Laguna Beach California City Guide

Laguna Beach’s population tracks just over 23,000. For reference, the population in 2010 was less than 22,800. The city’s 10 year growth rate is 1.55%, which breaks down into an annual growth rate of 0.22%.

An estimated 11,580 women live in Laguna Beach, which accounts for 50.03% of the population. Another 11,567 residents are male, which equals 49.97% of the city’s population.

The median resident age in Laguna Beach is 52. Less than 20% of residents are under 24 years old. About 7% of residents are between 25-34. Almost 25% of residents are 35-54. Meanwhile, over 50% of residents are over 55.

An estimated 90.8% of Laguna Beach’s population is White alone. Another 3.7% of residents identify as Asian, while 2.8% of the city’s population is biracial or multiracial. Less than 1% of Laguna Beach’s population is Black or African American.

The most common language spoken in Laguna Beach is English, seeing as 88% of the population only speaks this language. Another 4.3% of the population speaks Spanish, and 2.5% of residents are fluent in another Indo-European language.

An estimated 13% of the city’s population was born in another country. To compare, this falls under the U.S. average of 13% and the state’s average of 27%.

Laguna Beach has 2 public elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school campus within its borders.

An estimated 97.7% of the city’s adult population has a high school diploma or an equivalent degree. From there, 16.5% of residents have some college education. Another 6.4% of residents have an associate’s degree. Meanwhile, 35.3% of the population has a bachelor’s degree. Another 31.7% of Laguna Beach residents who are over 25 years old have a master’s degree or a professional degree.

Laguna Beach has a low high school dropout rate of 2%, which is considerably under both the U.S. average and California’s average.

The median property value in Laguna Beach is estimated to be $1,995,083, which is an impressive sum relative to California and considered to be among the most expensive median property values in the country.

Almost 70% of the city’s real estate is priced over $1.1 million, and another 11% of properties range between $889K-$1.1 million. 9% of properties vary from $593K-$889K, and 3% of real estate is valued between $475K-$593K. Around 7% of Laguna Beach properties are worth under $475K.

With considerably high property values, it makes sense that Laguna Beach is known for having some of the highest appreciation rates across the state and the U.S.

Specifically between December 2009 and December 2019, real estate in the city appreciated 57.57%, which equals an average annual home appreciation rate of 4.65%. This number places the city’s real estate appreciation rates in the top 10% bracket nationally.

62.3% of housing options in Laguna Beach are owner-occupied residences, and 37.7% of properties are rented. Being a tourist hotspot, around 20% of the city’s housing options may stand vacant.

The majority of residences at 43.9% were constructed between 1940-1969, and 31.7% of properties were built between 1970-1999. Just 5.5% of residences in the city were built in or after 2000, and another 18.9% of residences were built in or before 1939.

70% of housing options are single family detached houses, and 14.7% are apartment complexes. 9.2% of properties are smaller apartment buildings, and condominiums and attached properties make up the smallest number of Laguna Beach properties.

33.3% of residences have 3 bedrooms, and 30.8% of housing options have 2 bedrooms. 18.8% of properties have 1 bedroom layouts, and 13.2% have 4 bedrooms. The remaining 3.9% of residences have 5 or more bedrooms.

The average salary of a Laguna Beach resident is about $157K, and the median household income tracks around $121K. The city’s per capita income is a little over $92K.

Less than 10% of the city’s population earns below $25K each year. From there, 5.4% of residents earn between $25K-$35K annually. 8.6% of residents make between $35K-$50K, while another 8.6% of the population earns $50K-$65K.

From there, around 20% of residents earn between $65K-$100K annually. Almost 52% of Laguna Beach’s population earns more than $100K each year.

The city’s unemployment rate is 6.8%, and 6.8% of Laguna Beach residents live in poverty.