Population
Costa Mesa
110,538
Huntington Beach
196,010
Median Income
Costa Mesa
$110,073
Huntington Beach
$119,885
Home Value
Costa Mesa
$1,054,700
Huntington Beach
$1,047,300
Rent
Costa Mesa
$2,395
Huntington Beach
$2,424
Crime Rate
Costa Mesa
7.39
Huntington Beach
2.07
Cost of Living
Costa Mesa
218.8
Huntington Beach
225.4
Avg Temp
Costa Mesa
N/A
Huntington Beach
N/A
Unemployment
Costa Mesa
4.9%
Huntington Beach
5.4%
How Similar Are Costa Mesa & Huntington Beach?
Huntington Beach is Costa Mesa's #9 most similar city
5 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Costa Mesa
110,538
Huntington Beach
196,010
Huntington Beach has a 44% larger population than Costa Mesa.
Violent Crime
Costa Mesa
7.39
Huntington Beach
2.07
Costa Mesa's violent crime is significantly higher than Huntington Beach's — 72% difference.
Property Crime
Costa Mesa
28.37
Huntington Beach
19.89
Costa Mesa has a 30% higher property crime than Huntington Beach.
Political Leaning
Costa Mesa
47.1%
Huntington Beach
47.1%
Both cities lean Democratic with similar vote shares — 0% difference.
Unemployment
Costa Mesa
4.9%
Huntington Beach
5.4%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 10% difference.
Median Income
Costa Mesa
$110,073
Huntington Beach
$119,885
Both cities have similar median income — just a 8% difference.
Home Values
Costa Mesa
$1,054,700
Huntington Beach
$1,047,300
Both cities have similar home values — just a 1% difference.
Education
Costa Mesa
31.5%
Huntington Beach
35.1%
Huntington Beach has a 10% higher education than Costa Mesa.
Demographics
Costa Mesa
52.7%
Huntington Beach
64.3%
Huntington Beach has a 18% higher demographics than Costa Mesa.
Cost of Living
Costa Mesa
218.8
Huntington Beach
225.4
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 3% difference.
5 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Costa Mesa
0
Huntington Beach
Costa Mesa leads in 4 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Costa Mesa leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDCosta Mesa scores 115.1 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 135.7 in Huntington Beach. Costa Mesa scores 134.1 on the food index (100 = national avg) vs 141.6 in Huntington Beach. Costa Mesa scores 127.3 on the healthcare index (100 = national avg) vs 133.3 in Huntington Beach.
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSHuntington Beach has a owner-occupied of 55.8% compared to 39.4% in Costa Mesa. Huntington Beach has a single-family homes of 58.9% compared to 49.7% in Costa Mesa. Costa Mesa has a vacancy rate of 4.7% compared to 5.2% in Huntington Beach.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Costa Mesa leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSHuntington Beach: 109,588 vs Costa Mesa: 67,989 for labor force. Costa Mesa: 18 min vs Huntington Beach: 23 min for mean commute. Huntington Beach has a poverty rate of 7.5% compared to 8.9% in Costa Mesa.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Huntington Beach leads
Source: FBI UCRHuntington Beach has a assault rate (per 1k) of 1.19 compared to 5.99 in Costa Mesa. Huntington Beach has a violent crime rate (per 1k) of 2.07 compared to 7.39 in Costa Mesa. Huntington Beach has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 2.01 compared to 3.71 in Costa Mesa.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Huntington Beach leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauHuntington Beach has a bachelor's degree or higher of 35.1% compared to 31.5% in Costa Mesa. Huntington Beach has a high school diploma or higher of 47.1% compared to 43.5% in Costa Mesa.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSHuntington Beach has a population of 196,010, about 1.8x the size of Costa Mesa (110,538). Costa Mesa skews younger with a median age of 36.5 vs 43.4.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Costa Mesa
Huntington Beach
Healthcare — Costa Mesa leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareCosta Mesa: 3.3 vs Huntington Beach: 2.5 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Costa Mesa leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSCosta Mesa has a public transit of 1.6% compared to 0.5% in Huntington Beach. Costa Mesa has a bicycle of 1.0% compared to 0.6% in Huntington Beach. Costa Mesa: 18 min vs Huntington Beach: 23 min for mean commute time.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Costa Mesa, CA
Compare Costa Mesa against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.