Housing Unit Growth, 1980 to 1990

According to the state Department of Finance, Orange County had a 21% increase in the number of housing units during the 1980s. But several cities’ housing stock grew much more. At the top of the list, Yorba Linda almost doubled the number of what the state calls housing units--that is, year-round, vacant seasonal and/or migratory worker housing.

Aside from Yorba Linda, the big growth was predominantly a South County occurrence. Irvine, Tustin, Laguna Beach, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano all had percentage increases significantly higher than the countywide rate. Here are the city-to-city changes, listed from highest to lowest percentage:

1980-’90 City 1980 1990 % Change Yorba Linda 9,058 17,640 +95 Irvine 22,514 39,431 +75 Tustin 13,155 20,139 +53 Laguna Beach 9,462 13,305 +41 San Clemente 13,233 18,161 +37 San Juan Capistrano 7,674 9,898 +29 Placentia 11,379 13,883 +22 Brea 11,203 13,482 +20 Stanton 8,969 10,476 +17 Orange 32,742 38,018 +16 Costa Mesa 34,023 39,293 +15 Cypress 13,067 14,891 +14 Anaheim 82,778 93,231 +13 Huntington Beach 63,686 71,966 +13 Santa Ana 67,264 75,463 +12 Newport Beach 31,397 34,815 +11 La Habra 17,194 18,657 +9 Los Alamitos 4,081 4,452 +9 Garden Grove 42,846 46,307 +8 Fountain Valley 16,758 18,012 +7 Fullerton 39,562 42,514 +7 Buena Park 21,990 23,392 +6 Westminster 24,563 25,920 +6 La Palma 4,670 4,926 +5 Seal Beach 13,928 14,492 +4 Villa Park 1,862 1,922 +3 Unincorporated areas 102,512 105,310 +3 Dana Point * 14,012 -- Laguna Niguel * N/A -- Mission Viejo * 26,313 -- COUNTY TOTAL 721,570 870,321 +21

* Was not a city in 1980 N/A: Information not available; total included in “unincorporated areas” Source: California Department of Finance, Demographic Research Unit