San Juan Capistrano (; also known colloquially as San Juan or SJC) is a city in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 35,253 at the 2020 Census.

Named for Saint John of Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when Father Junípero Serra established Mission San Juan Capistrano. Extensive damage caused by an earthquake in 1812 caused the community to decline. Following the Mexican secularization act of 1833, the mission village officially became a town and was briefly renamed as San Juan de Argüello. After the American conquest of California, San Juan remained a small, rural town until the 20th century; the restoration of the mission in the 1910s–20s transformed the town into a tourist destination and a backdrop for Hollywood films.

History

Indigenous The region was populated by the Acjachemen, referred to by the Spanish as Juaneños, an Indigenous Californian nation. They lived in the area for approximately 10,000 years, with some of their oldest villages being confirmed as over 9,600 years old. The mother village of Putuidem was located in what is now San Juan Capistrano, as well as the village of Acjacheme.

Spanish era The settlement that today is San Juan Capistrano began in 1776 when the Spanish Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra founded Mission San Juan Capistrano, the seventh of the Spanish missions in California. The mission was built less than 60 yards from the native village of Acjacheme, which was exploited as a source of labor for the mission. The mission was named after Saint John of Capistrano, a 14th-15th century Franciscan saint. The 1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake resulted in the deaths of thirty-nine Acjachemen people, thirty-one of whom were women, when the stone church at the Mission collapsed.

Mexican era

The Mexican Congress of the Union enacted the secularization of the Californian missions in 1833. In the mission period, 4,317 natives had been baptized at the mission (1,689 adults and 2,628 children). In that same period, 3,158 of those baptized had died. Some of the native people who survived the mission period continued to live at the mission for a short period after the secularization act, while others settled in the surrounding areas.

Each mission was appointed an administrator to oversee the transfer of the missions and their lands from the Franciscan Order to the Mexican authorities. Santiago Argüello, a member of a prominent family of Californios, was appointed administrator of Mission San Juan Capistrano. During his tenure, the community was briefly renamed "San Juan de Argüello", similar to what happened to San Juan Bautista in Northern California, which was briefly renamed "San Juan de Castro" after its administrator José Castro.

In 1844, Don Juan Forster and James McKinley purchased the former Mission San Juan Capistrano at public auction. Forster made his home there until 1864, when the mission was returned to the Catholic Church by President Abraham Lincoln.

American era

Following the American Conquest of California, San Juan remained a relatively small and rural community until the end of the 19th century. The It was considered an American town and incorporated into Orange County in 1876.

Padre O'Sullivan arrived in San Juan Capistrano in 1910 to recuperate from a recent stroke. He became fascinated by Mission San Juan Capistrano and soon set to work on rebuilding it a section at a time. O'Sullivan repaired the roof of the Serra Chapel using California sycamore logs to match those that were used in the original work. He brought in architect Arthur B. Benton of Los Angeles to strengthen the chapel walls through the addition of heavy masonry buttresses. The centerpiece of the chapel restoration was its retablo, imported from Barcelona in 1806 and donated by the Bishop of Los Angeles.

The restoration of the mission resulted in the town's emergence as a tourist destination, owing to its historic architectural style and proximity to the sea. The mission was used often in Hollywood productions, such as D. W. Griffith's 1910 western film The Two Brothers, the first film ever shot in Orange County. San Juan was incorporated as a city on April 19, 1961.

From 2009 to 2017, the cliff swallows did not make their famous annual springtime return to Mission San Juan Capistrano, instead migrating to the Chino Hills, north of San Juan. The swallows changed their route because the Mission is no longer the tallest building in the area due to urban sprawl, and thus stopped attracting the swallows for nesting. Mission San Juan Capistrano embarked on a program to facilitate the return of the swallows, first by using swallow calls to attract the birds and then by building artificial swallow nests for the birds to use. As of 2017, the swallows have returned home to Mission San Juan Capistrano and are still celebrated each year at the town's annual Swallows Day Parade and Mercado Street Fair. In 2018, the town celebrated its 80th annual Swallows Day Parade and Fiesta de las Golondrinas ().

Geography

San Juan Capistrano is located in south Orange County and is bisected by Interstate 5.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Biogeography (San Juan Capistrano) The most common native species: Common Yarrow, Red Sand Verbena, and Pink Sand Verbena.

