I drove through the worst parts of Orange County, California. This is what I saw.
Wow! Who would have thought Orange County had so many bad areas?
For this video, I visited Orange County, California, which is well known for being a rich, wealthy enclave. It’s not as rich as you might think. It ranks 79th in the nation in terms of average household incomes.
But my goal today wasn’t to see the fancy homes. It was to see the worst part of Orange County, to put things into perspective on the difference between the rich and the poor here. So, I took the 91 to the city of Santa Ana, smack dab in the heart of the OC. It was a bright, sunny day, and of course, there were fires in the area. Because it’s fall, so there are fires everywhere in southern California, coincidentally, due to the Santa Ana winds. The day was Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 11 am.
Santa Ana is well known for being the worst place in Orange County. The city lies in the middle of the county, and has some of the county’s poorest residents, as well as some of its most dangerous neighborhoods.
Using statistical data and firsthand accounts from previous visits, I’m going to drive this section of the city, on the southeastern side of town. I’ll be driving up and down various neighborhoods in this general area.
Santa Ana is the second largest city in the county, population wise, just behind Anaheim, which is also a dangerous and rundown part of the county. There are 332,000 people squished together here. It’s actually the 4th most densely populated city in the whole country, and is California’s 11th most populous city.
As far back as 2011, Forbes called Santa Ana one of the safest large cities in the nation. But crime here has really picked up over the last decade, and now, Santa Ana is about average, crime wise, for all major cities. It’s not that this place is bad for crime, it’s bad for Orange County. Which is, overall, very safe and desirable.
Home prices in Orange County average $781,000. Here in Santa Ana, the average home price is $610,000. Keep THAT in mind as I drive through. There are very few homes under $300,000 in the areas I’m going to drive through. Most are in the $350,000ish range.
The average person here in Santa Ana earns about 24 grand a year. It remains one of the poorest areas in the country, and certainly, one of the poorest places in California.
Santa Ana used to be a very white community. Now, it’s 80% hispanic. You can likely tell by the home design that 4 in 5 homes in this part of town are home to a hispanic family. The Los Angeles Times once called Santa Ana the new face of California, due to the outrageously high percentage of Mexican Americans who live here now.
It would actually be hard to find anywhere else in the country that has more of a Hispanic vibe, culturally and economically, than in Santa Ana. Hence, this is one of the few cities in Orange County, which votes democratic. Orange County is well known for being mostly a republican stronghold.
We’ll drive around the worst neighborhoods in Orange County for a while now, and then at the end, see the main drag in town and eventually drive into downtown Santa Ana. I’m sure the last part will be eye-opening as well.
Now, we’re going to drive up the heart of Santa Ana on Main Street, north, into downtown.
That was a look at the worst part of Orange County, California. It’s changed a lot here, and it seems to be getting worse. There are a lot of great people here, but it remains very poor and much more dangerous than any other place in the region.
#orangecounty #california
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