The county is famous for its tourism, the home of such attractions as Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, as well as several beaches along more than 40 miles (64 km) of coastline. It is also recognized for its nationally known centers of religious worship, such as Crystal Cathedral, Saddleback Church, and Calvary Chapel. It is often portrayed in the media as an affluent and politically conservative region.
Whereas most population centers in the United States tend to be identified by a major city, there is no defined urban center to Orange County. It is mostly suburban, except for some traditional downtown areas such as those of Anaheim, Santa Ana, Orange, Huntington Beach, and Fullerton. There are also several edge city-style developments such as the South Coast Metro and Newport Center.
While Santa Ana serves as the governmental center of the county, Anaheim is the main tourist destination and Irvine is the major business hub. Four Orange County cities have populations exceeding 200,000: Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, and Huntington Beach.
Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in Orange County; the newest is Aliso Viejo, which was incorporated in 2001. Anaheim is the oldest, incorporated in 1870 when the region was still part of neighboring Los Angeles County.
According to Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey the racial or ethnic makeup of the county was 64.76% White (46.92% White Non-Hispanic), 16.05% Asian, 0.33% Pacific Islander, 1.72% African American, 0.38% Native American, 14.32% from other races, and 2.44% from two or more races. 32.89% of the population were Hispanic of any race. 30.49% of the population was foreign born.
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/sq mi). There were 969,484 housing units at an average density of 474/km² (1,228/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 64.81% White, 13.59% Asian, 1.67% African American, 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. 8.9% were of German, 6.9% English and 6.0% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 58.6% spoke English, 25.3% Spanish, 4.7% Vietnamese, 1.9% Korean, 1.5% Chinese or Mandarin and 1.2% Tagalog as their first language.
In 1990, still according to the census there were 2,410,556 people residing in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 78.60% White, 10.34% Asian or Pacific Islander, 1.77% African American, 0.50% Native American, and 8.79% from other races. 23.43% were Hispanic or Latino of any 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 $61,899, and the median income for a family was $75,700 (these figures had risen to $71,601 and $81,260 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $45,059 versus $34,026 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,826. About 7.0% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Unincorporated communities are included if their population is greater than 15,000. These numbers are estimates from the 2005 Census updates for these locales. Numbers are approximate until a new Census occurs.
Surface transportation in Orange County relies heavily on three major interstate highways: 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 in the northwest. The other freeways in the county are state highways, and include the perpetually congested Riverside and Artesia Freeway (SR 91) and the Garden Grove Freeway (SR 22) running east-west, and the Orange Freeway (SR 57), the Costa Mesa Freeway (SR/SR 55), the Laguna Freeway (SR 133), the San Joaquin Transportation Corridor (SR 73), the Eastern Transportation Corridor (SR 261, SR 133, SR 241), and the Foothill Transportation Corridor (SR 241) running north-south. Minor stub freeways include the Richard M. Nixon Freeway (SR 90), also known as Imperial Highway, and the southern terminus of Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1). There are no U.S. Highways in Orange County, though two existed in the county until the mid-1960s: 91 and 101. 91 went through what is now the state route of the same number, and 101 was replaced by Interstate 5. SR-1 was once a bypass of US-101 (Route 101A).
Transit in Orange County is offered primarily by the Orange County Transportation Authority. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) cited OCTA as the best large property transportation system in the United States for 2005. OCTA manages the county's bus network and funds the construction and maintenance of local streets, highways, and freeways; regulates taxicab services; maintains express toll lanes through the median of the Riverside Freeway (SR 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.
The bus network comprises 6,542 stops on 77 lines, running along most major streets, and accounts for 210,000 boardings a day. The fleet of 817 buses is gradually being replaced by LNG(liquified natural gas)-powered vehicles, which already represent over 40% of the total.
Starting in 1992, Metrolink has operated three commuter rail lines through Orange County, and has also maintained Rail-to-Rail service with parallel Amtrak service. On a typical weekday, over 40 trains run along the Orange County Line, the 91 Line and the Inland Empire-Orange County Line. Along with Metrolink riders on parallel Amtrak lines, these lines generate approximately 15,000 boardings per weekday. Metrolink also began offering weekend service on the Orange County Line and the Inland Empire-Orange County line in the summer of 2006. As ridership has steadily increased in the region, new stations have opened at Anaheim Canyon, Buena Park, Tustin, and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo. Stations at Placentia and Yorba Linda are proposed for future construction.
Orange County's first public Monorail line is undergoing Environmental impact assessment. This line will connect the Disneyland Resort, Convention Center, and Angel Stadium to the proposed "ARTIC" transportation hub, in the city of Anaheim. [1]
Additionally, three Bus Rapid Transit lines will be making their debut in 2008. These lines will run along Harbor Boulevard, Westminister Boulevard/17th Street, and Brea to Irvine. The Brea to Irvine BRT route will link Brea, Fullerton, Anaheim, Orange, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and Irvine. Five major transportation centers will be served, including the Fullerton Transportation Center, the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC), the Depot at Santa Ana, John Wayne Airport and the Irvine Transportation Center. [2]
A car and passenger ferry service, the Balboa Island Ferry, comprising three ferries running every five minutes, operates between Balboa Peninsula and Balboa Island in Newport Beach.
Orange County's only major airport is John Wayne Airport. Although its abbreviation (SNA) refers to Santa Ana, the airport is in fact located in unincorporated territory surrounded by the cities of Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Irvine. Unincorporated Orange County (including the John Wayne Airport) has mailing addresses which go through the Santa Ana Post Office. For this reason, SNA was chosen as the IATA Code for the airport. The actual Destination Moniker which appears on most Arrival/Departure Monitors in airports throughout the United States is "Orange County," which is the common nickname used for the OMB Metropolitan Designation: Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California. Its modern Thomas F. Riley Terminal handles over 9 million passengers annually through 14 different airlines.