San Juan Capistrano is a historic city in Orange County, California. Part of the Santa Ana–Anaheim–Irvine metropolitan area, San Juan Capistrano is home to Los Rios Historic District - California's oldest post-colonial residential neighborhood; the Mission San Juan Capistrano, and the Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano. The area was the site of both the first vineyard and first winery in California.

What is the community of San Juan Capistrano like?

Home to around 36,000 residents and spanning over four neighborhoods, San Juan Capistrano is the 225th largest community in California. Located just 13 miles from the bustling city of Laguna Beach, San Juan Capistrano offers unique attractions that are often imbued by the charms of history and culture. 
The city is home to Mission San Juan Capistrano, which is a historic chapel, landmark, and museum that was founded over two hundred years ago. Known as ‘the birthplace of Orange County,’ the chapel is a historic multi-cultural attraction that epitomizes a perfect blend of European, Mexican, Spanish, and Native American heritage. Visitors are amazed to see unique paintings, precious artifacts, and rare treasures while also experiencing a traditional rich of the iconic bell to honor Saint Junipero Serra.
Art lovers are fascinated to witness the historic and religious artifacts and paintings that are present at the Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano church, which was built in 1986 over the ruins of the Great Stone Church which towered there long before.
In addition, San Juan Capistrano is also home to the oldest neighborhood in the state of California - the Los Rios Historic District. The district comprises over forty homes including three original adobe structures which housed mission ranch workers and the builders of the mission in the late 1700s.
However, there’s surely more to San Juan Capistrano besides history and culture. Thanks to its proximity to the cities of Laguna Beach and Newport Beach – each an exceptional getaway destination for the region’s residents and visitors alike - San Juan Capistrano offers top-notch recreational opportunities to its residents. Foremost among these recreational opportunities include visiting the pristine Main Beach, the Crystal Cove State Park, and the Pageant of the Masters Festival in Laguna Beach, or heading to the Newport Beach – a place named as "One of the top ten holiday happenings in the nation,” by New York Times.  

What is Real Estate like in San Juan Capistrano?   

Real estate in San Juan Capistrano has shown an average growth of 4.4% per year since the year 2000. Since 2000, the prices of homes in San Juan Capistrano have appreciated by a strong 146.94%. National real estate firm, EXP, categorizes San Juan Capistrano’s housing market as ‘somewhat competitive’. The sale prices of homes in San Juan Capistrano have experienced strong growth of more than 33% since April last year.  
The median home price in San Juan Capistrano is about $1,297,000. Currently, there are 138 active homes for sale in San Juan Capistrano, and normally it takes just 54 days for a listed home to get off the market. The average cost to rent a house in San Juan Capistrano is $2,902 per month. At present, there are 12,141 homes and apartments in the city, 74.1% of which are owned, and the remaining 25.9% are rented.     

How is the economic landscape of San Juan Capistrano?    

Over the last year, San Juan Capistrano’s job market has grown by 0.6%, while its unemployment rate stands at a decent 5.2%. The US average is 6%. Also, the city’s job market is expected to grow by 31.7% over the next ten years. 
On average, a San Juan Capistrano resident earns around $38,000 per annum, decently higher than the US average of $28500. The city’s median household income of almost $72,500 per resident is, however, much greater than the US average of approximately $53000. Most of the residents of San Juan Capistrano work in construction, manufacturing, retail, finance, administration, educational services, accommodation, professional and technical services, and healthcare.   

How are the schools in San Juan Capistrano?   

San Juan Capistrano is covered by Capistrano Unified School District, which encompasses 63 schools and 53,833 enrolled students. The city also lies in proximity to many colleges including, among others, Saddleback College, Laguna College of Art and Design, and Coastline Community College.
When it comes to higher education, lies 13 miles from one of California's most iconic universities - the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Established in 1965, UCI is regarded as one of the Public Ivies, meaning that it is considered to be one of the few public universities in the U.S. whose quality of education parallels that of the Ivy League. The university offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and professional degrees, and roughly 30,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students were enrolled at UCI as of Fall 2019. To put UCI in true perspective, it is pertinent to mention that the university has produced seven Nobel Prize laureates and seven Pulitzer Prize winners – a staggering feat for any educational institution in the world.        

San Juan Capistrano in a nutshell       

To sum up, San Juan Capistrano is a city home to rich historic charms and prolific cultural heritage. The city lies close to the bustling cities of Laguna Beach and Newport Beach that offer a myriad of pristine beaches, opulent golf courses, and breathtaking vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Should you wish to move to California, San Juan Capistrano would make a great place to raise a family.