Living in Tustin, CA

What is the Cost of Living in Tustin?

We can find data on cost of living in Tustin at Sperling’s Best Places.

This website uses a cost of living index where the US average is 100. Values above 100 are higher than average costs of living and values below 100 are lower than average costs of living.

The whole of California is more expensive than most states nationwide. On the scale we just discussed, the rating assigned to California is 149.9.

Southern California is particularly expensive. So, it is not a surprise that the rating for Tustin is 168.5.

Because Southern California as a whole is a pricey place to live, what may be more helpful for providing perspective on the cost of living in Tustin is to compare it to the cost of living in Los Angeles.

On the same scale, Los Angeles scores 173.3. So, Tustin is a slightly less expensive place to live than LA.

Tustin is even more reasonable when compared with Huntington Beach, which has an overall cost of living rated at 183.8.

Nearby Irving is even more expensive, with an overall cost of living rated at 187.1.

So, for the area in which it is located, Tustin’s cost of living is very reasonable and affordable.

What is the Cost of Housing in Tustin?

Now, let’s talk about what it costs to buy a home in Tustin. Sperling’s states that the median home cost nationwide is $291,700.

The median home cost in Tustin is $868,200.

Once again, to put this in true perspective, we need to consider the costs of housing in areas nearby.

A great example is to look at the cost to purchase a home in Irvine. There, the median home cost is $1,030,900.

When you consider that, you discover that the cost to purchase a home in Tustin is affordable for this part of Southern California.

Employment Opportunities in Tustin

While the overall cost of living in the Los Angeles metropolitan area is higher than it is nationwide, your earnings potential in Tustin is also higher.

The Census reports that the median household income in 2019 in the US was $68,703.

The Census also reports income data specifically for Tustin. Between 2016 and 2020, the median household income in Tustin was $88,386.

You can appreciate at a glance that this is quite a bit higher than the median household income nationwide.

Also of interest is again comparing household income in Tustin to what you might earn nearby.

The median household income for Los Angeles itself is $64,994. That is actually less than the nationwide median household income despite LA being an expensive place to live.

So, in Tustin, you are better off. The cost of living is lower, but your earnings are higher. This makes it a smart choice in the LA area.

You may be wondering about the top employers in Tustin. In order, they are the Tustin Unified School District, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, Youngs Market Company LLC, Costco, New American Funding, the City of Tustin, Avid Bioservices, Inc., Vita Best Nutrition, Kaiser Permanente/Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and Logomark Inc.

Tustin Education

As just mentioned, most students in Tustin attend schools within the Tustin Unified School District. The public schools in this community have a great reputation. In fact, US News & World Report has listed Arnold O. Beckman High School among its Best High Schools. Foothill High School and Tustin High School have both received recognition as California Distinguished Schools.

What about higher education options in and around Tustin, CA? Students may attend the Springfield College School of Professional and Continuing Studies, California State University Long Beach, Platt College Anaheim, Chapman University, the Southern California University of Health Sciences, Concorde Career College, University of San Francisco – Orange County Campus, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles Pacific College, Los Angeles Southwest College, and more.

With so many options to consider, this is an excellent area to return to school yourself, or send a child to school.

Getting Around Tustin

If you need public transit to get around Tustin and the surrounding area, you can rely on the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), which operates local bus services. If you want to take the train, you will need to use Amtrak or MetroLink.

From Tustin, you can drive north on I-5 to get to Anaheim and downtown Los Angeles. Going south on I-5 will get you to Mission Viejo and San Juan Capistrano.

Living so close to Los Angeles, you might be concerned about commute times. But the average one-way commute in Tustin is only 24.5 minutes. The US average is 26.4 minutes. So, it actually takes less time on average to get to work in Tustin than it does nationwide.

According to Sperling’s, 78.5% of people in Tustin drive to work on their own, while 10.4% carpool. 2.2% take mass transportation, and 4.7% work from home. These appear to be pre-pandemic stats, as many more people in general work from home across the country since COVID.

How is the Weather in Tustin?

If you love the sun, you will be right at home in Tustin, where there are 278 sunny days on average each year. That is far more than the US average number of sunny days per year, which is just 205.

Additionally, there are only around 13 inches of rain on average in Tustin per year, compared with the 38 inches of annual rainfall on average throughout the country. Naturally, there is no snowfall.

Highs in summer can range up to around 82 degrees Fahrenheit in Tustin. Lows in winter can drop down to around 47 degrees Fahrenheit. All told, that is quite temperate year-round.

Sperling’s Comfort Index for climate assigns ratings on a 10 point scale, where 10 is the most comfortable possible climate. On that scale, the US average is 7. The overall rating for Tustin’s climate is 9.4, which is close to ideal. The rating for winter is 8.8, and the rating for summer is 9.8, which almost is as good as it gets.

Leisure and Entertainment in Tustin

What can you do with your time off from work in Tustin? Plenty! You will find no end to shops, restaurants, clubs, bars, nightlife and entertainment.

There are also fun attractions and activities in the area. Some examples include the Irvine Park Railroad, Marconi Automotive Museum, Orange County Zoo, Knott’s Berry Farm, and more. You can also, of course, visit Disneyland in Anaheim.

If you are willing to drive a little further, other attractions in the metro area include the Aquarium of the Pacific, The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Grand Park, the Los Angeles Zoo, and much more. With the entire LA area at your disposal, you should never run out of fun activities.

Looking for green spaces? Consider a visit to Crystal Cove State Park or Peters Canyon Regional Park.

Tustin is also a great spot to live if you are a sports fan, since you can cheer on LA teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers, Angels, Ducks, Kings, Rams and more.