Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Irvine might be more expensive than living in rural California, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
What exactly are those Irvine neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Irvine are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Irvine for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Turtle Ridge looks to be the cheapest Irvine neighborhood to live in.
At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Irvine. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Irvine that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Irvine.
For more California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Irvine For 2024
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Population: 2,295
Cost Of Living Index: 145 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.1 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (3rd cheapest)
More on Turtle Ridge: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 15,807
Cost Of Living Index: 120 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.8 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (10th cheapest)
More on Uc Irvine: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 7,675
Cost Of Living Index: 172 (18th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.6 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (4th cheapest)
More on Walnut Village: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 2,182
Cost Of Living Index: 160 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.9 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (12th cheapest)
More on East Industrial Complex: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 22,993
Cost Of Living Index: 167 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 6.3 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (7th cheapest)
More on West Park: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 7,651
Cost Of Living Index: 284 (23rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 6.1 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (cheapest)
More on Quail Hill: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 777
Cost Of Living Index: 242 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 6.3 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (2nd cheapest)
More on Shady Canyon: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 7,885
Cost Of Living Index: 162 (12th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 6.3 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (11th cheapest)
More on University Park: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 24,966
Cost Of Living Index: 167 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 6.5 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (9th cheapest)
More on Woodbridge: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 15,999
Cost Of Living Index: 157 (9th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 6.6 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.024 (14th cheapest)
More on El Camino Real: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Irvine Hoods In 2024
To rank the cheapest places to live in Irvine, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.
Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 23 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Irvine.” We’re lookin’ at you, Turtle Ridge.
We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Irvine. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Irvine
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Irvine where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
The most affordable neighborhoods in Irvine are Turtle Ridge, Uc Irvine, Walnut Village, East Industrial Complex, West Park, Quail Hill, Shady Canyon, University Park, Woodbridge, and El Camino Real.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Irvine aren’t all cheap. Turtle Rock takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Irvine.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Irvine are Turtle Rock, Spectrum, San Joaquin Marsh, University Town Center, and Great Park.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more California reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Cities In California
- Richest Cities In California
- Safest Places In California
- Worst Places To Live In California
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Irvine For 2024
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turtle Ridge | 145 |
| 2 | Uc Irvine | 120 |
| 3 | Walnut Village | 172 |
| 4 | East Industrial Complex | 160 |
| 5 | West Park | 167 |
| 6 | Quail Hill | 284 |
| 7 | Shady Canyon | 242 |
| 8 | University Park | 162 |
| 9 | Woodbridge | 167 |
| 10 | El Camino Real | 157 |
| 11 | Oak Creek | 168 |
| 12 | Lower Peters Canyon | 161 |
| 13 | Business District | 138 |
| 14 | El Toro Marine Air Station | 216 |
| 15 | Northwood Point | 204 |
| 16 | Rancho San Joaquin | 117 |
| 17 | Northwood | 163 |
| 18 | Irvine Health And Science Complex | 150 |
| 19 | Great Park | 87 |
| 20 | University Town Center | 130 |
| 21 | San Joaquin Marsh | 154 |
| 22 | Spectrum | 172 |
| 23 | Turtle Rock | 228 |