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Orange County redirects here, for other meanings, see Orange County (disambiguation)

County of Orange, California
FlagOfficial seal of County of Orange, CaliforniaSeal
Location of Orange County within California.Location of Orange County within California.
Country   State	United States   California
Government
• Board of Supervisors      District One      District Two      District Three      District Four      District Five	Lou Correa      James Silva      Bill Campbell      Chris Norby      Thomas Wilson
Population
• Total	2,846,289
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific)
Website	http://www.oc.ca.gov/

Orange County, California is a county in Southern California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. With a population of 3,056,865 (2005 estimate ), it is the second most populous county in the state of California and the fifth most populous in the United States. The county is known for its wealth and political conservatism, although it is in reality neither as uniformly wealthy nor as politically conservative as its stereotypical image suggests. It is also famous as a tourist destination, as the county is home to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and miles of sandy beaches. It is at the center of Southern California's Tech Coast.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,455 km² (948 mi²), making it the smallest county in Southern California. Surface water accounts for 411 km² (159 mi²) of the area, 16.73% of the total; 2,045 km² (789 mi²) of it is land.

Orange County is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Los Angeles County, on the northeast by San Bernardino County, on the east by Riverside County, and on the south by San Diego County.

The northern part of the county lies on the coastal plain of the Los Angeles Basin, while the southern half lies on the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Most of Orange County's population resides in one of two shallow coastal valleys that lie in the basin, the Santa Ana Valley and the Saddleback Valley. The coastal plain gently rises into the Santa Ana Mountains, which lie within the boundaries of the county and of the Cleveland National Forest. The high point is Santiago Peak (5,687 ft/1,733 m), about 20 mi (32 km) east of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak and nearby Modjeska Peak, just 200 feet shorter, form a ridge known as Saddleback, visible from almost everywhere in the county.

The Santa Ana River is the county's principal watercourse. Its major tributary running through the county is Santiago Creek. Other watercourses within the county include Aliso Creek, San Juan Creek, and Horsethief Creek. The San Gabriel River also briefly crosses into Orange County and exits into the Pacific on the Los Angeles-Orange County line between Long Beach and Seal Beach. Laguna Beach is home to the county's only natural lakes, Laguna Lakes, which are formed by water rising up against an underground fault.

The cities of Orange County are connected by a network of freeways, which residents typically call by their route number rather than their formal name (i.e., "The Fifty-five" instead of "The Costa Mesa Freeway"). One of the most important Orange County roadways is the Santa Ana Freeway, or Interstate 5, which runs North-South bisecting the length of the county. It merges with another key north-south road, the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405) in Irvine. The 5 and 405 freeways meet at the "El Toro Y," one of the busiest interchanges in the U.S. Another notoriously busy interchange is the Orange Crush, where the 5, 22, and 57 meet.

Residents often divide the county into "North County" and "South County", as opposed to an East-West division characterized by coastal and inland cities. There is no formal geographical division of North and South County, though a North-South border may be drawn somewhere along the Tustin-Irvine and Costa Mesa-Newport Beach city boundaries, or along the boundary between the 714 and 949 area codes. Orange County is part of the five-county Greater Los Angeles area.

Adjacent Counties

• Los Angeles County, California - north, west
• San Bernardino County, California - northeast
• Riverside County, California - east
• San Diego County, California - southeast

History

Members of the Tongva and Juaneño/Luiseño nations long inhabited the area. After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolà, a Spanish expedition led by Junipero Serra named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana (Valley of Saint Anne). On November 1, 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano became the first permanent European settlement.

A severe drought in the 1860s devastated the prevailing industry, cattle ranching, and much land came into the possession of Richard O'Neill, Sr., James Irvine and other land barons. In 1887, silver was discovered in the Santa Ana mountains, attracting settlers via the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads. This growth led the California legislature to divide Los Angeles County and create Orange County as a separate political entity on March 11, 1889. It was named for its most famous product, but other citrus crops, avocados, and oil extraction were also important to the early economy.

