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Place dossier plate
SheetCA-ALISO-VIEJO-CA · Aliso Viejo, CA 51,320 pop · income 92nd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Aliso Viejo
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Aliso Viejo on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Delano · lowest
61,817
Delano · lowest
61,817 median HH income
44.8% of the leader · rank #1
Kenmore · near
137,926
Kenmore · near
137,926 median HH income
99.9% of the leader · rank #2
Long Beach · near
137,969
Long Beach · near
137,969 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #3
Aliso Viejo · this city
137,970
Aliso Viejo · this city
137,970 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #4
Bel Air North · near
137,995
Bel Air North · near
137,995 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #5
Twin Lakes CD… · near
138,025
Twin Lakes CD… · near
138,025 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
Chanhassen · highest
138,034
Chanhassen · highest
138,034 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Aliso Viejo on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 51,320.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Aliso Viejo - the verdict
Nationally, Aliso Viejo sits in the 92nd percentile for household income and the 64th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
92nd
percentile, household income
96th
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
64th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Aliso Viejo, CA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 51,320 residents in Aliso Viejo, a small city within California. Median household income here is $137,970 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 3.0%. Home values in Aliso Viejo run a median of $863,800, and the median resident age is 38.6 years. Educational attainment runs 57.1% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 71.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits). Aliso Viejo reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1002.5 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
California carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts California at 110.7 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $2,053 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $275 across California, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Workers in Aliso Viejo report an average commute of 19.8 minutes, with 66.2% driving alone and 23.5% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 88.7 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Aliso Viejo's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to housing and income to schools and households to work and mobility to reported crime to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Aliso Viejo, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Aliso Viejo?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within California, the closest population matches are Glendora (51,350 residents, $111,915 income); Palm Desert (51,551 residents, $79,508 income); Lincoln (51,629 residents, $108,108 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Burien, WA (51,331 residents); Summerville, SC (51,262 residents); Little Elm, TX (51,426 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
How far does income reach against housing in Aliso Viejo?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 6.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the education layer cover for Aliso Viejo?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 8 public schools within the city match. 57.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
What does the journey to work look like in Aliso Viejo?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 66.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 19.8 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Aliso Viejo?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1002.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 56% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
1002.5
Violent rate
134.9
Property rate
867.7
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Is Aliso Viejo growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -2,238 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -4.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
2020 estimate
52,082
2025 estimate
49,844
Period change
-4.3%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average
B-
City profile score · Aliso Viejo, CA
66/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Household income A+
$137,970
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share A+
57.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate B+
3.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime C+
135 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
110.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Aliso Viejo profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 93/100 (A+) · $137,970
Bachelor's+ share: 90/100 (A+) · 57.1%
Poverty rate: 79/100 (B+) · 3.0%
Violent crime: 62/100 (C+) · 135 /100k
Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index
Where Aliso Viejo sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Aliso Viejo's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Aliso Viejo highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Aliso Viejo, CA (this city): home $863,800, crime 1,003/100k
Burien, WA : home $609,300, crime 3,820/100k
Summerville, SC : home $295,700, crime 1,991/100k
Little Elm, TX : home $390,300, crime 557/100k
Collierville, TN : home $458,300, crime 1,419/100k
Wake Forest, NC : home $435,000, crime 1,452/100k
Glendora, CA : home $820,800, crime 2,168/100k
Palm Desert, CA : home $491,600, crime 3,151/100k
Lincoln, CA : home $628,500, crime 657/100k
Delano, CA : home $270,300, crime 1,456/100k
Watsonville, CA : home $657,700, crime 1,581/100k
Cathedral City, CA : home $420,700, crime 1,504/100k
How does Aliso Viejo compare to other US cities?
Aliso Viejo measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income92% higher than other cities
Home value96% pricier than other cities
Median rent88% pricier than other cities
Safety64% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at California, Aliso Viejo ranks #58 of 441 California cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Aliso Viejo against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to California only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
California-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Aliso Viejo near the bottom of California's cities
Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Aliso Viejo ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Aliso Viejo only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#223 of 1,338
83rd percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#318 of 1,343
76th percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#1,035 of 1,450
28th percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#202 of 1,458
86th percentile in California
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within California only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
92nd percentile nationally for median household income · 64th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Aliso Viejo's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Aliso Viejo's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Aliso Viejo's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$863,8004th percentilemore affordable than 4% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Aliso Viejo's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,305 of 15,516
More affordable than 8% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#602 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 6.3×, Aliso Viejo sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,305 of 15,516 and #602 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$137,970Aliso Viejo, CA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Aliso Viejo, CA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Aliso Viejo, CA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)57.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)71.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
51,320
Median Income
$137,970
Median Home Value
$863,800
Median Age
38.6
Poverty Rate
3.0%
Labor force participation
71.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
57.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1002.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
134.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
867.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
8
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Aliso Viejo's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
52,082 residents
2021
51,535 residents
2022
50,966 residents
2023
50,482 residents
2024
50,280 residents
2025
49,844 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
1
1
0
$0.4M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
19.8 minutes
Drive Alone
66.2%
Carpool
7.3%
Public Transit
0.6%
Walk
1.3%
Work from Home
23.5%
Other
1.1%
Based on 28,517 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
California statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across California at $275 (electricity about $150 , water and sewer about $70 ).
These are California statewide averages, not a meter reading for Aliso Viejo. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
California's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.7 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Aliso Viejo is $2,053/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to California statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a California statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Aliso Viejo sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Aliso Viejo compares to similar-size California cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.