Irvine, California

Irvine, California is located in central Orange County. Irvine has a population of over 300,000. Irvine lies mostly on a flat valley between Loma Ridge, which reaches an elevation of 1,273 feet, and the San Joaquin Hills, which reach an elevation of about 1,000 feet and extend to the Pacific Ocean. The center of the City is located approximately 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Irvine is known as having one of the lowest violent crime rates in the United States and has been recognized as the safest city in United States for its size. Irvine has also been awarded the City Livability Award signifying that it is one of the most livable cities in the United States. Irvine has been recognized as the 4th greenest city in the United States. Irvine has also been recognized as both the 2nd and the 5th Happiest City in United States. Irvine has been ranked 5th on a list of cities with the best public schools in the United States. The City of Irvine park system was ranked 7th in the United States.

The Orange County Business Journal indicates that 47 out of the 100 best places to work in Orange County are located in the City of Irvine. Three freeways, Interstate 5 (Santa Ana Freeway), Interstate 405 (San Diego Freeway) and State Route 133 (Laguna Freeway) pass through, and ensure easy access to, Irvine.

More than 17,000 companies have a physical presence in Irvine, including over 1,100 startups. Irvine’s two major business centers—the Spectrum and the Irvine Business Center—have more than 170,000 jobs combined. Other business centers in Irvine are the Irvine Business Complex adjacent to John Wayne Airport. The University Research Park is an office park covering 185 acres of land adjacent to the University of California, Irvine. The Irvine Spectrum Center has over 30 restaurants and over 900 boutiques and shops.

WalletHub ranked Irvine as the leading city in Southern California to find a job. Apple Corporation and Amazon have offices in Irvine.

Irvine has a jobs-to-population ratio of about 95%, which is the highest in the United States for cities of 200,000 residents or more. The top employers in Irvine include the University of California, Irvine; The Irvine Unified School District; Blizzard Entertainment Inc.; Broadcom; and Edwards Lifesciences.

In 2019, visitors spent approximately $781 million on accommodations and dining, etc. in Irvine. The tourism industry supports over 5,500 jobs and provides over $265 million in wages in Irvine. John Wayne Airport, which is adjacent to Irvine, has more than 7,000 flights monthly. Hoag, Kaiser, and UCI Health all have major facilities in Irvine.

The City of Irvine has more than 800 full-time employees and more than 300 part-time employees.

The University of California in Irvine opened in 1965 and is considered one of the nation’s best public universities. The University of California, Irvine has over 37,000 students and offers over 220 degree programs. University of California, Irvine is Orange County’s second largest employer, and it contributes about 7 billion annually to the local economy. The campus buildings are set out in a circle around a central park, much of which is heavily forested. UCI Health is the only academic health system in Orange County.

Another major employer is the Irvine Unified School District. The Irvine Unified School District was established in 1972 and has over 35 schools and over 31,000 students.

Irvine Valley College is a community college with over 14,000 students and nearly 1,000 employees.

Concordia University, another major area employer, is a Lutheran Christian institution with over 4,000 students at its 70-acre Irvine campus.

The Great Park, built on the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, has more than 450 acres of park space with another 230 acres of park space in progress. The park includes a 4,762-square-foot visitors center and a former hangar that now serves as a 10,000 square-foot special event space.

Adjacent to the City of Irvine lies the Limestone Canyon Preserve. The 4,000-acre preserve includes oak woodlands, year-round springs, and a geological formation called “the Sinks” which has been characterized as a mini-Grand Canyon. Bordering Limestone Canyon Preserve is Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, which encompasses 2,500 acres of riparian and oak woodlands, chaparral, and grasslands.

Irvine is a bicycle-oriented city with about 286 miles of on-street bikeways and 113 miles of off-street bikeways. Irvine has been designated a Bicycle Friendly community at the Silver Level by the League of American Bicyclists. Irvine has more than 16,000 acres of parks, sports fields, and protected open spaces, where 39 rare plant and animal species exist.

The paved, bike and pedestrian Jeffrey Open Space Trail will eventually connect the Santa Ana Mountains and the Cleveland National Forest to the Pacific Ocean.

Mariners Church Irvine is a Christian megachurch with the 2nd largest church building in California.

Originally inhabited by native peoples as much as 18,000 years ago, the Irvine Company later came to own 93,000 acres of contiguous undeveloped land in Orange County. Irvine Ranch encompassed roughly one-fifth of Orange County. While originally devoted to raising cattle and sheep, by the 1910s the Irvine Ranch had become a productive agricultural operation. During World War II, two Marine Corps air facilities were built on land the Irvine Company sold to the United States government. In the years after World War II, urban sprawl from Los Angeles increasingly put pressure on the Irvine Company to subdivide and sell off its property as many other property owners in Orange County had done. Instead, the Irvine Ranch chose to create a master-planned city. Irvine is based on a master plan whereby development was divided into communities known as “villages.” Development began in the mid-1960s. Irvine, California was incorporated as a charter law city with a Council/Manager form of government in 1971. 57,000 acres out of the Irvine Company’s original holdings of 93,000 acres have been left undeveloped and are now in permanent public ownership.

The attorneys at Kokozian Law Firm, APC practice employment law and represent workers throughout the City of Irvine and neighboring cities such as Lake Forest (formerly known as El Toro), Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach, and Rancho Santa Margarita. We represent workers concerning a variety of Wrongful Termination claims, including Discrimination and Retaliation claims. We also represent workers concerning Wage and Hour claims. If your employer or former employer has violated your rights, call the experienced employment attorneys at Kokozian Law Firm, APC or Contact Us via our online form.