Orange County benefited from the July 4, 1904 completion of the Pacific Electric Railway, a trolley connecting Los Angeles with Newport Beach and Santa Ana. The link made Orange County an accessible weekend retreat for celebrities of early Hollywood. It was deemed so significant that the city of Pacific City changed its name to Huntington Beach in honor of Henry Huntington, president of the Pacific Electric and nephew of robber baron Collis Huntington. Transportation further improved with the completion of the State Route and U.S. Route 101 (now mostly Interstate 5) in the 1920s.

Agriculture, such as the boysenberry which was made famous by Buena Park native Walter Knott, began to decline after World War II but the county's prosperity soared. The completion of Interstate 5 in 1954 helped make Orange County a bedroom community for many who moved to Southern California to work in aerospace and manufacturing. Orange County received a further boost in 1955 with the opening of Disneyland.

In 1969, Yorba Linda-born Orange County native Richard Nixon became the 37th President of the United States.

In the 1980s, the population topped 2 million for the first time. Orange County had become the second largest county in California.

A spectacular investment fund melt-down in 1994 led to the criminal prosecution of Orange County treasurer Robert Citron. On December 6, 1994, Orange County declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy, from which it emerged in June 1995; this was the largest ever municipal bankruptcy in the U.S. The county lost about $1.6 billion through high-risk investments in derivatives.

In recent years, the county has been characterized by conflict between the older northern and newer southern cities over development, the building of new toll roads, and a recently defeated proposal to build an international airport at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to supplement the crowded John Wayne Airport.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,846,289 people, 935,287 households, and 667,794 families residing in the county, making Orange County the second most populous county in California. The population density was 1,392/km² (3,606/mi²). There were 969,484 housing units at an average density of 474/km² (1,228/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.81% White, 1.67% African American, 13.59% Asian, 0.70% Native American, 0.31% Pacific Islander, 14.80% from other races, and 4.12% from two or more races. 30.76% are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 1990, still according to the census there were 2,410,556 people residing in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 64.49% White, not of Hispanic origins, 23.43% Hispanic or Latino, 9.99% Asian, 1.62% African American, 0.36% Native American, and 0.11% of some other race.

There were 935,287 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.48.

The population is diverse age-wise, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $58,820, and the median income for a family was $64,611. Males had a median income of $45,059 versus $34,026 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,826. There were 7.0% of families and 10.3% of the population living below the poverty line , including 13.2% of under eighteens and 6.2% of those over 64.

Demographics City By City (According to Size)

Overall City Rating Scale (takes into consideration appearance, crime, people, quality of life, appeal, home and structure condition, and schools); 0-2 100 Best Nationally; 2.01-10 Excellent; 10.01-20 Great; 20.01-30 Good; 30.01-40 Fair; 40.01-60 Average; 60.01-70 Less than Average; 70.01-80 Poor; 80.01-90 Very Poor; 90.01-100 Within the Bottom 100 Nationally

Santa Ana, CA-Population:351,697; Land Area: 27 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$43,412; Avg. House Value: $549,000; Cities Primary Residents: Low Income Orange County Families; Overall City Rating: 86.36-Very Poor

Anaheim, CA-Population:345,317; Land Area: 49 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$47,112; Avg. House Value: $557,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families; Overall City Rating: 69.11-Less than Average

Huntington Beach, CA-Population:200,763; Land Area: 26 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$64,824; Avg. House Value: $686,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families; Overall City Rating: 42.35-Average

Irvine, CA-Population:180,803; Land Area: 46 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$72,057; Avg. House Value: $650,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families; Overall City Rating: 0.17-Within The top 100 List Nationally

Garden Grove, CA-Population:172,042; Land Area: 18 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$47,754; Avg. House Value: $550,000; Cities Primary Residents: Low Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 66.08-Less than Average

Orange, CA-Population:137,751; Land Area: 23 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$58,994; Avg. House Value: $620,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 33.25-Fair

Fullerton, CA-Population:135,672; Land Area: 22 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$50,269; Avg. House Value: $582,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 52.39-Average

Costa Mesa, CA-Population:113,440; Land Area: 16 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$50,732; Avg. House Value: $700,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 22.02-Good

Mission Viejo, CA-Population:98,197; Land Area: 19 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$78,248; Avg. House Value: $650,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 5.87-Excellent

Westminster, CA-Population:92,270; Land Area: 10 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$49,450; Avg. House Value: $572,500; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 63.27-Less than Average

Newport Beach, CA-Population:83,120; Land Area: 15 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$83,455; Avg. House Value: $998,000; Cities Primary Residents: HIgh Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 27.00-Good

Buena Park, CA-Population:81,066; Land Area: 11 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$50,336; Avg. House Value: $537,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 60.39-Less than Average

Lake Forest, CA-Population:78,020; Land Area: 12 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$67,967; Avg. House Value: $530,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 16.25-Great

Tustin, CA-Population:70,871; Land Area: 11 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$55,985; Avg. House Value: $610,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 43.21-Average

Laguna Niguel, CA-Population:66,126; Land Area: 15 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$80,733; Avg. House Value: $5759,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 25.36-Good

Yorba Linda, CA-Population:65,621; Land Area: 19 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$89,593; Avg. House Value: $727,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 0.36-Within The top 100 List Nationally

San Clemente, CA-Population:65,338; Land Area: 18 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$63,507; Avg. House Value: $849,500; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 3.14-Excellent

La Habra, CA-Population:61,771; Land Area: 7 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$47,652; Avg. House Value: $502,000; Cities Primary Residents: Low Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 50.01-Average

Anaheim Hills, CA-Population:59,093; Land Area: 15.5 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$98,871; Avg. House Value: $906,000; Cities Primary Residents: High Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 0.22-Within The top 100 List Nationally

Fountain Valley, CA-Population:57,353; Land Area: 9 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$69,734; Avg. House Value: $707,500; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 45.36-Average

Placentia, CA-Population:50,323; Land Area: 7 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$62,803; Avg. House Value: $595,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 11.58-Great

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA-Population:49,249; Land Area: 12 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$78,475; Avg. House Value: $540,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 22.99-Good

Cypress, CA-Population:48,863; Land Area: 7 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$64,377; Avg. House Value: $535,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 55.74-Average

Aliso Viejo, CA-Population:45,017; Land Area: 10 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$62,998; Avg. House Value: $544,250; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 31.56-Fair

Brea, CA-Population:39,584; Land Area: 11 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$59,759; Avg. House Value: $650,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 56.32-Average

Stanton, CA-Population:38,812; Land Area: 3 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$39,127; Avg. House Value: $399,800; Cities Primary Residents: Low Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 87.99-Very Poor

Dana Point, CA-Population:36,765; Land Area: 7 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$63,043; Avg. House Value: $800,100; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 8.39-Excellent

San Juan Capistrano, CA-Population:36,078; Land Area: 14 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$62,392; Avg. House Value: $660,500; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 1.97-Within The top 100 List Nationally

Laguna Hills, CA-Population:33,253; Land Area: 6 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$70,234; Avg. House Value: $603,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 9.35-Excellent

Seal Beach, CA-Population:25,334; Land Area: 4 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$69,991; Avg. House Value: $862,500; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 26.87-Good

Laguna Beach, CA-Population:24,969; Land Area: 27 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$101,812; Avg. House Value: $1,097,000; Cities Primary Residents: High Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 39.25-Fair

Laguna Woods, CA-Population:18,371; Land Area: 2 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$33,394; Avg. House Value: $380,900; Cities Primary Residents: Low Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 16.99-Great

La Palma, CA-Population:16,112; Land Area: 5 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$74,949; Avg. House Value: $578,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 48.56-Average

Los Alamitos, CA-Population:12,003; Land Area: 3 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$60,546; Avg. House Value: $855,000; Cities Primary Residents: Middle Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 8.36-Excellent

Villa Park, CA-Population:6,230; Land Area: 1.5 sq. mi.; Household Income Avg:$127,258; Avg. House Value: $1,210,000; Cities Primary Residents: High Income Orange County Families Overall City Rating: 0.67-Within The top 100 List Nationally

Education

Orange County is home to several colleges and universities, including:

• University of California, Irvine
• University of Southern California - Orange County Center
• California State University, Fullerton
• Chapman University
• Vanguard University
• Orange Coast College
• Concordia University
• Soka University and
• The Art Institute of California - Orange County campus

Its county department of education also oversees 28 school districts.

