Laguna Beach Real Estate

Laguna Beach, California

Laguna Beach is a city located in southern Orange County, California, approximately 24 miles southeast of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 23,727 at the 2000 census. The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Laguna Beach and the Orange County Area is “Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA.”

The city's most famous institution is the Festival of the Arts, an annual art exhibition in the summer which has given the city a reputation for being "artsy." Apart from bringing together artists and art collectors, the Festival is also famous for the Pageant of the Masters, an annual living statue show where local volunteers reproduce several dozen famous artworks in an evening (with the help of elaborate costumes and makeup). The Pageant is apparently the only show of its type and scale in western North America.

Because of occasional financial problems, the Festival has occasionally considered licensing the Pageant concept to other cities, but each time has ultimately refused. Licensing the Pageant would decrease the uniqueness of Laguna Beach and thus its attractiveness to tourists.

Another local tradition is a 13-year old musical parody called "Lagunatics". Created in 1992 and produced by the website nosquare.org, the show features local leaders from the mayor to the chief of police in songs and skits that make fun of the local lifestyle; some targets have included the MTV show; the supposedly rich, white, and pretentious residents; beach-closing sewage spills; re-foresting kelp; the Pageant of the Masters, the art festivals, parking (or the lack thereof) and fire-hazard eating goats. Money raised by the annual shows provide funds for a variety of local charites including the Laguna Playhouse, No Square Theatre, Ballet Pacifica, the Community Clinic, Senior Center Building Fund, and others.

Laguna Beach Geography

Laguna Beach is located at 33°31′53″N, 117°46′9″W (33.531525, -117.769043)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.2 km˛ (9.7 mi˛). 22.9 km˛ (8.9 mi˛) of it is land and 2.3 km˛ (0.9 mi˛) of it (9.24%) is water.

On June 1st, 2005 Laguna Beach suffered a landslide due to the heavy rains incurred during the winter storms that hit Southern California.

Laguna Beach Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 23,727 people, 11,511 households, and 5,778 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,035.1/km˛ (2,681.5/mi˛). There were 12,965 housing units at an average density of 565.6/km˛ (1,465.2/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city was 91.99% White, 0.80% African American, 0.36% Native American, 2.08% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 2.21% from other races, and 2.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.62% of the population.

There were 11,511 households out of which 18.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.8% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.69.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.8% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 33.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $75,808, and the median income for a family was $100,778. Males had a median income of $66,221 versus $46,138 for females. The per capita income for the city was $58,732. About 2.8% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age are 65 or over.

Condos on the beach at Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach Government & Politics

Of the 17,084 registered voters in Laguna Beach; 35.8% are Democrats and 41.2% are Republicans. The remaining 23% either declined to state political affiliation or are registered with one of the many minor political parties.

Although there are more registered Republicans, Laguna Beach is one of the most liberal cities in Orange County, and voted for Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry over President Bush in 2004 by a margin of 57%-42%. It was one of only three places in the generally conservative Orange County to not have a majority supporting the Republican Party. The other two cities were Laguna Woods (which consists entirely of a retirement community) and Santa Ana, the county's most ethnically diverse city.

The reason why Laguna Beach defies stereotypical Orange County politics is most likely the city's large gay community and one of the highest gay and lesbian indices out of any place in the country. The gay and lesbian index of Laguna Beach is 478, meaning the percentage of same-sex couples living in the city is 378% higher than the national average. This is one percentage point less than that of San Francisco which has a gay and lesbian index of 479. This explains why Laguna Beach has more males than females, why the percentage of married couples is much lower than in surrounding communities, and why the percentage of people under age 18 and households with children is much lower, as the majority of gay couples do not have children. As it is estimated that about ten to fifteen percent of San Francisco residents identify themselves as homosexual, it could be said that roughly one out of every ten Laguna Beach residents is gay or lesbian.

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