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Community guide

Costa Mesa

Art, independent flavor, and a little room to roam.

Start with a show, make time for a neighborhood coffee stop, and head outside when the afternoon opens up. Costa Mesa brings an arts campus, destination shopping, creative businesses, and parks together in an inland city close to the coast. Use this guide to choose a few stops, explore its five areas, and get a feel for the places you would return to.

Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa, photographed in 2007 by Buchanan-Hermit
Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa, photographed in 2007 by Buchanan-Hermit. Landmark photograph; see photo credits. Photo credits

Explore at your own pace

Places worth knowing.

7 places to explore
Arts & culture

Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Plan an evening around theater, music, or dance on Costa Mesa’s performing-arts campus. Start with the official calendar, then consider where you want to eat before or after the show. Each venue has its own event and arrival information.

Visitor information
Arts & culture

Orange County Museum of Art

Explore modern and contemporary art on the arts campus. The museum’s own website is the place to see current exhibitions, visitor information, and upcoming programs. Pair a visit with the surrounding public spaces for a different view of South Coast Metro.

Visitor information
Shopping & dining

South Coast Plaza

Browse a major shopping destination with boutiques and restaurants. Use its store and dining directories to plan a focused visit, or leave time to explore between stops. Check the center’s own information for current businesses and special events.

Visitor information
Shopping & dining

The LAB Anti-Mall

A smaller retail and dining destination with independent shops and gathering spaces. Look through the current shop-and-eat directory before a visit, then spend time on foot. It offers a different kind of shopping outing from the city’s larger retail centers.

Visitor information
Events & entertainment

OC Fair & Event Center

The fairgrounds host the summer OC Fair and activities beyond fair season. Look at the event calendar, Centennial Farm, and Heroes Hall when planning a visit. Check each program separately for access and operating information.

Visitor information
Parks & outdoors

Fairview Park

Explore Costa Mesa’s open-space landscape and trails. Plan around current access, posted habitat protections, and the kind of walk or ride you want to take. The city’s park information helps you choose an entry point and understand permitted activities.

Visitor information
Parks & outdoors

Talbert Regional Park

Find a different outdoor setting along the Santa Ana River corridor. The county park’s official guide includes location and access information. Combine it with a broader Westside outing, allowing time to check the trail conditions and posted rules when you arrive.

Visitor information

A curated starting point for exploring the community. Follow the official links for current access, events, reservations, and visitor details.

A closer look

Five areas of Costa Mesa

These five sections organize Frances’s guide. They are not an official five-district boundary map. Eastside and Westside are commonly used names; College Park, Mesa del Mar, SoBECA, and other named neighborhoods may be described separately in city and visitor resources.

01 / Costa Mesa

Mesa Verde

Residential streets, golf, and room to explore

Mesa Verde includes a mix of housing settings, from streets near the golf course to homes closer to the shopping corridors. Adams Avenue and Harbor Boulevard connect residents with everyday dining and errands. Explore the neighborhood block by block: lot size, architecture, renovation history, and the immediate setting can change the feel of a home considerably. Nearby Fairview Park adds another reason to spend time outdoors. Frances considers Mesa Verde one of Costa Mesa’s premium areas; individual values still depend on the property and current comparable sales.

02 / Costa Mesa

Eastside Costa Mesa

A connection to Newport Beach

Eastside meets Newport Beach along the city boundary, making it a natural area to explore if you like the connection between neighborhood streets, coastal destinations, and local dining. The 17th Street corridor is a useful starting point for cafés, shops, and restaurants. Upper Newport Bay is a nearby outdoor destination in Newport Beach, not an Eastside neighborhood park. Frances sees similarities between some Eastside homes and neighboring Newport Beach homes, and considers Eastside another premium Costa Mesa area. Compare specific blocks, floor plans, and recent sales rather than treating the whole area as one price point.

Upper Newport Bay in neighboring Newport Beach—an outdoor destination near Eastside
Upper Newport Bay in neighboring Newport Beach—an outdoor destination near Eastside. Photograph by CharleBernardo, CC0. Photo credits
03 / Costa Mesa

South Coast Metro

Shopping and culture with a metropolitan feel

Start with South Coast Plaza and the nearby performing-arts destinations. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, South Coast Repertory, and the museum campus make this part of Costa Mesa especially useful for a shopping-and-show outing. Metro Pointe adds another retail destination. The broader South Coast Metro name is used beyond a single residential tract, so confirm the city and exact address when comparing listings. Look beyond the shopping district to understand the particular home’s street setting, building amenities, parking, and any association arrangements.