Points of interest

The area's warm Mediterranean climate and miles of year-round beaches attract millions of tourists annually. Huntington Beach is a hot spot for sunbathing and surfing; nicknamed "Surf City, U.S.A.", it is home to many surfing competitions. Other tourist destinations include the theme parks Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim and Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. The Anaheim Convention Center is the largest such facility on the West Coast. Little Saigon is another notable tourist destination, being home to the largest concentration of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam.

Notable structures include the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, the largest house of worship in California; the historic Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach; the Huntington Beach Pier; and the restored Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Some of the most exclusive (and expensive) neighborhoods in the U.S. are located here, many along the Orange Coast. Large shopping malls exist throughout the county, such as the Irvine Spectrum Center, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Fashion Island in Newport Beach, and The Block in Orange.

Historical points of interest include Mission San Juan Capistrano (destination of migrating swallows), and the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace (the only privately-controlled presidential library in the nation since the government began constructing these libraries in 1939) in Yorba Linda. The Nixon Home is a National Historic Landmark, as is the home of a very different character, Madam Helena Modjeska, in Modjeska Canyon on Santiago Creek.

The Anaheim Angels won the World Series in 2002. The county's National Hockey League team, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, lost the 2003 Stanley Cup finals after winning three games in a seven-game series. NFL football left the county when the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis in 1995, but Anaheim city leaders are currently in talks with the NFL to bring a franchise back to Orange County. Orange County is also the home of the Orange County Buzz basketball team of the American Basketball Association (ABA)

Government

Orange County is a general law county of California; its seat is Santa Ana. Its legislative and executive authority is vested in a five-member Board of Supervisors. Each Supervisor is popularly elected from a regional district, and together the board oversees the activities of the county's agencies and departments and sets policy on development, public improvements, and county services. At the beginning of each year the Supervisors select a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, but the administration is headed by a professional municipal manager, the County Executive.

Seven other public officials are elected at-large: the County Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Clerk-Recorder, District Attorney, Sheriff-Coroner, Treasurer-Tax Collector and Public Administrator.

Politics

Orange County has long been known as a Republican stronghold and has consistently sent Republican representatives to the state and federal legislatures. Republican majorities in Orange County helped deliver California's electoral votes to Republican presidential candidates Richard Nixon (1960 and 1968), Gerald Ford (1976), Ronald Reagan in (1980 and 1984) and George H. W. Bush in (1988). Orange County has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 landslide re-election. Although Democrats have made inroads in the northern end of the county since the mid-1980s, Orange County politics are still dominated by Republicans. Five of the County's six U.S. Representatives, four of its five State Senators and seven of its nine State Assembly members are Republicans, as are four of the five members of the County Board of Supervisors.

According to the California Secretary of State, as of September 2003 Orange County had 1,349,988 registered voters. Of these registered voters, 48.59% are registered Republican, 31.18% are registered Democrat, 16.07% declined to state, and the remaining 4.16% are registered with minor political parties.

Orange County produced such notable Republicans as President Richard Nixon (born in Yorba Linda and lived in San Clemente), U.S. Senator John F. Seymour (previously mayor of Anaheim), U.S. Senator Thomas Kuchel (of Anaheim), U.S. Rep. James B. Utt (of Santa Ana), U.S. Rep. Robert Badham (of Newport Beach), U.S. Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (of Fullerton). Former U.S. Rep. Chris Cox (of Newport Beach) is currently chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The county has produced relatively few prominent Republicans in state government, although in 1996 Curt Pringle (currently mayor of Anaheim) became the first Republican-elected Speaker of the California Assembly in decades.

Since the 1990s, the growth of the Hispanic population—and reaction to the divisive campaign tactics of former state governor Pete Wilson—have softened the county's staunch Republicanism. In the landmark 1996 election, Democrat Loretta Sanchez defeated veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan and has held the seat ever since. Republicans have responded by making more explicit efforts to court the Hispanic vote. As more immigrants and Democrats settle in Orange County, there are signs that the longtime Republican monopoly is beginning to falter. Democrats such as U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Governor Gray Davis, and Democratic Presidential candidates, have thus fared better in the county recently - although those gains ended in the 2004 elections. In 2004 U.S. President George W. Bush captured 60% of the county's vote, up from 56% in 2000 (despite a higher Democratic popular vote in the county), and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, though she won statewide, lost in Orange County to Republican Bill Jones, 43% to 51%. Still the 39% John Kerry received is higher than the percentage Bill Clinton won in both 1992 and 1996 and Barbara Boxer, a stalwart liberal, did much better here than she did in 1998. Democratics get strong showings in only three of the counties cities, Santa Ana, the county seat, Laguna Woods, a retirement community, and Laguna Beach perhaps the county's most famous city, due to it's large gay and lesbian population and socially liberal residents. The rest of the county still leans Republican, including Anaheim and Newport Beach.

