- The Award, Plainly
- A World Cup Training Site at Great Park
- The Gateway Project: 700 Acres, Breaking Ground
- A Bridge That Actually Matters for Portola Springs
- Innovation, and a Baseball Team
- What This Means If You're Buying or Selling Here
Irvine has been voted Orange County's Best City to Live In by OC Register readers for eleven years running, and this year's list of reasons is more concrete than the usual "great schools, great weather" shorthand — a 2026 FIFA World Cup training site, a 700-acre open-space project breaking ground, and a professional baseball team on the way.
I've sold homes in this city for a long time now, and I'll be honest: when a ranking repeats for a decade-plus, it's worth asking whether it's just inertia. This year it isn't. The City of Irvine's own rundown of what happened in 2026 reads less like a victory lap and more like a punch list of things that actually touch daily life here — especially if you're in Portola Springs or Great Park, where a lot of this is happening in your backyard.
The Award, Plainly
The OC Register's Best of Orange County is reader-voted, now in its 33rd year, covering more than 80 categories across the county. Irvine took "Best City to Live In" again in 2026 — its 11th consecutive year holding that title, alongside Anaheim and Huntington Beach picking up wins of their own in other categories. Mayor Larry Agran put it this way in the city's announcement: "Irvine is a City that continues to lead, protect, and innovate while ensuring that everyone who calls our community home has the opportunity to thrive."
That's the headline. Here's what's underneath it.
A World Cup Training Site at Great Park
Great Park is set to serve as a training site for the U.S. Men's National Team during the 2026 FIFA World Cup — a genuinely unusual thing for a planned community's central park to host. If you live near Great Park, this is the kind of event that puts your neighborhood on a global broadcast for a few weeks. It's also a preview of how much use that park continues to get: Daisy Chain Fields, the music festival held there this year, drew more than 45,000 attendees on its own.
The Gateway Project: 700 Acres, Breaking Ground
Construction on the Gateway Project got underway in 2026 — roughly 700 acres slated for a mix of new housing and preserved natural open space on the city's edge. For buyers watching Irvine's long-term supply, this is one to track: it's a multi-year build-out, not a next-quarter inventory bump, but it signals the city is still planning for growth rather than treating itself as finished. If you're curious how a project like this could affect what your own home is worth over time, a home valuation is a reasonable place to start that conversation.
A Bridge That Actually Matters for Portola Springs
The Jeffrey Open Space Trail Bicycle & Pedestrian Bridge opened this year, extending one of the connections in Irvine's trail network. If you live in Portola Springs, you already know the Jeffrey Open Space Trail — it's the greenbelt a lot of us use to get to Northwood or down toward the village center without touching a car. A new bridge sounds small until it's the one that used to force a detour on your evening run.
Innovation, and a Baseball Team
The city also stood up the Irvine Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship this year, part of a push to keep the local economy diversified beyond its usual tech-and-biotech base — which matters for long-term housing demand, since a broader job base means a broader buyer pool. And for anyone who's been asking when Irvine gets its own pro sports team: a professional baseball franchise has been announced for Great Park, with an arrival targeted for 2027.
What This Means If You're Buying or Selling Here
None of this is a reason to assume your home jumped in value overnight — rankings and ribbon-cuttings don't move comps by themselves. But livability rankings this consistent do tend to support demand over time, and demand is the thing that actually holds prices up when rates are higher, like they are right now. If you're weighing a move into Irvine, or wondering what an 11-years-running "Best City" title is actually worth to a buyer evaluating your street, I'd rather walk you through the real comps than the headline. You can see what's currently listed on our properties page, or reach out directly through our contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many years in a row has Irvine won "Best City to Live In"?
Eleven, as of the OC Register's 2026 Best of Orange County, a reader-voted list now in its 33rd year.
Who votes on the OC Register's Best of Orange County awards?
Readers do. The 2026 edition covered more than 80 categories across the county, with Anaheim and Huntington Beach also winning in other categories.
What is the Gateway Project?
A roughly 700-acre development on Irvine's edge that broke ground in 2026, combining new housing with preserved natural open space. It's a long-term project, not something that changes inventory this year.
Is Irvine getting a professional sports team?
Yes — a professional baseball franchise has been announced for Great Park, targeted to arrive in 2027.
Does a "Best City to Live In" ranking actually affect home values?
Not directly or immediately. But sustained livability rankings tend to support buyer demand over the long run, which is one of the underlying forces that keeps a market resilient even when rates are elevated.
Thinking About Irvine?
If you're watching this city from the outside and wondering whether now's the time to make a move — or you already live here and want a straight read on what your home is worth in today's market — I'm happy to talk it through, no pressure, no script. Reach out anytime.
