← Market Briefs · Orange County · Choice of America
Orange County’s weekday is shorter than its price tag
Most people in Orange County are not moving. The September numbers say the countywide ask has eased since May. They do not say the coast and the inland cities are the same market.
Most people in Orange County are not moving. In the Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 estimates, 88.9% of residents age 1 and older were living in the same house as a year earlier. The typical household had 2.87 people. Mean travel time to work was 26.7 minutes for workers age 16 and older. About 46.4% of people age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home, and 30.4% of residents were foreign-born. The county’s population estimate for July 1, 2025, was 3,149,507.
That settled pattern sits next to a housing market that still sorts sharply by the coast. Realtor.com data published on FRED put Orange County’s median listing price at $1,287,500 in September 2026, not seasonally adjusted. The same series was $1,299,000 in August and $1,395,000 in May, so the typical asking price had come down over the summer. These are listing medians, not closed sale prices, and they describe the mix of homes on the market rather than a change in any one house.
On Realtor.com’s Orange County market page, labeled as of September 2026, the spread inside the county is the daily-life fact buyers notice. Newport Beach’s median listing price was $4,719,500. Laguna Beach was $4,950,000. Dana Point was $2,372,500. Irvine was $1,599,000. Anaheim, inland of those beach cities, was $932,000. Countywide, the same page put the median time on market at 51 days and the median listed rent at $3,585 a month.
The Census picture of occupied housing is older and lower, as it should be: for 2020–2024, the median value of owner-occupied units was $962,600, and median monthly owner costs with a mortgage were $3,385. Median household income, in 2024 dollars, was $116,289. Owner-occupied units were 56.4% of the housing stock.
A weekday here is often a half-hour drive, a household of about three, and a choice between a coastal asking price and an inland one that is still high by national standards. The September numbers say the countywide ask has eased since May. They do not say the coast and the inland cities are the same market.
Dr. Hamid Rowshan, DRE #02004794. Company DRE #02240008. Phone 833-THIS-BROKER / (833) 842-7465.
Sources: Census QuickFacts Orange County · FRED MEDLISPRI6059 · Realtor.com Orange County market