Orange County has the nation’s third-costliest housing, by one curious real estate metric.
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My trusty spreadsheet reviewed PropertyShark’s annual list of the nation’s 122 most-expensive ZIP codes, finding 12 Orange County ZIP codes in the 11th edition of this priciest-housing club.
PropertyShark’s ranking of high-end communities tracks pricing in ZIP codes with five or more sales in the nine months ending in September 2026. The math is the median pricing from sales of houses, townhomes, condominiums and duplexes. ZIPs in Montana, Texas, Utah and Wyoming were not included due to difficulty in tracking sales values in those states.
Here’s the affordability wrinkle: Only two other counties in the nation had more neighborhoods on the list – and both were in California: Los Angeles County with 15 ZIP codes and Santa Clara County with 13.
After Orange County’s No. 3 spot came New York’s Suffolk County with 10 priciest ZIPs, and San Mateo County and Connecticut’s Fairfield County with seven.
Now, you can take this lofty ranking as another sign of how expensive it is to live in Orange County. Or you could see it as a symbol of the county’s wealth.
How expensive are these homes? The 12 O.C. communities on the list had a typical sales price of $2.9 million.
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Who made the list?
Either way, O.C.’s priciest ZIP was Newport Coast 92657 at $6.1 million. It ranked No. 5 nationally and was one of nine ocean-adjacent communities among the dozen that made PropertyShark’s list.
The other 11 “most expensive” O.C. ZIPs:
– Newport Beach 92661 at $5.8 million, No. 6 nationally.
– Corona del Mar 92625 at $4.3 million, No. 19.
– Balboa 92662 at $4 million, No. 22.
– Newport Beach 92660 at $3.4 million, No. 38.
– Laguna Beach 92651 at $3.1 million, No. 47.
– Seal Beach/Surfside 90743 at $2.77 million, No. 65.
– Villa Park 92861 at $2.75 million, No. 66.
– Newport Beach 92663 at $2.7 million, No. 69.
– Irvine 92603 at $2.3 million, No. 110.
– Irvine 92602 at $2.25 million, No. 117.
– Huntington Beach 90742 at $2.24 million, No. 118
Stately status
Need another reminder that California housing is really expensive?
Well, 69 neighborhoods in the Golden State made PropertyShark’s list. That’s easily No. 1, well ahead of New York’s 20, New Jersey’s 7, Connecticut’s 7, and Massachusetts’ five.
Also, the nation’s costliest ZIP code for 2026 is a Golden State neighborhood: The Bay Area’s Atherton 94027 at $10.7 million.
Or ponder minor progress on affordability. PropertyShark noted that California accounted for 57% of this year’s priciest ZIPs, down from a peak of 73% in 2019.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]
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