Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa, California

Introduction to Costa Mesa California

Incorporated in 1953, Costa Mesa is a city located in Orange County, in Southern California. Costa Mesa is approximately forty-five minutes southeast of Los Angeles, twenty minutes south of Anaheim, five minutes east of Newport Beach, and an hour and a half northwest of San Diego. Costa Mesa's southernmost border is only 1 mile from the Pacific Ocean. Costa Mesa is also only 10 minutes from the John Wayne Orange County Airport.

The area that is now Costa Mesa was originally used as grazing land by Mission San Juan Capistrano. Early attempts to settle the area in the 1880s failed. Costa Mesa started as the Town of Harper, which changed its name to Costa Mesa in 1920. Costa Mesa means coastal tableland in Spanish

Orange County, California was ranked as one of the "Top 25 Cities for Doing Business in America" by Inc. Magazine in the "Large Cities" category in a 2004 study. Costa Mesa received a "League of California Cities Helen Putnam Awards of Excellence" in 2005 for "Internal Administration".

Costa Mesa Arts, Culture, and Entertainment

Costa Mesa residents can take advantage of all of the arts and entertainment attractions of Anaheim and Los Angeles to the north, as well as San Diego to the south. Some of the attractions of note in and around Costa Mesa include:

• The Ampitheater
• The Aquarium of the Pacific
• The Bowers Museum
• Disneyland
• Knott’s Berry Farm
• The Orange County Fairgrounds, home to the Orange County Fair every July
• Orange County Fine Arts Inc. and the Showcase Gallery
• The Orange County Museum of Art at South Coast Plaza
• The Orange County Theatre District, home to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and the South Coast Repertory.
• The Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace
• The South Coast Repertory Theater

This part of Southern California has enough professional sports offerings to keep even the most demanding sports fans happy. Sports teams near Costa Mesa, include:

• The Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League (AFL).
• The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
• Club Deportivo Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS).
• The Lake Elsinore Storm of Minor League Baseball (MiLB). The Storm are a Class A Advanced affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
• The Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
• The Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).
• The Los Angeles Storm, and Southern California Seahorses who play in the United Soccer League's (USL) Premier Development League.
• The Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

For sports fans who do not mind an hour and a half drive south, the city of San Diego is also home to:

• The Major League Baseball (MLB) San Diego Padres.
• The National Football League (NFL) San Diego Chargers.
• The ECHL Sand Diego Gulls hockey team.
• The United Soccer League (USL) USL Premier Development League San Diego Gauchos and the USL W-League San Diego Gauchos Women.

High Points

Costa Mesa strengths, compared to Peers (similar size places nationally) or State (other places in California):

Category	Trophy
Walking and Biking to Work (vs. Peers)	Top 10%
Well-Paid Single Men (vs. Peers)	Top 17%
Racial Diversity (vs. Peers)	Top 17%
Public Transportation Use (vs. State)	Top 19%

Comparative Profile of Costa Mesa, CA

Comparing Costa Mesa to similar size places nationwide (Peers) and to other places in California (State):

Ratings range from (lowest) to (highest).

The People

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Male Share of the Population
Well-Paid Single Men
Racial Diversity
Well-Paid Single Women
Children Under 5 Years Old
Age of the Population
Senior Citizens
Female Share of the Population

Families

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Average Household Size
Portion of People Married

Wealth

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
College Educated Adults
Median Family Income
People Above Poverty
People in Middle Class or Better

Commute & Sprawl

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Walking and Biking to Work
Working at Home
Public Transportation Use
Short Commute Times

Housing

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Studio & One-Bedroom Rentals
People Living Alone
Seasonal and Vacation Housing
Housing Recently Built
Affordability of Property Taxes
Affordability of Rents

Crime

Characteristic	Compared to Peers	Compared to State
Low Violent Crime
Low Property Crime

Costa Mesa Almanac

Costa Mesa Climate

Nearest Weather Stations

• Temp ranges are avg daily min and max for the month
• Precipitation is rainfall (and rainfall equiv of snowfall)

Costa Mesa Population (2000)

(From 2000 Census, as reported by individuals)

Political Contributions (2004)

Money donated by Costa Mesa residents to parties and candidates for the 2004 elections.

by Political Party

by Presidential Candidate

Nearby Cities and Towns

Costa Mesa Hospitals

COLLEGE HOSPITAL COSTA MESA
(Proprietary)
301 VICTORIA STREET
(714) 642-2734
Emergency Service: No

Starbucks in Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa High Schools (2004)

COSTA MESA HIGH
2650 FAIRVIEW ROAD
714-424-8700
Title I eligible, not participating.
Serves 1,924 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 25.8

O.C. COMMUNITY HOME EDUCATION PROGRAM
2910 REDHILL AVE. SUITE 200
714-327-1000
Serves 1,655 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 33.2

ESTANCIA HIGH
2323 PLACENTIA AVE.
949-515-6500
Title I eligible, not participating.
Serves 1,320 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 26.3

JUVENILE HALL/COMMUNITY
200 KALMUS DR.
714-966-4485
A Non-traditional School
Serves 1,139 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 11.8

SPECIAL EDUCATION
200 KALMUS DR.
714-966-4130
A Special Education School
Serves 600 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 6.8

MONTE VISTA HIGH (ALTER.)
380 MONTE VISTA AVE.
949-515-6900
A Non-traditional School
Serves 156 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 26

BACK BAY HIGH (CONT.)
390 MONTE VISTA AVE.
949-515-6900
A Non-traditional School
Serves 99 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 16.8

ORANGE COAST MIDDLE COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL
2701 FAIRVIEW ROAD
714-432-5732
Serves 61 students.
Student/teacher ratio: 12.7

Read and Post in Our Forum

Read about and discuss Costa Mesa and other places in California

NEW: Community Comments below!