About 190,000 people live in Huntington Beach, Surf City USA, a coastal Orange County city with a long pier, a strong surf culture, and a steady flow of locals in flip-flops. The US Open of Surfing takes over the beach each summer, and even on a quiet Tuesday you will see surfers in the water and cyclists on the coastal path.
Most visitors head to the pier, Pier Plaza and Main Street for food and shopping, with the International Surfing Museum tucked in nearby. Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is a good spot for birds and walking, and Huntington Central Park is popular with families. Huntington Harbour has the waterfront homes, and Newport Beach and Laguna are both a short drive. It is expensive, one of the pricier places in the country, and home prices are very high even by California standards. Crime is low compared with larger California cities, though car break-ins near beach parking are common. Rip currents are the main hazard in the water, and summer weekends bring crowds.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- Surf City USA (trademarked); Beach City; Home of the International Surfing Museum and the US Open of Surfing
- Founded
- 1901 founded as Pacific City (beach resort); 1909 incorporated as Huntington Beach after Henry Huntington's rail line
- Languages
- English; Spanish; Vietnamese; Chinese; Korean; Tagalog
- Airports
- John Wayne Airport (SNA), about 12 miles southeast; Long Beach Airport (LGB), about 17 miles northwest; Los Angeles International (LAX), about 38 miles northwest; Ontario International (ONT), about 45 miles northeast
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20%; bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-5 per bag; counter service optional to 10-15%; delivery 15-20%
About this data
Population is Census QuickFacts July 1, 2025 estimate; land area 27.00 sq mi from Census; median value and rent from Census ACS 2020-2024; Redfin figure from Aug 2026. Metro figure 12,844,441 is the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim MSA (shared; city is not the anchor). Elevation, coordinates, founding, events, hotel ranges, tipping, cost-of-living index, crime rate and airport distances are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified in this pass. Official URLs found via search but not load-tested.
