Located in the San Joaquin Hills, Laguna Niguel is a gorgeous city in the picturesque Orange County, California. Located close to the Pacific Ocean, Laguna Niguel was developed in 1959 as one of California’s first master-planned communities. Besides the city, as a predominantly residential community, serves as a bedroom community for the job centers of northern and central Orange County. 

What is the community of Laguna Niguel like?  

Known throughout Orange County for its extensive park and trail system, Laguna Niguel is a vibrant community that enjoys year-round pleasant weather, a surfeit of lush green spaces, and an enviable central location that provides easy access to the breathtaking beaches and scenery of the Pacific Ocean, as well as the nearby exciting cities of Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and San Juan Capistrano. 
Home to around 66,400 residents, Laguna Niguel is a sanctuary for park lovers. Over one-third of Laguna Niguel is public open space and is divided between 31 city parks and 4 county parks. One of Laguna Niguel’s prime attractions for residents and visitors from the nearby cities is the centrally located, 227-acre Laguna Niguel Regional Park, which offers volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, tennis courts, bike trails, playgrounds, barbecue pits, and picnic shelters. The park is home to the popular Laguna Niguel Lake, which is an artificial 44-acre fishing and recreational lake and is a major fishing and boating venue for residents and visitors alike. In addition, Crown Valley Park, visited by about 240,000 people each year, plays home to the city's main public sports facilities.  
Thanks to its close neighbor – Laguna Beach – Laguna Niguel has much more to offer its residents than what lies within its precincts. One of the most coveted attractions of the neighboring Laguna Beach is the Crystal Cove State Park, which is one of California’s largest remaining open spaces and natural coastlines. Halfway between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach, Crystal Cove features beautiful sandy beaches, sparkling tidal pools, immersive surf, picturesque hills, and densely wooded canyons and ridges, making it a breathtaking natural landscape.  
The residents of Laguna Niguel also get to enjoy one of the top 3 festivals in the United States - Pageant of the Masters, which is a ninety-minute stage show of “living pictures” in which real people pose to recreate the characters of original artworks. To put it differently, the possibilities for enjoying outstanding recreational opportunities are endless in the city of Laguna Niguel.  

What is Real Estate like in Laguna Niguel?    

Real estate in Laguna Niguel has shown an average growth of 4.11% per year since the year 2000. Since 2000, the prices of homes in Laguna Niguel have appreciated by a strong 132.79%. National real estate firm, EXP, categorizes Laguna Niguel’s housing market as ‘very competitive’. The sale prices of homes in Laguna Niguel have experienced a staggering growth of more than 52.1% since April last year.   
The median home price in Laguna Niguel is $999,000. Currently, there are 186 active homes for sale in Laguna Niguel, and normally it takes just 43 days for a listed home to get off the market. The average cost to rent a house in Laguna Niguel is $3,336 per month. At present, there are 25,290 homes and apartments in the city, 68.6% of which are owned, and the remaining 31.4% are rented.      

How is the economic landscape of Laguna Niguel?    

Over the last year, Laguna Niguel’s job market has grown by 0.6%, while its unemployment rate stands at a decent 5.6%. The US average is 6%. Also, the city’s job market is expected to grow by 31.3% over the next ten years.  
On average, a Laguna Niguel resident earns around $51,700 per annum, substantially higher than the US average of $28500. The city’s median household income of almost $99,900 per resident is also significantly greater than the US average of approximately $53000. Most of the residents of Laguna Niguel work in education, manufacturing, retail, finance, accommodation, professional and technical services, and healthcare.    

How are the schools in Laguna Niguel?     

Laguna Niguel is covered by 3 school districts, with Capistrano Unified School District being the city’s major school district encompassing 63 schools and 53,833 enrolled students. 
Laguna Niguel lies 14 miles from one of California's most iconic universities - the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Established in 1965, UCI is regarded as one of the Public Ivies, meaning that it is considered to be one of the few public universities in the U.S. whose quality of education parallels that of the Ivy League. The university offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and professional degrees, and roughly 30,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students were enrolled at UCI as of Fall 2019. To put UCI in true perspective, it is pertinent to mention that the university has produced seven Nobel Prize laureates and seven Pulitzer Prize winners – a staggering feat for any educational institution in the world.        

Laguna Niguel in a nutshell        

To sum up, Laguna Niguel is a vibrant community that enjoys the highest quality of life. The city is predominantly dotted by lush parks and pristine green spaces and offers a wide array of exceptional outdoor recreational opportunities. With easy access to top educational facilities, highly safe surroundings, and top-notch professional and business opportunities, Laguna Niguel is an excellent place to raise a family.