Laguna Hills, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·Laguna Hills

Orange County · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim · population 30,378

InvestorsShrinking
Laguna Hills, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Laguna Hills, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
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61
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Laguna Hills stands

At or near all-time high. averaging 8.0% annual growth over 5 years. population shrinking 0.8% per year.

Median home $1,239,941
1-year -1.0%
5-yr CAGR +8.0%
vs 5-yr peak -1.9%
Population -0.8%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-01$1240k$573k$820k$1067k$1314k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
46/100
Marginal for remote
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,956/mo$2,408$2,770$3,133202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent129115100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 35.0
Rent

At a 35.0 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Laguna Hills for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
45 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
79 · w22%
Distance from peak
79 · w18%
Population growth
33 · w16%
Rent YoY
54 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
75 · w10%
Long thesis

Laguna Hills has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,239,941 with +8.0% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Laguna Hills's population is shrinking 0.8% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Laguna Hills

Laguna Hills is a city in Orange County, California, with an estimated population of 30,378. It anchors the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area. The population has contracted 0.8% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Laguna Hills is $1,239,941 as of 2026-04, down 1.0% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +8.0% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Laguna Hills average $2,956 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.3%). The composite momentum score is 61 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Multi-year compounder: home values up an average 8.0% per year over the last 5 years — sustained, not a one-year pop.
●Held the highs: currently -1.9% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.

▼ Bear case

●Expensive AND not growing: median home $1,239,941 with only -1.0% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Flat or shrinking population: -0.8% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.

About Laguna Hills (Wikipedia)

Laguna Hills is a city in southern Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby—Laguna Niguel and Laguna Woods—are similarly named. The population was 31,374 at the 2020 census.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Orange County right now.

NWS active alerts (CA)California Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Orange County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Laguna Hills

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Run the numbers for Laguna Hills

ToolCan I afford Laguna Hills?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Laguna Hills rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Laguna Hills to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolLaguna Hills cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
60° / 41°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 60°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
258
~71% of year
Annual precip
22″ rain
8″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very high
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Laguna Hills listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
65%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$91,500
California state median
Top industries (state-level)
TechEntertainmentAgriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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