Lake Forest

Population & Demographics

Lake Forest, CA

Lake Forest is home to 86,281 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 44,664 resident workers commute each day.

CaliforniaCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
86,281
people
Population

86,281 residents

Median age 40.2 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Lake Forest population & demographics

Who lives in Lake Forest — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
86,281
Median age
40.2yrs
Median household income
$135,175
Median home value
$937,000
Median gross rent
$2,672/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
50.8%
Poverty rate
8.5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Lake Forest

How Lake Forest breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White44.1%
Hispanic or Latino27.0%
Asian19.7%
Two or more races5.5%
Black2.4%
Some other race0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%

Race across Lake Forest

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Lake Forest.

Lake Forest at a glance
Employed Residents
44,664
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
13.0mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
8.1%
Share working within the area
Work from home
24.4%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Irvine
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Lake Forest proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Lake Forest commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

56
Commute Score

56 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Lake Forest

44,664 commutes, one dot at a time

Lake Forest

Where 44,664 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Lake Forest, by worker count.

1Irvine6.1 mi8,325
2Lake Forest0.0 mi3,631
3Los Angeles49.8 mi2,298
4Santa Ana13.0 mi2,147
5Mission Viejo3.2 mi1,988
6Newport Beach12.4 mi1,576
7Costa Mesa13.3 mi1,384
8Anaheim17.7 mi1,343

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Lake Forest.

1Lake Forest0.0 mi3,631
2Irvine6.1 mi2,386
3Santa Ana13.0 mi2,183
4Mission Viejo3.2 mi1,994
5Los Angeles49.8 mi1,220
6Anaheim17.7 mi1,202
7Rancho Santa Margarita4.9 mi1,170
8Orange13.5 mi774

Top industries

The sectors that employ Lake Forest’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
MFManufacturing12.7%
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services11.0%
AFAccommodation and Food Services10.3%
RTRetail Trade9.7%
COConstruction9.1%
WSWholesale Trade9.0%
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance8.7%
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services7.2%
FIFinance and Insurance5.1%
Connectivity

Internet options for Lake Forest

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

4 providers · 2 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps100%
5 Gbps63%
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Lake Forest

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).