2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Lake Forest, CA vs Mesa, AZ

Change Cities
Highlights
- Household income in Mesa, is 44% less than it is in Lake Forest and is 5% below the National Average.
- Lake Forest unemployment rate is 5.6%.
- Mesa unemployment rate is 6.1%.
 Lake Forest, CAMesa, AZUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock6.1%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock3.3%1.6%
 Future Job Growth34.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes7.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock3.4%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$51,276  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$65,725$69,021
 Family Median Income$137,776  Unlock$85,028
 space
 Est. Households By Income
 Lake Forest, CAMesa, AZUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock7.6%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K1.4%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock7.7%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.2%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.7%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K5.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.6%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K12.5%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock17.1%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K15.2%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock6.2%9.5%
 space1
 Population By Occupation
 Lake Forest, CAMesa, AZUnited States
 Management, business, finance25.6%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.6%6.5%
 Community, social services1.6%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.7%1.2%
 Education, library5.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.8%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.7%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.5%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.6%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support20.9%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.2%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock10.9%13.1%
Reviews for Lake Forest    16 Reviews

I've lived in Lake Forest for over a decade, before that elsewhere in OC and also up in LA. Lake Forest isn't perfect but it's really improved over the past decade,  More

   |    Reply

As a retired senior who has lived in Lake Forest (formerly El Toro) since 1977 I think LF is a great place if you can afford it. When we moved here in June '77 homes  More

   |    Reply

I’ve lived here for 2 years. Ok, it’s more like a 4 but there are so many idiots downplaying what it’s like here and giving Lake Forest ones and twos. There are a lot of  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Lake Forest

Reviews for Mesa    61 Reviews

Mesa is a really good city despite some trouble with Superstition Springs and the failure that is Fiesta Mall, there is nice areas throughout and some areas that need to  More

   |    Reply

Over 2 years ago

As someone who was born in Mesa and has lived here in the 85210 in Dobson Ranch for the last 13 years after moving out from Chandler. I can tell you that most of the  More

   |    Reply

I’m a native to Arizona and growing up here has taught me that people just don’t care, and the Mormon community is huge! It’s normal in the state of AZ for kids to start  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Mesa


Premium Subscription
Includes Cost of Living compares for child care, utilities, transportation, health, taxes, housing for home owners vs renters, weather, insurance premiums and so much more.


The premier source for comprehensive city data for over 30 years.

© Best Places. All rights reserved.