Anaheim 2026The independent atlas report on Anaheim, United States.

Anaheim in 200 numbers. Read this before you read anything else.

A Mediterranean city of 346,000, year round 9 to 31 degree range and 3,260 sunshine hours, the city profile in one stat grid.

Anaheim scored 6.8 on the everycity index, placing it in the workable band of the global cohort of 5,000 cities. A single person spends $3,080 a month here including rent, groceries, transport and utilities. A working couple spends $4,640. Internet runs at a median 268 Mbps on residential fiber per OOKLA Speedtest readings from April 2026. The average reported salary, blended across sectors, is $5,240 a month. Safety reads 6.8 on a 0 to 10 scale, with the night safety subindex at 5.8, the female solo subindex at 6.4, and the family subindex at 7.2. The metro area holds 346,000 people and sits at 33.836594 degrees north, 117.914299 degrees west. The summer high lands at 31 Celsius, the winter low at 9 Celsius. The city averages 3,260 sunshine hours a year.

Compared with peer cities, Anaheim sits within the regional cohort on monthly outlay. For broader context, the Americas continent page ranks the regional top 25 cities. For salary comparisons across jurisdictions, run the tax calculator, or read the after tax salary comparison longform. The full method behind the everycity composite is published on the methodology page.

Risk, by the subindex.

No moral panic, no rose tint. Four subindices, all referenced to the latest national crime statistics and Numbeo's crowdsourced safety panel.

Anaheim's overall safety score lands at 6.8, which places it in the workable band on the everycity index. The female solo subindex reads 6.4 and the night walk subindex reads 5.8, both of which capture the variance between daytime and after dark experience. Family safety, weighted for primary school commute risk, sits at 7.2. Health insurance for relocating expats typically runs $45 to $145 a month through SafetyWing, which the editorial team uses on assignment. For broader context the global safest cities ranking places Anaheim alongside its regional peers in the cohort table.

The neighborhoods that draw the bulk of incident reports are noted in section 6. The areas that draw the fewest are listed there as well, with rents reflecting both reputation and reality. A foreigner walking with a phone in hand on a main avenue at 1 a.m. should not assume the safest neighborhood numbers apply to that scenario; the 5.8 night subindex is the figure that matters. Solo female nomads should read the safest cities for women ranking alongside this profile, and the best cities for women to live longform. Families should review the safest cities for families ranking for the regional cohort.

Who pays, and how much.

Salaries are gross monthly figures, blended from national labour bureau data and Glassdoor postings active in March 2026.

Largest employers in metro Anaheim

1. The Walt Disney Company Disneyland Resort (the structural single largest employer in the city with 36,000 cast members across the Disneyland Park, the Disney California Adventure, the Disneyland Resort hotels, and the Downtown Disney district; the historic 1955 founded Disneyland was the first US theme park built specifically for the post war suburban automobile generation)
2. Northgate Gonzalez Markets (the structural Hispanic American supermarket chain headquartered in Anaheim with 1,800 staff in metro Anaheim and 5,800 system wide)
3. City of Anaheim and Orange County Register (the structural municipal employer with 2,800 staff and the historic Orange County newspaper publishing on the Grand Avenue site)
4. Honda Center and the Anaheim Ducks NHL (the structural single largest Orange County professional sports venue, host of the Anaheim Ducks the historic 1993 founded Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL franchise renamed in 2006)
5. Angel Stadium and the Los Angeles Angels MLB (the historic 1966 founded Anaheim Stadium, renamed Edison International Field in 1998 and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2003, the structural Major League Baseball franchise with the Los Angeles market designation from 2005)
6. Boeing Anaheim Engineering and Production (the structural Boeing aerospace facility in northern Anaheim, anchor of the post 1997 Boeing McDonnell Douglas integration)
7. Anaheim Union High School District AUHSD (the structural largest education employer with 4,200 staff)
8. Kaiser Permanente Orange County and Anaheim Regional Medical Center (the structural healthcare anchors in the city)

The blended average salary in Anaheim runs $5,240 a month, gross of tax. A senior software developer earns $9,800 on local payroll, while a senior financial analyst commands $8,800. The largest employers are listed above; together they represent between 14 and 28 percent of formal sector employment in the metro area depending on the year measured. Expats moving regular income across borders typically use Wise at the daily mid market rate, which removes the 1.4 to 3.2 percent retail spread that local banks charge.

For an accurate after tax estimate including local social security, run the tax calculator. For a market wide salary view, the highest salary cities ranking and the highest paying cities after tax ranking place Anaheim in the relevant cohort. The lowest tax cities ranking covers the relative position on tax. For the cohort of cities offering strong tech salaries the tech jobs ranking is the right starting point.

Seven quarters, one verdict each.

A working map of where to live in Anaheim in 2026, ordered loosely from highest cost to lowest commute.

