Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 85,858 at the 2020 census.

Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Before incorporation, the community had been known as El Toro (in Spanish, "the bull"). In 2000, Lake Forest voted to expand its city limits to include the master-planned developments of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills. This expansion brought new homes and commercial centers to the city's northeastern boundary.

Lake Forest has two lakes from which the city gets its name. The lakes are man-made, and condominiums and custom homes ranging from large to small line their shores. Neighborhood associations manage the lakes (Lake 1, known as the Lake Forest Beach and Tennis Club, and Lake 2, the Sun and Sail Club.) Each facility features tennis courts, gyms, basketball courts, barbecue pits, volleyball courts, multiple swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs and club houses for social events.

The "forest" for which the city is also named lies in the area between Ridge Route, Jeronimo, Lake Forest and Serrano roads, and consists mostly of eucalyptus trees. It is also man-made, and was created in the first decade of the 1900s when a local landowner, Dwight Whiting, planted of eucalyptus groves in the vicinity of Serrano Creek as part of a lumber operation intended to draw development to the area. In the late 1960s, the Occidental Petroleum company developed a residential community in and around the eucalyptus groves, which had long since expanded and grown much denser.

History

From 1863, the community had been known as El Toro. In 1847 José Serrano and his family occupied 11,000 acres of the Rancho Cañada de los Alisos that had been granted to them by the Government of Mexico, and that eventually reached the hands of Dwight Whiting. Whiting was instrumental in bringing the Santa Fe rail line through the region. The Rancho Niguel was granted to Juan B. Alvarado, Juan Avila and his sister Conception, the widow of one Pedro Sánchez. From them it passed to other owners and was divided into plots, including Yorba. In 1874, most of it was owned by Cyrus B. Rawson. Jonathan E. Bacon also owned 1,600 acres. In addition to the Serranos, established in Aliso Canyon, there was a group of pioneers who lived in the foothills and several miles above El Toro, many of whom were among the first settlers of this neighborhood.

El Toro Road at the Interstate 5 freeway was the epicenter of the Saddleback Valley from the late 19th century to around 2000. However, the area gradually deteriorated, and most of the shops closed or moved to other cities. After years of planning, the city has worked with the property owners of some aging strip malls and developed the "Arbor at Lake Forest" commercial district. The new center now competes with large shopping centers in cities that surround Lake Forest.

In 1991, residents chose to incorporate, and chose the name "Lake Forest" in a referendum. Controversy ensued for months, as residents of the newer subdivisions argued that "Lake Forest" sounded better than "El Toro", while long-time residents complained that the name change aimed to erase the town's history in favor of an artificial name that referred to man-made lakes. El Toro High School kept its name and continues to do so to this day. In subsequent years as the city came to be referred to as Lake Forest, mentions of "El Toro" in the press usually referred to the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, decommissioned in 1999 and later repurposed.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and (0.47%) is water.

Lake Forest is bordered by Irvine on the west and northwest, Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods on the southwest, Mission Viejo on the southeast, Trabuco Canyon and Silverado Canyon on the east, and Limestone Canyon Regional Park on the north.

Lake Forest is in the heart of the Saddleback Valley, with the northeast end in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. It is also in the northern section of South Orange County.

It has two man-made lakes identified by the clubhouses on the lakes—the Beach and Tennis Club (Hidden Lakes, formerly Lake I) and the Sun and Sail Club (Lake II).

Infrastructure Transportation Highways Interstate 5 travels along the western border of Lake Forest, forming the border with Laguna Hills. I-5 has two interchanges in the city: Lake Forest Drive and El Toro Road (Highway S18).

California State Route 241 passes through the Foothill Ranch community of Lake Forest, in close proximity to several residential and commercial areas. SR 241 has three interchanges in Lake Forest: Alton Parkway, Lake Forest Drive (a partial interchange with a southbound exit and northbound entrance only), and Portola Parkway.

County Route S18, also known as El Toro Road, travels the entire length and width of the city, about 10.5 miles. The road passes through numerous communities, such as Portola Hills. At Live Oak Canyon Road, El Toro becomes Santiago Canyon Road, forming the far northeast boundary of Lake Forest, before heading through the Santa Ana Mountains and becoming Chapman Avenue in northern Orange County.

Demographics

Most of the community was listed as an unincorporated area under the name El Toro in the 1970 U.S. census; and designated a census designated place in the 1980 United States census. Before the 2000 U.S. census most of the area of the CDP was used to form the city of Lake Forest with a small portion annexed to Mission Viejo.

