How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Costa Mesa, CA
109,131 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 0616532 · Census profile · mayors: being verified · the council picks the mayor (10 of 20 years on record)
Overall in 2023, Costa Mesa ranked #332 of 340 cities and 14th of 14 in its peer group, on 4 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Costa Mesa and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Rialto CA, Pasadena CA, Richmond CA, Hayward CA, Vista CA, Norwalk CA, Escondido CA, Fullerton CA, Concord CA, El Cajon CA, Garden Grove CA, West Covina CA, Downey CA · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #332 of 340 cities · 14th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #186 | #186 | #265 | #203 | #222 | #137 | #190 | #193 | #110 | #236 | #103 | #138 | #76 | #192 | #322 | #133 | #299 | #162 | #332 | #140 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 109,986 | 109,150 | 108,592 | 108,999 | 109,534 | 110,221 | 111,151 | 111,790 | 112,244 | 112,485 | 112,808 | 112,933 | 113,665 | 113,302 | 113,003 | 112,050 | 111,043 | 110,111 | 109,302 | 109,131 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #247 of 340 cities · 4th of 14 in its peer group | -1.5 | -1.6 | -1.3 | -0.4 | -0.1 | — | +0.2 | +0.1 | -0.0 | -0.3 | -0.3 | -0.4 | -0.6 | -0.6 | -0.7 | -0.1 | -1.1 | -0.9 | -1.1 | -0.7 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #303 of 303 cities with data · 13th of 13 in its peer group with data · 2022 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 5.4 | — | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.0 | — | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | — | — | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #243 of 340 cities · 10th of 14 in its peer group | 28.9% | 25.5% | 26.2% | 27.4% | 27.3% | 26.4% | 28.4% | 28.5% | 29.0% | 28.0% | 27.4% | 25.9% | 27.3% | 27.7% | 25.4% | — | 24.8% | 27.0% | 29.1% | 26.5% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #93 of 304 cities with data · 8th of 11 in its peer group with data | 2.7 | 5.5 | — | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 0.9 | — | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.6 | — | 1.8 | — | 0.9 | — | 2.7 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #55 of 295 cities with data · 5th of 11 in its peer group with data | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 19.2 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 86,589 | 90,408 | 87,138 | 85,462 | 80,236 | 81,615 | 82,240 | 82,341 | 84,539 | 88,076 | 91,743 | 93,198 | 95,139 | 96,307 | 95,769 | 89,264 | 87,132 | 89,862 | 89,582 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #267 of 329 cities with data · 11th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | +1.1 | +3.3 | -4.8 | -2.6 | -2.9 | +0.2 | -0.3 | +0.1 | +0.0 | +2.0 | +2.2 | -1.7 | +1.3 | -0.5 | -2.4 | -0.2 | -2.3 | -4.2 | -1.6 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 61,825 | 61,314 | 62,835 | 62,244 | 64,639 | 64,922 | 64,066 | 63,542 | 63,351 | — | 63,813 | 67,734 | 65,461 | 64,775 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #103 of 340 cities · 2nd of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9.4% | 9.4% | 6.7% | 7.1% | 5.6% | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3.6% | 5.0% | — | 5.5% | 2.6% | 3.8% | 4.1% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #254 of 340 cities · 9th of 14 in its peer group · 2022 | 9% | 18% | 23% | 14% | -4% | 3% | 12% | 16% | 7% | — | — | — | 18% | — | — | — | — | 10% | — | — | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #14 of 340 cities · 1st of 14 in its peer group · 2022 | $458 | $417 | $794 | $720 | $718 | $656 | $583 | $475 | $422 | — | — | — | $282 | — | — | — | — | $288 | — | — |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Costa Mesa. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.