Anaheim Hills East and Anaheim Hills South is the highest priced and the most likely to deliver the lifestyle a Western expat imagines. Anaheim Colony Historic District is the value pick at a different price point. Anaheim Platinum Triangle is the modern family pick for the upper middle class. Brookhurst Street and the Little Arabia district sits in the academic or specialty cohort. The full neighborhood by neighborhood walk through, with photos, is in the Anaheim neighborhoods longform, scheduled to publish in Q3 2026.

Long term rental supply in Anaheim is concentrated in the four to seven year old apartment stock; older buildings often lack reliable elevators or, in some districts, reliable hot water during the coldest months. Furnished one bedroom listings turn over in a median 7 days at the city center price point and 10 days in the outer ring per the local portals indexed by the editorial property platform guide. The neighborhood matcher tool will rank the seven against your weighted preferences if you score them: neighborhood matcher. For relocating families with school age children, the family friendly cities ranking is the next read in the sequence.

For the kids, and the postgrads.

School and university density, plus the practical commute to each option.

International and bilingual schools

• Servite High School (the historic 1958 founded Catholic Servite Order all boys secondary, the structural single most distinguished Catholic boys school in Orange County)
• Cornelia Connelly School (the historic 1961 founded Catholic Holy Child Jesus Society all girls secondary)
• Fairmont Preparatory Academy (the structural private K through 12 international student focused preparatory)
• Esperanza High School (the structural Anaheim Hills public secondary, the most distinguished public secondary in the city)
• Canyon High School (the structural east Anaheim public secondary serving the Anaheim Hills catchment)
• Western High School (the historic 1949 founded west Anaheim public secondary)
• Anaheim High School (the historic 1898 founded structural single oldest Anaheim public secondary)

Universities

• California State University Fullerton CSUF (the structural flagship Orange County CSU campus 6 kilometers north of Anaheim with 40,000 students, the historic 1957 founded Orange County State College, the second largest CSU campus after CSULB)
• Chapman University (the structural Disciples of Christ founded private university 12 kilometers south of Anaheim in Orange with 10,000 students, the structural single most distinguished Orange County private university and the historic 1981 Dodge College of Film and Media Arts)
• Hope International University (the structural Anaheim private Christian university with 1,400 students)
• Cypress College and Fullerton College (the structural North Orange Community College District anchors)
• Anaheim University (the structural private online focused university)

Relocating families in Anaheim typically pick from the school cluster listed above. Tuition for relocating expatriate families typically runs $2,800 a year at the lower priced bilingual options and $7,400 a year at the international baccalaureate flagships. Waiting lists for grade entry between January and August are common; the most popular options publish their priority dates on the national education ministry portal each November. The combined family safety subindex of 7.2 on the everycity index should be read alongside the school commute when ranking neighborhoods.

For comparable family rated cities in the region, the family friendly cities ranking and the best cities for international schools ranking are the right starting points. The best cities to raise a family longform covers the parental leave, primary school commute, and weekend public space variables in detail. For local pediatric specialists, the editorial guide on international health insurance lists the in network hospitals near each Anaheim school cluster. the United States country page covers the national education policy context.

What makes the city itself.

Food signatures, nightlife rating, and the cultural through line that separates Anaheim from its regional neighbors.

The food signatures of Anaheim include the structural Mexican American culinary tradition (the post 1900 Anaheim Mexican American community concentration in central Anaheim and the Brookhurst corridor, the structural single largest Hispanic American demographic at 53 percent of the city population), the historic Little Arabia district on Brookhurst Street between Ball Road and Lincoln Avenue (the structural single largest Arab American commercial district in the United States with the Sahara Falafel, the Olive Tree Restaurant, and the Kareem Filipino Halal Restaurant), the historic Anaheim Packing District on the South Anaheim Boulevard (the historic 1919 founded Anaheim Citrus Packing Association warehouse converted to a structural 30 stall food hall in 2013), the post 2010 Anaheim Brewery Cluster on the West Lincoln Avenue (the structural craft brewery district with the Anaheim Brewery and the Bottle Logic Brewing), and the structural Disneyland Resort culinary ecosystem (the Carthay Circle Restaurant, the Blue Bayou at the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, the Napa Rose at the Disneys Grand Californian Hotel). The high points of the dining year run through June through September, when restaurant temperatures sit at the comfortable end of the range and the produce calendar peaks. For longer reads on the cuisine, the best food cities ranking and the Michelin cities ranking place Anaheim in the relevant cohort regionally. Nightlife sits at a 6.8 rating on the everycity scale. For coffee culture, the editorial guide on local routines for expats is the right starting point.

The cultural calendar runs through the local national holidays plus two or three city specific festivals that bring the largest annual foot traffic. The United States cultural and creative industries policy is reviewed in detail on the United States country page, and the continent page covers the broader pattern across the region. For evening life specifically, the best nightlife cities ranking includes the Anaheim cohort, and the cities for music ranking covers live venue density. Visitors planning a scouting trip should also read the best cities for singles longform and the best cities for couples longform.

Keep going.