FOUNDED: 1889
LEGACY: Name chosen to attract settlers to a sunny, prosperous county that only had an estimated 15K residents. Has since grown to 3.2M residents.
OC SIGNIFICANCE: What began as an agricultural region known for citrus groves and ranchland has evolved into one of the nation’s largest economies and a global center for innovation. Orange County is home to global destinations ranging from beach communities to the Disneyland Resort. Is sixth-largest county by population in the U.S. Estimated real GDP was $277.5B in 2024; if looked at as a stand-alone country, the economy would be size of Finland’s.
FACT: County government went bankrupt in 1994; finished paying $1.6B in debts in 2017.
FUN FACT: President Richard Nixon famously had his Western White House in San Clemente; it’s now owned by Gavin Herbert, founder of Allergan, which is profiled on page 38.