The county features prominently in the book Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right by Lisa McGirr. She argues that the County's rightward orientation in the 20th century owed much to its settlement by Midwestern transplants, who reacted strongly to communist sympathies and the turmoil of the 1960s in nearby Los Angeles—across the "Orange Curtain."

Transportation

Transportation in Orange County is offered primarily by the Orange County Transportation Authority, or OCTA, which was named America's #1 Transportation System in 2005, by the American Public Transportation Association. OCTA not only manages the extensive bus network crisscrossing the county, but also funds the construction and maintenance of local streets, highways, and freeways, operates a coordinated taxicab system, maintains express toll lanes through the median of the notoriously congested Riverside Freeway (SR/CA-91), and works with Southern California's Metrolink to provide commuter rail service along three lines - the Orange County Line, the 91 Line, and the Inland Empire-Orange County Line.

OCTA's bus network, which maintains 6,542 stops on 77 lines running along virtually all major streets, generates 210,000 boardings a day. OCTA's 817 buses are being gradually replaced by Liquefied Natural Gas-powered vehicles, currently comprising over 40% of the fleet. OCTA also planned to initiate local light rail service along the most heavily-congested bus routes, and along former railroad rights of way. Plans for such a system, however, were scrapped in favor of increased bus and road improvements in 2005.

Starting in 1992, Metrolink has operated commuter rail lines through Orange County. as of 1998, three lines through the area, added more stops, are still planning on adding yet more stops and service, and has also maintained Rail-to-Rail service with parallel Amtrak service. Together, the Orange County Line, the 91 Line and the Inland Empire-Orange County Line, along with Metrolink riders on parallel Amtrak lines, generate over 12,000 boardings on a typical weekday. On weekdays, 40 trains run along these three lines; Metrolink does not run on weekends. New stations have recently opened at Anaheim Canyon, Tustin, and Laguna Niguel, while Yorba Linda and Buena Park stations are proposed for future construction.

The major interstate highways of Orange County, all of which are to some extent north-south arteries, include the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5), the San Diego Freeway (I-405 and I-5 south of Irvine), and the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605), which only briefly enters Orange County territory. The other freeways in the county are state highways, and include the perpetually congested Riverside and Artesia Freeways (CA/SR-91) and Garden Grove Freeway (CA/SR-22) running east-west, and the Orange Freeway (CA/SR-57), Costa Mesa Freeway (SR/CA-55), Laguna Freeway (CA/SR-133), San Joaquin Transportation Corridor (CA/SR-73), Eastern Transportation Corridor (CA/SR-261, CA/SR-133, and CA/SR-241), and Foothill Transportation Corridor (CA/SR-241) running north-south. Minor stub freeways include the Richard M. Nixon Freeway (CA/SR-90), also known as Imperial Highway, and the southern terminus of Pacific Coast Highway (CA/SR-1).

The three transportation corridors, typically referred to as "the toll road" or by their number designations ("the 73", "the 133", "the 261", and "the 241") were constructed by a joint authority (the Transportation Corridor Agencies or TCA) in the 1990s. These toll roads were built to connect existing freeways (including the currently non-tolled portions of CA/SR-73 and CA/SR-133) to new South County developments, and to serve as alternate routes for crowded Orange County freeways. Tolls can be collected in cash or with the use of transponders for prepaid accounts. The median of the Riverside Freeway (CA/SR-91) also contains toll lanes known as the Express Lanes maintained by OCTA; users must maintain prepaid accounts to drive on these lanes.

Orange County's only major airport, John Wayne-Orange County Airport (SNA), is located in unincorporated territory surrounded by the cities of Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Newport Beach. Its modern Thomas F. Riley Terminal handles over 8 million passengers annually through 14 different airlines.

Orange County in literature and popular culture

Film and television

Orange County has been the setting for numerous films and television shows:

• It is best-known as the setting of the eponymous 2003 Fox Network television drama The O.C. (although the series is actually filmed in Los Angeles County to keep production costs down). The show has been criticized by some residents who feel that the show misrepresents their community.
• It is the subject and setting of the eponymous 2002 movie Orange County.
• It is also the setting of the sitcom Arrested Development.
• The film Better Luck Tomorrow was shot and set in the northern Orange County cities of Cypress and Anaheim.
• The film Life as a House was set in Laguna Beach, although it was filmed in Los Angeles County.
• MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County was filmed in the Orange County coastal town of Laguna Beach, California.
• A plot line in the television drama The West Wing involved a dead liberal Democrat unexpectedly winning a Congressional seat from an Orange County district.
• Orange County is the home of the late Republican President Teddy Bridges on the ABC drama Commander-in-Chief.
• Sayid Jarrah from the ABC drama Lost was bound to go to Irvine, CA where his longtime friend Nadia lives. John Locke, another castaway from the series, is said to live in Tustin, CA. Both cities are in Orange County.

Orange County has also often been used as a shooting location for films and television programs. Examples of movies at least partially shot in Orange County are Tom Hanks's That Thing You Do and the Coen Brothers's The Man Who Wasn't There.

Music

Popular Ska and punk rock bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Bleeding Through, The Adolescents, Thrice, Social Distortion, Agent Orange, The Offspring, Fear, and the bands No Doubt, Stryper, Lit, O.C.Supertones, Sugar Ray, Throwdown, Rage Against the Machine, The Aquabats, Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, Circle Jerks, Youth Brigade, Cadillac Tramps, Black Flag, Bad Religion, The Germs, The Crowd, The Screamers, The Skulls, The Vandals, The Descendents, The Dickies, MIA, Slayer, T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty), The Weirdos and Jeffries Fan Club all hail from Orange County, as does the alt-rock band Something Corporate. Notable punk label Geykido Comet Records is also based in Orange County.

The punk scene in Orange County remains strongly influential.

Bobby Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers, The Chantays of "Pipeline" fame, Berlin, also hail from Orange County.

Literature

Famous horror author Dean Koontz has set a number of his novels in the area.

Several of the stories in Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon's collection, A Model World, are set in Orange County. Chabon studied creative writing at UC Irvine.

Orange County is the place in which Kim Stanley Robinson's Three Californias Trilogy is set. These books depict three different futures of the Orange County (survivors of a nuclear war in The Wild Shore, a developer's dream gone mad in The Gold Coast, and an ecotopian utopia in Pacific Edge). Philip K. Dick's novel A Scanner Darkly was also set in Orange County.

The modern fantasy novel "All the Bells on Earth" by James P. Blaylock is set in Orange, a city in northern Orange County.

Sports

Orange County is home to the MLB Anaheim Angels and NHL Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Orange County annually plays host to the U.S. Open of Surfing, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball and Van's World Championship of Skateboarding; all held in Huntington Beach.

Religion

Orange County is also the base for several significant religious organizations:

• The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange headed by Bishop Tod Brown.
• Chuck Smith, father of the Jesus People movement, is headquartered at Calvary Chapel located in Costa Mesa.
• Reverend Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral is located in Garden Grove.
• Trinity Broadcasting Network began as Channel 40 in Tustin, now in Costa Mesa.
• The Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren and his Saddleback Church is in Lake Forest.
• The Vineyard Christian Fellowship movement began in Orange County.
• The Newport Beach LDS Temple serves the 50,000 Latter-day Saints in the county.
• The Merage Jewish Community Center headquarted in Irvine.
• The Jewish Federation of Orange County.
• Children of God, AKA "The Family" ,was founded in 1968 in Huntington Beach by David Berg.
• The Islamic Educational Center of Orange County is based in Costa Mesa.
• The mosque at the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove serves one of the largest Muslim communities in the nation.
• The Islamic Center of Irvine is one of the newest and largest Islamic Centers in the nation.
• The Baha'i Center of San Clemente was built by members of the Baha'i faith.

Notable residents

Because of Orange County's proximity to Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the United States, many film and media celebrities have moved or bought second houses there. Actor John Wayne, who lived in Newport Beach, is the namesake for Orange County's biggest airport. Orange County has also produced many homegrown celebrities, including golfer Tiger Woods, actor Kevin Costner, comedian/actors Steve Martin and Will Ferrell, actresses Michelle Pfeiffer and Diane Keaton, and singers Bonnie Raitt, Gwen Stefani and Jeff Buckley.

The county's most famous resident was perhaps Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, who was born in Yorba Linda and lived in San Clemente following his resignation.

Incorporated cities in Orange County

• Aliso Viejo, incorporated in 2001
• Anaheim, incorporated in 1870
• Brea, incorporated in 1917
• Buena Park, incorporated in 1953
• Costa Mesa, incorporated in 1953
• Cypress, incorporated in 1956
• Dana Point, incorporated in 1989
• Fountain Valley, incorporated in 1953
• Fullerton, incorporated in 1904
• Garden Grove, incorporated in 1956
• Huntington Beach, incorporated in 1909
• Irvine, incorporated in 1971
• La Habra, incorporated in 1925
• La Palma, incorporated in 1955
• Laguna Beach, incorporated in 1927
• Laguna Hills, incorporated in 1991
• Laguna Niguel, incorporated in 1989

• Laguna Woods, incorporated in 1999
• Lake Forest, incorporated in 1991
• Los Alamitos, incorporated in 1960
• Mission Viejo, incorporated in 1988
• Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906
• Orange, incorporated in 1888
• Placentia, incorporated in 1926
• Rancho Santa Margarita, incorporated in 2000
• San Clemente, incorporated in 1928
• San Juan Capistrano, incorporated in 1961
• Santa Ana, incorporated in 1886
• Seal Beach, incorporated in 1915
• Stanton, incorporated in 1956
• Tustin, incorporated in 1927
• Villa Park, incorporated in 1962
• Westminster, incorporated in 1957
• Yorba Linda, incorporated in 1967

Unincorporated communities in Orange County

Several well-known communities and neighborhoods exist within the limits of Orange County cities. These include:

• Anaheim Hills (Anaheim)
• Balboa Island (Newport Beach)
• Corona del Mar (Newport Beach)
• El Modena (Orange)
• Monarch Beach (Dana Point)
• Newport Coast (Newport Beach)
• Olive (Orange)

Several others are located outside of city limits in unincorporated county territory:

• Coto de Caza
• Dove Canyon
• Ladera Ranch
• Las Flores
• Midway City
• Olinda
• Orange Park Acres (Orange)
• Rossmoor
• Santa Ana Heights
• Silverado Canyon
• Sunset Beach
• Trabuco Canyon
• Tustin Foothills

See also

• Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California (current OMB designation)
• John Wayne-Orange County Airport (SNA)
• Orange County Transportation Authority
• List of school districts in Orange County, California
• Orange County High School of the Arts
• Tri-Cities
• The O.C.

External links

Government

• County of Orange - Official County Government Web Site
• Orange County Transportation Authority

Media

• The Orange County Register - OC's chief Newspaper
• OC Weekly - Orange County's Alternative Newsweekly
• Orange County Business Journal - Weekly newspaper covering business in OC

Others

• Orange County Business Council (Chamber of Commerce)
• Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau
• Orange County ArtSource - Links to Major Visual and Performing Arts Venues
• Unofficial Orange County History Page - From the 1400s to the present

v t e Municipalities and communities of Orange County, California, United States
County seat: Santa Ana
Cities	Aliso Viejo Anaheim Brea Buena Park Costa Mesa Cypress Dana Point Fountain Valley Fullerton Garden Grove Huntington Beach Irvine La Habra La Palma Laguna Beach Laguna Hills Laguna Niguel Laguna Woods Lake Forest Los Alamitos Mission Viejo Newport Beach Orange Placentia Rancho Santa Margarita San Clemente San Juan Capistrano Santa Ana Seal Beach Stanton Tustin Villa Park Westminster Yorba Linda
CDPs	Coto de Caza Ladera Ranch Las Flores Midway City Modjeska North Tustin Rancho Mission Viejo Rossmoor Silverado Trabuco Canyon Williams Canyon
Unincorporated communities	Anaheim Island Emerald Bay Olive Orange Park Acres Santiago Canyon El Modena
Ghost town	Carbondale Miraflores
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