Laguna Woods

city in Orange County, California, United States

Key facts

Country: United States
State: California
County: Orange
Incorporated: March 24, 1999
Type: Council-Manager
Mayor: Shari L. Horne
Mayor pro tem: Annie McCary
City council: Cynthia Conners , Pearl Lee , Carol Moore
City manager: Christopher Macon
Total: 3.34 sq mi (8.66 km )
Land: 3.34 sq mi (8.66 km )
Water: 0 sq mi (0.00 km ) 0.03%
Elevation

Article

Laguna Woods (luh-GOO-nuh; laguna being Spanish for 'lagoon') is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 17,644 at the 2020 census, up from 16,192 at the 2010 census, with a median age of 74.5 (as of 2021).

Laguna Woods became Orange County's 32nd city on March 24, 1999, after local residents voted to incorporate. About ninety percent of the city consists of Laguna Woods Village, a private gated retirement community, formerly known as Leisure World. The other ten percent consists of businesses, some homes, and the city hall, which are accessible to the public. Incorporation efforts in the late 1990s were largely driven by the need for residents to have a stronger voice against the prospective construction of an international airport at the nearby decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. The airport proposal was defeated, and the land in question has been tabbed for development as the Orange County Great Park.