Santa Ana is a city of 312,534 people in California. The foreign-born share is 42%. 45% of homes are owner-occupied. The typical home is worth $713,000, having more than tripled since 2000. Four-year degrees are less common here than nationally, at 18% of adults. That puts it in the top 9% of US cities for household income.
At a glance
Wealthier
median household income $93,999, above the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 34.7
US median: 38.9
Less educated
18% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 126%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Santa Ana
What changed most since 1990
Adults with a bachelor's degree10.6% → 18.3%(+7.7 pts)US over the same years: +15.3 pts
Poverty rate18.1% → 10.8%(−7.4 pts)US over the same years: −0.8 pts
Santa Ana's population equals 9.9% of Orange County's. Its number of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher equals 3.9% of the county's. Its number of people who work from home equals 5.0% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)24.9%(1,082)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)18.4%(798)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era30.8%(1,339)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War2.7%(118)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II3.5%(150)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 4,345 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Santa Ana, decade by decade
Santa Ana population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
293,742
$84,391
$443,053
10.6%
64.7
2000
337,977
$79,082
$315,693
9.2%
49.7
2010
324,528
$78,944
$600,459
12.0%
46.0
2020
310,227
$87,759
$637,411
16.8%
48.7
2024
312,534
$93,999
$713,000
18.3%
48.7
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
