Costa Mesa

The Tongva and Acjachemen peoples lived here long before Europeans arrived. Villages named Lupukngna and Genga stood along the bluffs of the Santa Ana River. The Portola expedition passed through in 1769 and named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana, the Valley of Saint Anne. Mission San Juan Capistrano became the first permanent European settlement nearby on November 1, 1776.

In 1801 the Spanish Empire granted 62,500 acres (253 km2) to Jose Antonio Yorba as Rancho San Antonio. Don Bernardo Yorba later owned Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, which included all of present-day Costa Mesa.

After the Mexican-American War, American settlers formed a community called Fairview in the 1880s, near Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue. Harper, a siding on the Santa Ana and Newport Railway, was renamed Costa Mesa on May 11, 1920. Fanny Bixby Spencer and her husband sponsored the naming contest.

The area was mostly farms and apple orchards through the 1800s. The Santa Ana Army Air Base operated here from 1942 to 1946.

Costa Mesa incorporated as a city on June 29, 1953. Its population grew nearly fivefold within three decades of incorporation. World War II trainees at the Santa Ana Army Air Base were part of the boost.

The Scarecrow and Pumpkin Festival was first held in 1938 and was revived in 2013.

The city is known for the arts and for shopping. The Segerstrom Center for the Arts and South Coast Repertory Theater are both based here. South Coast Plaza, the city's largest commercial center, is a major shopping destination.

The Orange County Fair is held each July at the fairgrounds and draws more than one million visitors a year. The Pacific Amphitheatre, next to the fairgrounds, hosts concerts. The fairgrounds also hold trade shows and expos through the year.

Hurley, RVCA, Vans and Volcom have headquarters here. Wahoo's Fish Taco was founded here in 1988. Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa is called the mother church of the Calvary Chapel denomination.

Trinity Broadcasting Network has also been based in the city. The Los Angeles Chargers used a training facility here, the Jack Hammett Sports Complex, from 2017 to 2024.

The economy rests heavily on retail and services. South Coast Metro, the business district around South Coast Plaza, reaches into the north of Costa Mesa and the south of Santa Ana. Light manufacturing, such as electronics, pharmaceuticals and plastics, is concentrated in the southwestern industrial quarter.

Companies with headquarters or major offices here include Experian, Anduril Industries, El Pollo Loco, Hurley, RVCA, Vans, Volcom and Toyota Racing Development. The city's list of top employers for the year ended June 30, 2025 also names the Coast Community College District, Orange Coast College, Automobile Club Enterprises, IBM and Deloitte and Touche.

The Daily Pilot is a local newspaper published by the Los Angeles Times.

Most travel in Costa Mesa is by car. State Route 55, the Costa Mesa Freeway, and State Route 73, the Corona del Mar Freeway, both end here. Interstate 405 runs through the city. John Wayne Airport is next to the city, just across the border in Santa Ana.

Orange County Transportation Authority buses serve the city. Harbor Boulevard, Newport Boulevard and Bristol Street run north and south. Baker Street, 17th Street and 19th Street run east and west.

Most public schools are in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The public high schools are Costa Mesa High School and Estancia High School. Orange Coast College, Vanguard University of Southern California and Sofia University are also in the city.

Visitors can see California Scenario, a public art garden by Isamu Noguchi, and the Diego Sepulveda Adobe on Adams Avenue, built in the 1820s. TeWinkle Park has a playground, walking areas and a skate park.

Alternative schools include Coastline Early College, Back Bay and Monte Vista. The middle schools are TeWinkle Middle School and Costa Mesa Middle School. TeWinkle is named after the city's first mayor.