Overall Geography and Population in Orange County

Orange County is a large suburban county located between Los Angeles and San Diego Counties in Southern California. The county is comprised of 34 cities and covers approximately 798 square miles. With just over 3.1 million residents, Orange County has a population larger than 22 U.S. states and is the sixth largest county in the United States, exceeded in population only by Los Angeles County, California; Cook County, Illinois; Harris County, Texas; Maricopa County, Arizona, and San Diego County, California.18

Between 198019 and 201420 Orange County’s total population increased by 61.1% from 1.9 to 3.1 million. As of July 1, 2014, Orange County’s population density stood at 3,926 persons per square mile. The density of cities within Orange County vary from a low of 491 persons per square mile in unincorporated areas to highs of 12,985 in Stanton, 12,311 in Santa Ana, and 9,663 in Garden Grove.21

The data presented throughout this chapter can be found in tables at the end of the chapter. Tables include all data since reporting began even though data by year presented in this chapter only includes the previous 10 years (2005 to 2014).

Figure 2.1 shows a map of the population in Orange County by city in 2014. As shown:

 The most populous cities are Santa Ana and Anaheim, with over 300,000 residents.  Cities with between 100,000 and 299,999 include Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach,

Irvine, and the City of Orange.

Figure 2.1. 2014 Orange County Population by City

La Habra Brea 2014 Population in Incorporated Orange County Cities

La Palma Buena Park Fullerton

Placentia Yorba Linda

Cypress Los Alamitos Stanton Anaheim

Garden Grove

Seal Beach Westminster Orange Villa Park

Tustin Foothills Santa Ana

Fountain Valley Tustin

Huntington Beach Lake Forest

Foothill Ranch Population Not Estimated <100,000

100,000-299,999

300,000-348,369

Costa Mesa Irvine Portola Hills

Newport Beach Lake Forest

Rancho Santa Margarita Mission Viejo

Newport Coast

Aliso Viejo Coto de Caza Laguna Hills

Laguna Beach

Laguna Niguel

San Juan Capistrano

Dana Point San Clemente

18 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2013 and 2014. 19 State of California, Department of Finance, E-6 County Population Estimates and Components of Change — July 1, 1970–1990, Sacramento, California. 20 State of California, Department of Finance, California County Population Estimates and Components of Change by Year, July 1, 20122013. Sacramento, California, December 2013. 21 State of California, Department of Finance, E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State with Annual Percent Change — January 1, 2014 and 2015. Sacramento, California, May 2015.