up 3.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $6,603 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.66% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $3,236, some 33% above the $2,438 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $3,236 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $129,400 a year, about equal to the median household income here of $129,457.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,438 a month.

A median home at $993,800 costs 7.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $134,745, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
114.7

Prices here run about 15% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
7.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$3,236
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,438
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$993,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against San Juan Capistrano’s median household income of $129,457, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area’s figure2023114.7Bottom 6%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+3.3%52nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+45.5%61st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+87.2%40th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year7.4Bottom 2%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%61st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4862024 ACS 5-Year13,07195th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,746Bottom 3%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$4,393Bottom 3%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$3,236Bottom 4%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1972024 ACS 5-Year$2,438Bottom 3%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$47,2702024 ACS 5-Year$993,80098th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4642024 ACS 5-Year$6,60395th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,8392024 ACS 5-Year$134,745Top 10%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.66%26th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year29.6%Bottom 43%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1462024 ACS 5-Year16093rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%64th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%39th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3132024 ACS 5-Year81994th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

39/ 100
Ranks 3,100 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 35,469 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 20 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Orange County, which contains San Juan Capistrano, lost about 0.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $104,105, above the $96,221 of households that moved out.

At 0.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
20
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.6
Bottom 17% nationally
Year over year
+100%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202435k35k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
32%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$104,105
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$96,221
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Los Angeles County, CA 31,420 people · 35% of arrivals
  2. Riverside County, CA 8,941 people · 10.0% of arrivals
  3. San Bernardino County, CA 5,104 people · 5.7% of arrivals
  4. San Diego County, CA 4,787 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  5. Santa Clara County, CA 1,786 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Los Angeles County, CA 23,952 people · 21% of departures
  2. Riverside County, CA 16,097 people · 14% of departures
  3. San Bernardino County, CA 6,498 people · 5.8% of departures
  4. San Diego County, CA 5,810 people · 5.2% of departures
  5. Maricopa County, AZ 2,978 people · 2.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Orange County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202520114
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−91%).

Weather & climate

12 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 79°F and January a low of 49°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 11.2 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 54, in the Moderate band, and about 16 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SANTA ANA JOHN WAYNE AP, 17.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year842024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals11.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals49°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals79°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals121991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year162024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year542024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals16°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
54
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
84
90th percentile index
Days above 100
16
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

11 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and wildfire, with earthquake alone responsible for 53% of it.

EarthquakeHigh
WildfireModerate
Inland floodingElevated
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, heat wave, coastal flooding, tornado, hail, lightning, tsunami, strong wind, drought, winter weather, hurricane, cold wave, ice storm, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
169
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
712
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

San Juan Capistrano's police department reported 169 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 712.

Orange County records 1.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 4.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 13.1 per 100,000 residents in Orange County.

Homicide
1.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
4.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
13.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
8.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by San Juan Capistrano’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around San Juan Capistrano (Orange County) rather than San Juan Capistrano itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

9 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest March ARB at 35 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year95.7%Top 21%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle35 miBottom 23%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle9Top 5%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.9%Top 24%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
March ARBRIV35 mi13,302 ft
Long Beach (Daugherty Fld)LGB36 mi10,000 ft
Ontario IntlONT38 mi12,197 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
52
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Other cities in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Los AngelesLos Angeles County3,857,26346Los Angeles vs San Juan Capistrano
Long BeachLos Angeles County455,54846Long Beach vs San Juan Capistrano
AnaheimOrange County344,52141Anaheim vs San Juan Capistrano
Santa AnaOrange County312,53446
IrvineOrange County311,69057
Santa ClaritaLos Angeles County230,22149
Huntington BeachOrange County195,24053
GlendaleLos Angeles County190,74846
Garden GroveOrange County170,96452
LancasterLos Angeles County169,16932
PalmdaleLos Angeles County164,63435
PomonaLos Angeles County147,94338

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put San Juan Capistrano side by side with a similar place.

San Juan Capistrano vs Laguna HillsSan Juan Capistrano vs Ladera Ranch

Moving to San Juan Capistrano from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in San Juan Capistrano

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in San Juan Capistrano with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track San Juan Capistrano closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9267535,095$129,457$993,800—