Official Federal Data
Orange County, California
FIPS 06059 · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · Population 3,165,820
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$116,289 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.1% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$351.8B ▲
GDP
44.1% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$116,289 ▲
Per Capita
$54,557 ▲
Mean Household
$156,759 ▲
Poverty Rate
9.5% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Orange County$116,289
California$99,122
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 21%
18-34 · 23.1%
35-54 · 26.5%
55-64 · 13.1%
65+ · 16.3%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
87.1%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 2.5 pts
44.1%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +8.4 pts
16.3%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +2.2 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
3,165,820
Population
1,694,900
Labor Force
Employed
1,600,642
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.1% ▲ +0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute
26.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
18.5%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 8.4 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 238,707 workers (18.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $65,090.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $351.8B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $159,245 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $36,346, a 4.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?
Get Deeper Trends
EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.
Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Manufacturing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
64,508
Cluster Employment
3.74x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
3.74x 24,411
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
2.99x 31,842
Apparel Manufacturing
2.74x 2,306
Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
2.54x 51,747
Real Estate
1.76x 34,118
Printing and Related Support Activities
1.62x 5,949
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.06x
Support Activities for Mining
183 employed
0.13x
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
538 employed
0.15x
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing
174 employed
0.16x
Air Transportation
971 employed
0.19x
Crop Production
1,093 employed
0.20x
Wood Product Manufacturing
865 employed
0.24x
Primary Metal Manufacturing
933 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Miscellaneous Manufacturing concentrates at 3.74x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$962,600 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$2,434 ▲
Rent/Mo
56.4% ▼
Owner-Occ
5.5% ▼
Vacancy
8.3x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$2,682/mo
1 Bedroom
$2,746/mo
2 Bedroom
$3,236/mo
3 Bedroom
$4,393/mo
4 Bedroom
$5,246/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,907/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 8.3x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,907/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
1,985,863 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute
26.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
18.5%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
82.3%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
44.1% ▲
HS Diploma+
87.1% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
77,028/yr
15,215/yr
14,884/yr
12,110/yr
12,064/yr
11,468/yr
11,287/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
20.9%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
46.9%
Service
16.4%
Sales & Office
20.6%
Construction / Maint.
5.9%
Production / Transport
10.2%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 1,600,642 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 42,209 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Orange County shows meaningful potential for miscellaneous manufacturing attraction, with a 3.74x concentration and 24,411 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across miscellaneous manufacturing, computer and electronic product manufacturing, and apparel manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
Take it further
AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.
Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.
Schedule a DemoAvailable as premium offerings.
Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Orange County, California, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Orange County, California?
3,165,820 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Orange County, California?
$116,289 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Orange County, California?
4.1% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Orange County, California?
$351.8B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
Orange County, CA: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →