Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety70#4,718/15,637
Economy89#1,647/15,631
Housing7#13,859/14,977
Health91#1,366/15,609
Healthcare92#1,325/15,650
Environment4#14,865/15,453
Education53#7,420/15,649
Infrastructure88#1,815/15,650
Community55#7,024/15,651
Leisure & amenities87#2,041/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where San Clemente, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Orange County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Comfortable days · high62.4%
100/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationOrange County value
Dentists · high127 /100k
98/100California 95 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOrange County value
Child poverty rate · low3.2%
98/100California 14.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
97/100California 10 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauOrange County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high99.1%
97/100California 94.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOrange County value
Adult obesity · low24.1%
95/100California 30.4%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Home price to income ratio · high10.0×
1/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Students per teacher · high22.8×
1/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsOrange County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high10.1 µg/m³
2/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOrange County value
High ozone days · high17 days
3/100California 38 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOrange County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.487
9/100California 0.489United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
9/100California 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesOrange County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
2.9 /1k (2021) → 0.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−87%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$110,434 (2015-2019) → $140,062 (2020-2024)
+27%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
8.2× (2015-2019) → 10.0× (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
50.9% (2015-2019) → 53.8% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
92.9% (2015-2019) → 95.1% (2020-2024)
+2.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Public transit commutersWorsening
1.5% (2015-2019) → 0.1% (2020-2024)
−1.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, San Clemente, California improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+27%$110,434 → $140,062
Broadband+2.2 points92.9% → 95.1%

Declined1

Price / income+1.8×8.2× → 10.0×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of San Clemente, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.9 min2015-2019	28.6 min2020-2024	−1.3 min	Within the margin of error	63%
Bachelor's degree or higher	50.9%2015-2019	53.8%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Broadband subscriptions	92.9%2015-2019	95.1%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Improved	16%
Child poverty rate	3.6%2015-2019	3.2%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Effective property tax rate	0.71%2015-2019	0.61%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	34%
High school diploma or higher	94.7%2015-2019	94.4%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Home price to income ratio	8.2×2015-2019	10.0×2020-2024	+1.8×	Declined	6%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4722015-2019	0.4872020-2024	+0.015	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$110,4342015-2019	$140,0622020-2024	+27%	Improved	48%
Poverty rate	5.3%2015-2019	5.8%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Rent as share of income	32.7%2015-2019	33.6%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Rent-burdened households	55.5%2015-2019	56.0%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Unemployment rate	4.4%2015-2019	4.6%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.7%2015-2019	4.5%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like San Clemente, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of San Clemente, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, San Clemente, California itself moved −2 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

63,273 residents (±58)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 10–19 men (+2.1 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

63,273 residents (±58)

San Clemente, California
California share

White72%45,317
Black0.9%†571
Hispanic or Latino17%10,761

Education

46,090 residents (±797)

San Clemente, California
California share

No high school diploma5.6%2,560
High school or GED13%5,969
Some college19%8,983

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

24,350 households (±623)

San Clemente, California
California share

Under $25k8.3%2,014
$25k–50k9.1%2,213
$50k–75k9.0%2,187
$75k–100k10%2,549
$100k–150k16%3,854
$150k–200k12%2,814
$200k or more36%8,719

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+10.1 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

24,350 households (±623)

San Clemente, California
California share

Own66%16,187
Rent34%8,163

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

7,677 households (±626)

San Clemente, California
California share

Under $7501.9%†147
$750–1,0001.0%†73
$1,000–1,5005.4%†416

Home values

16,187 homes (±740)

San Clemente, California
California share

Under $150k2.7%†445
$150k–250k0.6%†92
$250k–400k0.7%†

Age of homes

27,058 homes (±658)

San Clemente, California
California share

2010 or later4.9%1,335
2000–200921%5,573
1980–199931%8,376

Size of homes

27,058 homes (±658)

San Clemente, California
California share

Studio2.4%†636
1 bedroom9.2%2,484
2 bedrooms27%7,189

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

30,221 workers (±904)

San Clemente, California
California share

Drive alone69%20,755
Carpool5.6%1,689
Public transit0.1%†43
Walk0.8%†230
Bike0.3%†99
Work from home23%6,893
Other1.7%†512

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+9.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

23,328 workers (±974)

San Clemente, California
California share

Under 15 min28%6,484
15–29 min26%5,999
30–44 min25%5,886

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Orange County, the county holding most of San Clemente's residents.

Orange County has 106,961 employer establishments, 340 for every 10,000 residents (1.37× the US rate of 248; 1.29× California's), with 1,580,778 paid employees at an average annual pay of $75,083. The Census Bureau also counts 334,683 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 106,961; 334,683 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 340; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 1,580,778
Average annual pay: $75,083; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Orange County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	11,839	37.6	1.80×More than typical	100,035	$71,640	16,094
Restaurants and other eating places	7,707	24.5	1.33×More than typical	144,694	$28,059	1,233
Lessors of real estate	7,200	22.9	1.86×More than typical	39,830	$87,081	41,207
Management, scientific and technical consulting	5,500	17.5	2.60×More than typical	23,977	$90,330	17,159
Specialty trade contractors	4,824	15.3	0.99×About typical	71,672	$81,573	11,063
Offices of physicians	4,197	13.3	2.06×More than typical	27,911	$99,547	3,089
Limited-service restaurants	3,354	10.6	1.33×More than typical	58,754	$25,179	454
Legal services	3,050	9.7	1.80×More than typical	18,899	$115,288	4,482
Offices of other health practitioners	2,980	9.5	1.56×More than typical	17,648	$46,141	6,950
Full-service restaurants	2,919	9.3	1.21×About typical	67,911	$31,852	487
Offices of dentists	2,876	9.1	2.27×More than typical	15,947	$52,099	1,093
Real estate agents and brokers	2,860	9.1	1.87×More than typical	6,845	$87,124	10,561

Rank places for an industry Open Orange County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 3,149,341 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $55.3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in San Clemente, California: $873 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $55.3M; +81% vs FY2025
Per resident: $873; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.3%; US 30%
Single offer: 8.9%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$36.2M65%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$12M22%
Defense Logistics Agency$5.5M9.9%
Departmental Offices$895.6K1.6%
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$358.7K0.6%
Department of Veterans Affairs$134.7K0.2%
U.S. Coast Guard$90.2K0.2%
Federal Aviation Administration$84.4K0.2%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

22.3MFY2017
20.8MFY2018
17.2MFY2019
17.6MFY2020
9MFY2021
26.9MFY2022
69.4MFY2023
22.3M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$37M67%
Other residential care facilities · 6239$12M22%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$3.2M5.7%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$895.6K1.6%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$841.4K1.5%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$444.4K

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in San Clemente, California

UESC BOA$34.2M
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY· Orange County, CA· Facilities & utilities· Sep 28, 2023 – May 28, 2026· N6247323F4200
PM GBAD HOME ALONE I-CSUAS HARDWARE PROCUREMENT.$19.5M
ANDURIL INDUSTRIES, INC.· Orange County, CA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Dec 19, 2025 – Mar 5, 2026· M6785426F0032
THIS DELIVERY ORDER PROCURES HARDWARE REQUIRED FOR THE HOME ALONE PM GBAD PROGRAM.$18M
ANDURIL INDUSTRIES, INC.· Orange County, CA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Feb 26, 2026 – Feb 26, 2026· M6785426F0051
PERFORM OUT OF SERVICE REPAIR ON FUEL STORAGE TANKS 1, 2, AND 3 AT NAVAL AUXILIARY LANDING FIELD SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND, CALIFORNIA

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in San Clemente, California, so they do not add up across cities.

San Clemente, California's figures are part of those of Orange County, CA ($2.5B in FY2026), never added to them: 2.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: San Clemente is mostly in Orange County.

See federal money in Orange County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

San Clemente, California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Orange County73100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA56

Other cities and towns in Orange County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0665084

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends