Best PlacesUC Irvine, Irvine, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around UC Irvine, Irvine, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
UC Irvine, Irvine ranks 1,233rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in UC Irvine, Irvine
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
UC Irvine, Irvine's strengths and weaknesses
Where UC Irvine, Irvine ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 328 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
Where UC Irvine, Irvine ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in UC Irvine, Irvine
A household needs to earn about $211,000 a year to comfortably buy the median UC Irvine, Irvine home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $81,573, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses UC Irvine, Irvine's effective rate of 0.93%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in UC Irvine, Irvine
UC Irvine, Irvine runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for UC Irvine, Irvine.
Who works in UC Irvine, Irvine, and how
Work in UC Irvine, Irvine centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 30%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 51%
Life in UC Irvine, Irvine
UC Irvine, Irvine has more parkland per resident than 73% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 7 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of UC Irvine, Irvine and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in UC Irvine, Irvine, month by month
UC Irvine, Irvine sees roughly 328 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 73° | 63° | 56° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 66° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 61° |
Flying in and out of UC Irvine, Irvine
John Wayne/Orange County sits about 3 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.5 million passengers in 2025, with 80 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around UC Irvine, Irvine
Schools across UC Irvine, Irvine average an A−, better than 87% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Abraham Lincoln ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- University HighA+ · 85% proficient
- Corona Del Mar HighA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every UC Irvine, Irvine school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
UC Irvine, Irvine measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare UC Irvine, Irvine against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who UC Irvine, Irvine suits
Retirees
The weather beats 99% of neighborhoods and it is quieter than 86%.
Common questions about living in UC Irvine, Irvine
Is UC Irvine, Irvine a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, UC Irvine, Irvine ranks 1,233rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, an educated workforce, and population health, and lowest on civic engagement and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is UC Irvine, Irvine expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $793,700. The overall cost of living runs about 47% above the national average. Set against a $81,573 median income, cost of living beats 13% of neighborhoods.
Is UC Irvine, Irvine safe?
Yes, UC Irvine, Irvine is safer than 96% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $200 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in UC Irvine, Irvine?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 48. That works out to about 328 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of neighborhoods.
Is UC Irvine, Irvine good for families?
Schools beat 87% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,494 a month.
Compare UC Irvine, Irvine with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to UC Irvine, Irvine. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in UC Irvine, Irvine represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
UC Irvine, Irvine detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for UC Irvine, Irvine: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in UC Irvine, Irvine: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of UC Irvine, Irvine: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in UC Irvine, Irvine: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
UC Irvine, Irvine detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.