Rancho Santa Margarita, California

Population

Down 4.4% since 2020.

45,779

people, the 192nd-largest of California's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among California's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

88.7%

of 15,437 jobs located in Rancho Santa Margarita are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in May: 3.3%.

4.2%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 4.3%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 61% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$2,625

a month. California's median is $2,036.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $2,732 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Orange County.

• $769 Tract 995.10
• $3,501 Tract 995.04

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$1,027–$1,540

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $2,625 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 33 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 90% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.3–0.9% to the 17,498 homes here.

52–154

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 32% more than California's.

$971,200

median home value in Rancho Santa Margarita.

• $971,200 Rancho Santa Margarita
• $734,700 California
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year