Orange County, California

This city is so associated with money and luxury that Fox created a blockbuster TV show based on it. Unsurprisingly, Orange County, California ranks among the top ten most expensive cities in the United States. Calling Orange County a city is technically a bit of a stretch. It is actually a vast metropolitan region made up of several cities.

Orange County is in Southern California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan region. The population was 3,186,989 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populated county in California, the sixth-most populous in the United States, and more populous than 21 U.S. states. Despite being mostly suburban, it is the state's second most densely inhabited county, after only San Francisco County.

The county's most populated cities are Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, and Huntington Beach. Smaller, more wealthy communities such as Newport Beach and Laguna Beach are responsible for Orange County's high cost of living. Some of the most valuable real estate in the country may be found here. In fact, Orange County has the highest average housing prices in the country, trailing just San Francisco, New York, and Honolulu.

Cost of Living: 50.2% higher than U.S. average