{"id":122090,"date":"2026-01-06T12:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T12:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/122090\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T12:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T12:28:10","slug":"one-of-californias-wealthiest-suburbs-in-2025-has-small-town-charm-and-a-fun-social-scene-outside-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/122090\/","title":{"rendered":"One Of California’s Wealthiest Suburbs In 2025 Has Small-Town Charm And A Fun Social Scene Outside LA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coto de Caza in Orange County, California, about an hour south of Los Angeles, may not be a household name. But\u00a0viewers of “The Real Wives of Orange County” might recognize the wealthy, gated residential community as the former home base of the glitzy Bravo reality series. While stars of the show \u2014\u00a0currently in its 19th season\u00a0\u2014\u00a0now live in other affluent areas,\u00a0the imagery of Coto de Caza is still appealing for those contemplating a luxurious move. Coto boasts a private setting where high-profile celebrities, executives, and wealthy professionals live amid abundant open space,\u00a0well-regarded schools, community events, a family-friendly atmosphere, and easy access to the county’s bounty. Indeed, in this well-to-do development of about 15,363 people, where the mean household income is $232,470\u00a0(more than double the state’s average),\u00a0the most recent\u00a0median list price of a\u00a0single-family home was $2 million.\u00a0 There are splashier compounds in Coto, including the late real estate mogul William Lyon’s home selling for $125 million, which includes 20 bathrooms.<\/p>\n

These prices are a long way from the area’s humble origins of barley fields and grazing sheep, according to the Los Angeles Times.<\/a> Once a private hunting lodge, the area’s first homes were built in 1975, eventually transforming into a 5,000-acre master-planned community with about 4,000 homes and condominiums.\u00a0Nestled against the Cleveland National Forest\u00a0and\u00a0just east of the SR 241 toll road,\u00a0Coto de Caza strives to offer residents\u00a0not just a home, but a lifestyle. Recreation is never far with area baseball fields, basketball courts, volleyball courts, parks, and picnic areas. Outdoor pursuits continue at the adjacent\u00a0Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park, a 544-acre wildlife sanctuary\u00a0filled with\u00a0groves of Western Sycamores and Coast Live Oaks and\u00a0five miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.<\/p>\n

Read more: These Are America’s Wealthiest Suburbs In 2025, According To Research<\/a><\/p>\n

Golf and mingle\"Clubhouse<\/p>\n

Clubhouse at the Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club in Orange County, California – Steve Cukrov\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

A big attraction to the development is the\u00a036-hole Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club,\u00a0a central hub offering\u00a0youth summer camps for kids and social events like trivia nights, comedy nights, and brunch with Santa.\u00a0A yearly social membership can cost $2,880 with $180 in monthly dues. A golf upgrade can hike the initiation fee up to $30,000 with $750 monthly dues.\u00a0Joining the club is optional,\u00a0but your monthly Homeowners Association (HOA) fees aren’t. Those range from $300 to $475,\u00a0and cover 24-hour manned guard gates, daily patrols, and landscape maintenance of common areas. A cheaper ticket to fun is connecting with neighbors for poker nights, movie screenings,\u00a0and monthly mixers.<\/p>\n

This is a neighborhood where you can stay put for your child’s entire education. Parents send their kids to top-notch schools, including Wagon Wheel Elementary, Las Flores Middle, and Tesoro High, in the\u00a0Capistrano Unified School District,\u00a0all within a short 2.5 to 5.5 mile drive away. Grocery shopping also is fairly close, about 10 minutes to Rancho Santa Margarita stores such as Ralph’s and Trader Joe’s. To really shop, like at Bloomingdale’s and Gucci,\u00a0the Valhalla of retail \u2014 South Coast Plaza\u00a0\u2014 and the vibrant arts city of Costa Mesa<\/a>\u00a0are just a 30-minute drive.\u00a0Plus the glorious Pacific Ocean is about 17 miles away\u00a0 in\u00a0breath-taking Laguna Beach.<\/a><\/p>\n

Coto de Caza’s charms are many. A few cons to keep in mind: With a location about 10 miles inland from Interstate 5, Coto de Caza is more remote so commutes may take longer;\u00a0busy professionals need their shut-eye so nightlife peters out by 9pm; and wildfire risks mean finding insurance can be a challenge.\u00a0For a buzzier locale, check out the\u00a0iconic coastal escape<\/a> of nearby Newport Beach.<\/p>\n

Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter<\/a> and add us as a preferred search source<\/a> for access to the world’s best-kept travel secrets.<\/p>\n

Read the original article on Islands<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coto de Caza in Orange County, California, about an hour south of Los Angeles, may not be a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,64040,47,611],"class_list":["post-122090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-coto-de-caza","tag-los-angeles","tag-orange-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}