Irvine, California

Irvine, California

Irvine ( /ˈɜrvaɪn/ UR-vyn) is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the 66 square miles (170 km2) city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California Department of Finance estimates its 2012 population to be 223,729. It has annexed in the past an undeveloped area to the north, and has also annexed the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, most of which is planned to be converted into the Orange County Great Park.

Because of its good schools, jobs, and housing, the city was chosen in 2008 by CNNMoney.com as the fourth best place to live in the United States; in September 2011, Businessweek listed Irvine as the 5th best city in the US. In June 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that Irvine had the lowest violent crime rate among cities in the United States with populations of more than 100,000, and in August 2008 the Census Bureau ranked Irvine as having the seventh highest median income among cities in the United States with populations of more than 65,000.

Irvine is home to the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Concordia University, Irvine Valley College, the Orange County Center of the University of Southern California (USC), Brandman University, and the satellite campuses of Alliant International University, California State University Fullerton (CSUF), University of La Verne, Chicago School of Professional Psychology-Irvine and Pepperdine University.

Irvine is home to a number of corporations, particularly in the technology and semiconductor sectors.