South Coast Plaza interior, photographed in 2006 by Arnold C
South Coast Plaza interior, photographed in 2006 by Arnold C. Historical landmark photograph; stores and interiors may change. Photo credits
04 / Costa Mesa

Central Costa Mesa

College Park, neighborhood life, and the fairgrounds

This guide groups College Park and nearby central destinations together for an easy starting point. College Park offers established residential streets; the surrounding central area also brings you near the OC Fair & Event Center, TeWinkle Park, and Orange Coast College. The summer fair is a major seasonal draw, while the fairgrounds host activities beyond fair season. When touring homes, experience the same streets on an ordinary weekday and during a busy event. That gives you a more useful picture of access, parking, and everyday routines.

OC Fairgrounds, a major Central Costa Mesa destination
OC Fairgrounds, a major Central Costa Mesa destination. Photo credits
05 / Costa Mesa

Southwest Costa Mesa

Westside character and connections toward the coast

Southwest is the guide grouping used here for exploring Costa Mesa’s southwestern streets and Westside destinations. The Westside mixes residential blocks with creative businesses, cafés, and commercial corridors. Fairview Park and the adjacent Talbert Regional Park area offer nearby outdoor exploration, with connections into the Santa Ana River corridor. Compare the setting around each property: a quiet residential street and a home near a busy business corridor can offer very different daily experiences. Newport Beach and Huntington Beach are neighboring coastal destinations; beach access and travel time depend on the starting address. Lions Park and the Donald Dungan Library campus offer another Westside landmark to explore.

South Costa Mesa and the surrounding coastal area, photographed in 2011
South Costa Mesa and the surrounding coastal area, photographed in 2011. This broad aerial provides context rather than defining Southwest boundaries. Photograph by Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 3.0. Photo credits

Education & everyday life

Schools in Costa Mesa

Explore public, charter and private school listings, from elementary through high school grades. This directory contains 36 listings: 24 public and charter, and 12 private. Each school links to its California Department of Education profile.

Schools are grouped by the city in their recorded location address, not by attendance boundaries. Some specialized programs use an administrative address rather than a single campus. A nearby school is not necessarily the assigned school for a home. Confirm enrollment, grade offerings and attendance eligibility directly with the school or district.

Private-school addresses are from 2024–25, with 2025–26 enrollment information where available. Newer schools or moves may be missing; confirm current details with each school.

Browse and search 36 school listings

Showing 36 listings

About this school directory & its sources

Prepared October 29, 2026. Public listings include active schools with K–12 grade coverage in the CDE public school directory, downloaded that day. Standalone preschools, adult education centers, district offices and regional occupational programs are excluded.

Private locations come from the CDE 2024–25 private school location dataset. Where the school’s CDS code matches the 2025–26 Private School Affidavit data, the newer name and grades with reported enrollment are shown. Those grades describe that reporting year, not a promise of current offerings. Unmatched older records remain clearly marked; an absent newer record does not establish that a school has closed.

The state’s private school data generally cover schools reporting six or more students. Small schools, newer openings, relocations and changes after the reporting dates may be missing. This is a dated directory, not a complete live inventory or a rating. Use the current California School Directory and contact each school to verify its details.

The grade filter uses K–5, 6–8 and 9–12 bands. Schools spanning several bands appear in each applicable filter; these bands do not redefine a school’s official elementary, middle or high school classification.

Fresh & local

Farmers markets.

Market information checked October 28, 2026. Confirm the current schedule before visiting.

Keep this guide handy

Your local starting points.

Destination information reviewed October 29, 2026. Businesses, programs, and access arrangements can change.

Local questions. Personal guidance.

Let’s talk about Costa Mesa.

Planning a move, exploring a neighborhood, or looking for a local starting point? Tell Frances what you’d like to know.

Frances Caldwell
eXp Realty · DRE #01346509

Your inquiry is sent to Frances Caldwell at eXp Realty. Prefer a direct message? Email Frances directly.

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