Lake Forest, California demographics

Lake Forest, CA demographics: median age 40.2; 50.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Lake Forest city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0639496. The survey estimates a population of 86,281 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Lake Forest is 40.2 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.1 years. There are 30,466 households (±686). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	40.2 ±1.1	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 86,281
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	18,360 ±1,282	21.3% ±1.5 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	17,769 ±1,234	20.6% ±1.4 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	37,376 ±1,674	43.3% ±1.9 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	12,776 ±925	14.8% ±1.1 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 86,281
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	43,298 ±1,126	50.2% ±1.3 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	42,983 ±1,115	49.8% ±1.3 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 86,281
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	41,562 ±2,011	48.2% ±2.3 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	2,123 ±710	2.5% ±0.8 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	981 ±443	1.1% ±0.5 pp	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	17,270 ±1,376	20.0% ±1.6 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	396 ±361 · low precision	0.5% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	8,971 ±1,622	10.4% ±1.9 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	14,978 ±1,584	17.4% ±1.8 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 86,281
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	63,028 ±2,220	73.0% ±2.6 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	23,253 ±2,217	27.0% ±2.6 pp	40.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 30,466
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	18,732 ±694	61.5% ±1.8 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,296 ±277	4.3% ±0.9 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	2,473 ±330	8.1% ±1.1 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	5,759 ±675	18.9% ±2.2 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,206 ±397	7.2% ±1.3 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 30,466
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	10,156 ±584	33.3% ±1.8 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	20,310 ±1,007	66.7% ±2.9 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 30,466
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	5,759 ±675	18.9% ±2.2 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	9,885 ±787	32.4% ±2.5 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	5,814 ±692	19.1% ±2.2 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	6,017 ±542	19.7% ±1.7 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	2,029 ±380	6.7% ±1.2 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	545 ±146	1.8% ±0.5 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	417 ±166	1.4% ±0.5 pp	2.6%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 86,281
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	62,616 ±1,358	72.6% ±1.6 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	23,665 ±1,359	27.4% ±1.6 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 81,012
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	51,323 ±1,721	63.4% ±2.0 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	13,231 ±1,623	16.3% ±2.0 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	408 ±249 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	489 ±256 · low precision	0.6% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	686 ±355 · low precision	0.8% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	3,997 ±947	4.9% ±1.2 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	990 ±303	1.2% ±0.4 pp	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	3,146 ±715	3.9% ±0.9 pp	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	1,594 ±416	2.0% ±0.5 pp	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	1,599 ±448	2.0% ±0.6 pp	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	2,290 ±676	2.8% ±0.8 pp	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	1,113 ±560 · low precision	1.4% ±0.7 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	146 ±107 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 61,155
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	3,659 ±622	6.0% ±1.0 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	9,606 ±1,087	15.7% ±1.8 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	11,522 ±976	18.8% ±1.6 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	5,280 ±707	8.6% ±1.1 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	19,707 ±1,378	32.2% ±2.2 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	11,381 ±1,027	18.6% ±1.6 pp	14.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 85,402
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	75,115 ±1,323	88.0% ±1.5 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	6,452 ±1,107	7.6% ±1.3 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,940 ±530	2.3% ±0.6 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,594 ±659	1.9% ±0.8 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	301 ±148	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.1% of Lake Forest residents (±0.8 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 97.1% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Lake Forest	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.1% ±0.8 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	97.1% ±3.1 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.5% ±0.6 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Lake Forest . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Lake Forest housing and cost context or return to the city profile.