Climate

Demographics

San Juan Capistrano was first listed as an unincorporated place in the 1960 U.S. census as part of the South Coast census county division; and after incorporation, as a city in the 1970 U.S. census.

Racial and ethnic composition +San Juan Capistrano city, California – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)16,48419,75521,08419,31218,59186.95%75.45%62.33%55.83%52.82%Black or African American alone (NH)5881511461390.03%0.34%0.45%0.42%0.39%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2501271691561061.32%0.49%0.50%0.45%0.30%Asian alone (NH)1674886349521,1940.88%1.86%1.87%2.75%3.39%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)3530220.10%0.09%0.06%Other race alone (NH)42227431470.02%0.08%0.08%0.12%0.42%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)xx5205661,293xx1.54%1.64%3.67%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2,0495,70311,20613,38813,70410.81%21.78%33.13%38.70%38.94%Total18,95926,18333,82634,95335,196100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, San Juan Capistrano had a population of 35,196. The population density was .

The median age was 44.1 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.6% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The census reported that 99.1% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.4% were institutionalized. 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 11,849 households, of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 59.1% were married-couple households, 4.8% were cohabiting couple households, 12.6% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 23.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 19.5% of households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94. There were 8,901 families (75.1% of all households).

There were 12,319 housing units at an average density of , of which 11,849 (96.2%) were occupied. Of the occupied units, 75.8% were owner-occupied and 24.2% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%, and the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%.

2023 ACS estimates In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $127,893, and the per capita income was $60,670. About 4.8% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census

At the 2010 Census San Juan Capistrano had a population of 34,593. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Juan Capistrano was 26,664 (77.1%) White (55.8% Non-Hispanic White), 193 (0.6%) African American, 286 (0.8%) Native American, 975 (2.8%) Asian, 33 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 5,234 (15.1%) from other races, and 1,208 (3.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13,388 persons (38.7%).

The census reported that 34,506 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, and 87 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters.

There were 11,394 households, 4,030 (35.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,706 (58.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,089 (9.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 526 (4.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 456 (4.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 87 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,381 households (20.9%) were one person and 1,407 (12.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.03. There were 8,321 families (73.0% of households); the average family size was 3.44.

The age distribution was 8,518 people (24.6%) under the age of 18, 3,066 people (8.9%) aged 18 to 24, 7,804 people (22.6%) aged 25 to 44, 9,792 people (28.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,413 people (15.6%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

There were 11,940 housing units at an average density of 835.2 per square mile, of the occupied units 8,462 (74.3%) were owner-occupied and 2,932 (25.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.7%. 24,052 people (69.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 10,454 people (30.2%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 Census, San Juan Capistrano had a median household income of $75,356, with 12.7% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Economy

San Juan Capistrano is home to approximately 2,000 businesses. The city's unemployment rate was at 3.2% as of December 2025.

Top employers According to the city's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report from June 30, 2025, the largest employers in the city are: # Employer # of employees 1Capistrano Unified School District3,9922St. Margaret's Episcopal School4293Costco3404Ensign Services1855JSerra Catholic High School1456Fluidmaster Inc. HQ1307ASRV, LLC1248Inn at the Mission San Juan Capistrano1189Marbella Country Club10610Capistrano Connections Academy100

Arts and culture

San Juan Capistrano is also known for its cliff swallows. The protected birds return during migration, which originates in the town of Goya, Argentina, around Saint Joseph's Day (March 19) each year. The day is celebrated by the city's annual Swallows' Day Parade and other festive events. The swallows leave around October 23, the former feast day of Saint John of Capistrano. The 1940 hit song "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano", written by Leon René, is a love song inspired by this annual event. Another birdwatching place is the Arroyo Bird House Park, containing many colorful birdhouses.

The Serra Chapel at the mission is the oldest in-use building in California. San Juan was also the site of one of the first places to produce Californian wine.

Putuidem Village, a , is part of the original lands of the Acjachemen (Juaneño). Completed in 2021, it commemorates the history of the Acjachemen by the Spanish colonizers.

Registered Historic Places

Carl Stroschein House Casa de Esperanza Domingo Adobe and Casa Manuel Garcia Esslinger Building Frank A Forster House Harrison House Joel R Congdon House Los Rios Street Historic District Miguel Parra Adobe- San Juan Mission San Juan Capistrano Montanes Adobe Richard Egan House