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Thursday, August 6, 2026

Irvine vs Lake Forest

Irvine, CA compared with Lake Forest, CA · 6 miles apart

Irvine has 318,764 residents to Lake Forest’s 86,333. Irvine comes out ahead on median household income, average commute, bachelor's degree +. Lake Forest does better on median rent, homeownership, poverty rate.

Irvine, CA Lake Forest, CA
Population 318,764 86,333
Density (per sq mi) 4,858 5,165
Median household income $136,719 $135,175
Median home value $1,191,500 $937,000
Median rent $2,997 $2,672
Homeownership 44.5% 70.5%
Average commute 24.7 min 25.5 min
Median age 34 40.2
Bachelor's degree + 70.6% 50.8%
Poverty rate 10.8% 8.5%
Unemployment 5.9% 4.9%
Price to income 8.7× 6.9×

Highlighted where one city is clearly better on that measure. Population, density, home value and median age carry no highlight — a higher number there is good or bad depending on what you want.

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