I've been working with our Economic Development Director, Carlo Tomaino, on a presentation we made last week to the Asian Business Council (see flyer) and we've been collecting data to convince some of them that Lake Forest is the right place to live, work, and open a business. It's pretty impressive so I decided to share it with everyone.
Completely debt-free.
By the end of the year Lake Forest will have no unfunded pension liabilities and no bond or other form of debt. As far as we know, we are the only City in the U.S. with a population over 25,000 that will be debt free.
Being debt-free is a great asset to a City. It means we can act nimbly without the burden of debt overhanging all our decisions. It means that if at some future point we need to fund a project, we can do it at a minimal cost because our credit is excellent.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
It's a tribute to the staff, past Councils and particularly the current Council, that we are able to do this.
Low crime rate.
For the past 4 years Lake Forest has been at an all-time low crime rate, averaging about 10 Part 1 crimes per 1,000 people. In Orange County it is 16.1 and in California it is 44.5. No city of our size and diversity has a lower crime rate.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Having a low crime rate makes Lake Forest a great place to live.
Low property crime rate.
At 9 crimes per 1,000 residents our property crime is less than Irvine (15.8), Huntington Beach (22.6), Garden Grove (24.8), and Anaheim (27.4). We are significantly below the average for California (25.5). In Orange County it is 18.39.
Having a low property crime rate makes Lake Forest a great place to own a business.
Low unemployment.
At 2.9% our unemployment is less than Irvine (3.3), Huntington Beach (3.8), Garden Grove (4.8), and Anaheim (5%). The average unemployment rate in California is 4.3%. In Orange County it is 3.3%
High Household Income.
At $104,391 we have one of the highest median household incomes in the County. We are higher than Irvine ($103,525), Huntington Beach ($92,445), Garden Grove ($65,780), and Anaheim ($65,605). The median household income in California is $67,738%. In Orange County it is $78,145.
Having a high household income means we are attractive to a wide variety of businesses, especially high-end businesses.
High Disposable Income.
At $81,425 we have one of the highest median disposable incomes in the County. We are higher than Irvine ($80,636), Huntington Beach ($73,641), Garden Grove ($54,180), and Anaheim ($53,941). The median disposable income in California is $49,731.
Low poverty levels.
At 7.6% our poverty level is less than Irvine (12.7), Huntington Beach (9), Garden Grove (16.2), and Anaheim (16.2). The average poverty level in California is 20.6%. In Orange County it is 12.5%.
High Home Ownership.
At 69.4% our home ownership percent is higher than Irvine (46.3), Huntington Beach (58.1), Garden Grove (53.2), and Anaheim (44.7). The average home ownership in California is 54.4%. In Orange County it is 56%.
Having such a high ownership makes us particularly attractive to home improvement stores, contractors and people in the building industry (electricians, plumbers, roofers), the pet industry, etc.
Least Expensive Costs of Home Ownership.
Using median household income and median home price, it takes only 7.4 years to buy a home in Lake Forest. This is much less than Irvine (9.6), Huntington Beach (9.5), Garden Grove (9), and Anaheim (9.2).
Having the least expensive cost of home ownership means that businesses can attract new workers, and newcomers to our City are getting "more home" than they can get elsewhere.
Summary
Our crime data and our economic data show that Lake Forest is second to no City in our quality of life.
BTW- Carlo took a video of the presentation and he's going to put it on the City website. I'll post the info when it happens.
(The crime data is from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Jan to June 2016-2017. Most of the other data come from ESRI, Business Analyst 2018, and from Neighborhood Scout. In some cases comparisons are made with other cities. This was done because those cities were also presenting at the Asian Business Council)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.
Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a town hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be Oct 18 at 7 pm at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).