Racial and ethnic composition +Lake Forest city, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)33,57549,30939,16144,17740,50688.00%78.66%66.71%57.18%47.18%Black or African American alone (NH)3501,0519981,1581,3120.92%1.68%1.70%1.50%1.53%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1582111431951530.41%0.34%0.24%0.25%0.18%Asian alone (NH)1,5605,5985,6479,98516,6504.09%8.93%9.62%12.92%19.39%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)1131721440.19%0.22%0.17%Other race alone (NH)20521021664500.05%0.08%0.17%0.21%0.52%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)xx1,6302,3874,698xx2.78%3.09%5.47%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2,4906,46410,91319,02421,9456.53%10.31%18.59%24.62%25.56%Total38,15362,68558,70777,26485,858100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Lake Forest had a population of 85,858. The population density was .

The census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized. The census also reported that 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 29,728 households, out of which 34.9% included children under the age of 18, 59.2% were married-couple households, 5.6% were cohabiting couple households, 21.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 13.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.9% of households were one person, and 7.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.87. There were 22,421 families (75.4% of all households).

The age distribution was 21.3% under the age of 18, 8.3% aged 18 to 24, 27.8% aged 25 to 44, 28.1% aged 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.5years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.0 males age 18 and over.

There were 30,570 housing units at an average density of , of which 29,728 (97.2%) were occupied. Of the occupied units, 68.7% were owner-occupied and 31.3% were occupied by renters. Of all housing units, 2.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.5%.

2023 ACS estimates In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $131,378, and the per capita income was $58,506. About 5.7% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census The 2010 United States census reported that Lake Forest had a population of 77,264. The population density was . The racial makeup of Lake Forest was 54,341 (70.3%) White, 1,295 (1.7%) African American, 384 (0.5%) Native American, 10,115 (13.1%) Asian, 191 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 7,267 (9.4%) from other races, and 3,671 (4.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19,024 persons (24.6%).

The Census reported that 76,749 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 299 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 216 (0.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 26,224 households, out of which 10,407 (39.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15,603 (59.5%) were married couples, 2,710 (10.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,299 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,217 (4.6%) unmarried partnerships, and 201 (0.8%) same-sex couples. 4,883 households (18.6%) were made up of individuals, and 1,432 (5.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93. There were 19,612 families (74.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.30.

The population was spread out, with 19,115 people (24.7%) under the age of 18, 6,775 people (8.8%) aged 18 to 24, 22,099 people (28.6%) aged 25 to 44, 22,184 people (28.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,091 people (9.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.

There were 27,088 housing units at an average density of , of which 18,579 (70.8%) were owner-occupied, and 7,645 (29.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 54,082 people (70.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 22,667 people (29.3%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy The city is home to the headquarters of eyewear manufacturer Oakley, Inc.; in-flight entertainment provider Panasonic Avionics; Karem Aircraft an aircraft company developing UAVs; telecommunications software developer Greenlight Wireless Corp.; barbecue retailer Barbeques Galore; restaurant chains Johnny Rockets and Del Taco; medical equipment maker Apria Healthcare; reverse mortgage lender Access Home Lending; and skateboarding companies Sole Technology, Inc., Etnies, Autism Behavior Services Inc., and Tilly's.

Top employers According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,City of Lake Forest CAFR its top employers are:

# Employer # of employees 1Panasonic Avionics Corporation2,290 2LoanDepot2,049 3Oakley1,400 4Schneider Electric (Invensys)500 5Spectrum Brands494 6Cox Communications491 7Bal Seal Engineering423 8The Home Depot348 9Walmart340 10Alcon Research315

Arts and culture Lake Forest is served by two branches of the Orange County Public Library system known as OC Public Libraries: the El Toro branch and the Foothill Ranch branch.

The city is the location of Rick Warren's megachurch, Saddleback Church, the sixth-largest evangelical church in the United States.Top 100 Largest Churches in America at Sermon Central; published 2017; retrieved 2019

The city of Lake Forest puts on an annual summer concert at Pittsford Park. Other public events include the Fourth of July 5K run and fireworks display over the lake at the Sun & Sail Club. On Wednesdays at 4 pm, there is a farmers market at the Sports Park and Recreation Center, where locals can go and buy products from the local farmers and vendors.

In 2020, the classical music organization Chamber Music | OC moved its headquarters from Chapman University in Orange, California to the Lake Forest Business Center.

Parks and recreation