Irvine, California was named in 2008 to the list of the 100 Best Places to Live in America by Money Magazine. In fact, Irvine made it to Number Four and it was planned to be the best!

In the 1960s, Irvine became one of the first planned urban communities in the nation and was incorporated in 1971. The University of California planned a campus for this area in Orange County and hired architect William Pereira to design its new campus and to fit an urban community around it. Over 40 years later, this place is the #4 city in America to live, with about 214,000 residents and over 16,000 acres of healthy green space. The city contains 18 city parks and 35 neighborhood parks. It's almost perfect and was made to be so. In full, Irvine covers 65 square miles of land.

The public school system is also one of the best in America and shows that in higher-than-average standardized test scores without cheating or undue teacher stress. In fact, the high school graduation rate is 96%.

Housing costs make the one drawback that most residents can name. They are higher than in other cities and states, but so is the average wage among Irvine residents.

This is all afar cry from the lifestyle of the Indigenous People of 10,000 BC in Orange County - the Gabrielino Nation of Native Americans, related to the Shosone, a western tribe. With the discovery of Southern California for Spain by that country's explorers and later influx of other nationalities, a rich heritage of multiculturalism resulted.

Irvine city government provides business incentives to companies in irvine to conserve energy and establish green jobs. This city is in the middle of California's Technology Coast and has planned to bring green technologies into daily life and work. As a result, dozens of recomendations for sustainabilty are available to new businesses that build in Irvine.

The WIA in Orange County has functioned as a Jobs Services provider for Irvine since the laste 1990s. In 2009, additional funds were received form the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for these and anciliary purposes. 

Destination Irvine also serve to draw new residents and businesses to this community.

1. University of California, Irvine
2. Irvine Unified School District
3. St. John Knits - Knit Garments
4. The Irvine Company - Real Estate
5. Parker Hannifan - Aircraft Parts
6. Allergan – Pharmaceuticals
7. Freedom Communication Inc. – Media
8. New Century Financial Corp.
9. Parker Aerospace - Aerospace & Defense
10. Edwards Lifesciences Corp.- Heart Valves & related

Indeed.Com, a major Internet job listings board shows over 28,000 job openings within 25 miles of Irvine on May 10 - 12, 2009. Job listings had declined somewhat during 1st Qte 2009, but began to rise again in April. Additional 1000s of jobs a renot posted on Indeed, but listed via private companies and government offices. The ARRA Stimulus Package and efforts of UC-Irvine to work with government and business to create more green and life sciences jobs faster are boosting the economy for the longer term.

Salary Ranges

• Over 27,000 jobs listed pay in the rage of $40,000 - 60,000 annually.
• About 5,000 jobs pay $80,000 - 90,000+
• 2100 jobs pay over over $100,000, just below the median wage in Irvine.
• Another 26,000 jobs pay between $20,000 and $39,000 yearly.

Nearby Locations Offering the Most Jobs in the 25-mile Radius

• Irvine, Anaheim, Sanata Ana, Long Beach, Orange, Costa Mesa

Top 10 Job Listings

1. Physical Therapist
2. Sales Manager
3. Sales Reps and Associates – junior and senior.
4. Assistant Managers – various industries, incuding Retail Sales.
5. Independent Sales Reps – contractors.
6. Administrative Assistants
7. Tellers
8. Customer Service Reps
9. Occupational Therapists
10. Account Executives - Insurance, Finance, and other fields.

Many of these occupations are available in the Insurance, Banking, and Finance sectors and some are avaiable in Healthcare and IT. 

The Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine Metro Area is forecast by the State of California to offer the most jobs from 2009 - 2016 in the following occupational titles:

1. Network Systems & Data Communications Analysts
2. Occupational Therapy Assistants and Physical Therapy Assistants
3. Medical Assistants, Physician Assistants, Dental Hygienists & Assistants
4. Gambling & Betting: Book Writers/Runners
5. Animal Trainers and Craft Artists (tie)
6. Pharmacy Technicians
7. Computer Software Applications Engineers
8. Audio-Video Equipment Techs
9. Athletic Trainers
10. Forensic Science Techs (similar to CSI)

• Alliant International University
• California State University Fullerton: Irvine Campus
• Chapman University College - Irvine
• Concordia University
• Fashion Institute of Design
• Irvine Valley College
• Kaplan Aspect English Programs, IVC
• Stanbridge College
• University of California - Irvine
• USC Orange County Center

The following are just a few of the current research projects ongoing at UC-Irvine. Funding for research comes from a large variety of Federal and State entities, and public and private foundations, companies, and individuals. The environment, clean technologies, and sustainability in business and at home are essential foci.

A Sampling of Research Projects

• Epilepsy Treatment - Research Award given to Dr. Tallie Z. Baram.
• Urban Water Supplies
• Climate Change
• Funding for Ongoing Medical Research - How to gather and sustain.
• Music and Live Performance
• Mexico and Swine Flu
• Cantonese Opera in the Bay Area
• The Brain, Data and Expectations
• Handheld Technologies
• Native Americans in Southern California

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