While Orange County is viewed in the media as a coastal locale with a wealthy, vain population, that’s not the case for many of its desirable cities, including Lake Forest CA. One of the county’s newest cities, Lake Forest was incorporated in 1991 and is located at the southern end of Orange Country nestled up against the foothills of the Saddleback Valley.
With a median home price of $699,000, a 16.7 percent increase in the last 12 months, Lake Forest’s real estate market is on fire. Median days on market have fallen from 52 to 46 and the percentage of distressed sales has fallen from 5 percent to 1 percent in the last year.
The City of Lake Forest, formerly known as El Toro, has a population of 77,000, according to the most recent census data, an increase of nearly 20,000 residents over the year 2000. However, the bulk of that increase is due to the annexation of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills into the city’s boundary in 2001.
Lake Forest has a predominantly white (70.3 percent) and non-white Hispanic (24.6 percent) population. The remainder of the population is comprised of Blacks (1.7 percent), American Indian (0.5 percent), and two or more races combined (2.9 percent).
Of the 26,224 households in Lake Forest, 10,407, or 39.7 percent, had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15,603, or 59.9 percent, are occupied by married couples, and 2,710, or 10.3 percent, had a female householder with no husband present. The city is split pretty evenly with 99 males for every 100 females and has a median age of 37.2.
Lake Forest has a vibrant culture scene with plenty of nearby dining and shopping locations. It is also the home of Rich Warren’s Saddleback Church, which with 20,000 regular weekly attendees is the seventh largest congregation in the country.
One of the area’s biggest draws in the Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center, which opened in 2014, located across the street from Saddleback Church. The 86.2-acre facility boasts baseball, soccer and other recreation fields, and a Recreation Center that house a gymnasium and other classroom and activity space. The facility is the largest of its kind in Orange County.
The city is also big on supporting its heritage and maintains the Heritage Hill Historic Park, which is home to one of the oldest structures in Orange County, the Serrano Adobe. The site is Orange County’s first every historical park.
The city hosts a number of events throughout the year, including an annual summer concert series at Pittsford Park, an Independence Day 5K run and fireworks display over one of the city’s two man-made lakes, and several local farmers’ markets.
Lake Forest avowals a high quality of life with a Livability Score of 83 from AreaVibes. AreaVibes gives Lake Forest an A or A+ in every category across the board except cost of living, in which the city earned an F grade due to it high property values and skyrocketing rent prices. The city’s low crime rate greatly increases the quality of life here. In fact, along with its neighbors Mission Viejo and Irvine, Lake Forest ranks as one of the safest communities in the country.
The temperate Southern California climate is definitely a boon to Lake Forest’s quality of life. With an average summer temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit and an average rain fall of 13 inches per year, Lake Forest offers sunny skies nearly all year round.
Lake Forest is also home to some of Orange County’s biggest and most prominent employers, including eye wear maker Oakley and national consumer lender loanDepot. The two firms combined employ more than 4,000 workers in the city. Other major employers include Panasonic, Walmart, Home Depot and Wet Seal. Restaurant chains Del Taco and Johnny Rockets are headquartered here as well.
Lake Forest is perhaps best known as the home of Saddleback Church, the mega church founded by Pastor Rick Warren in 1980. With 13 additional campuses throughout the region and the world and 22,000 regular attendees, Saddleback is one of the 10 largest churches in the United States. Some people called Warren crazy when the church first purchased 72 acres of undeveloped land in Lake Forest and erected a 2,300-seat plastic tent in which church services were conducted.
The city is also known for its two man-made lakes and forest of eucalyptus trees. The two lakes, the Lake Forest Beach and Tennis Club and the Sun and Sail Club, are surrounded by high-end townhomes and are maintained by neighborhood associations.
