Overview
About Central Coast
Central Coast is the shoulder of the village south of downtown, where Glenneyre, Catalina, Oak, Anita, Cress, Thalia, Brooks, St Anns Drive and Mountain Road run between the hillside and South Coast Highway. The city draws it as evacuation zone 9b. Across 235 acres the assessor counts 1,203 parcels on seventy-two named streets, and the zoning splits almost evenly between 475 parcels in R1 and 371 in R2, with a further 116 in the C1 commercial category along the highway.
Two of the four beaches the city designates for surfing, Thalia Street and Brooks Street, sit at the foot of streets inside this boundary, and ten bus stops serve it. Forty-nine of the 235 acres fall inside the mapped coastal zone. The city's Historic Resources Inventory lists 222 resources here, the largest concentration in Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach Unified serves the neighborhood from four campuses and 2,291 students, with El Morro and Top of the World elementaries feeding Thurston Middle and then Laguna Beach High.
View available homes in Central CoastHistory
How Central Coast was built
John Damron held 528 acres at the mouth of Laguna Canyon, and George Rogers bought the ground from him for a thousand dollars. The Rogers ranch house stood where City Hall stands now, the first home in the village, and Rogers and Henry Goff gave the land the village’s first schoolhouse was built on. City Hall went up on that ranch site in 1953.
This is the part of town the art colony actually occupied. Frank Cuprien settled here in 1912, and William Wendt, Anna Hills and Edgar Payne worked here too. Edgar Payne converted the old town pavilion into a gallery, and in 1918 the painters founded the Laguna Beach Art Association. The Playhouse opened in 1920, the Festival of Arts premiered in 1932 as a Depression measure, and the town’s population went from 363 in 1920 to 1,981 in 1930 to 4,460 in 1940.
By the Numbers
Central Coast by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Central Coast lifestyle
Laguna Beach occupies 8.84 square miles with a population of about 23,000 and roughly six million visitors a year on the city's own count, and provides its own police, fire and marine safety protection.
Beaches north of Aliso Creek close between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.; beaches south of the creek close between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.; Thousand Steps Beach closes between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
The city permits surfing at Agate, Brooks, Rockpile and Thalia Street beaches. Smoking fines on city beaches, parks and trails run $100, then $200, then $500 within twelve months.
Schools
Schools serving Central Coast
Laguna Beach Unified serves Central Coast along with the rest of the city, from four campuses and 2,291 students on the 2024-25 federal count: El Morro Elementary 404, Top of the World Elementary 536, Thurston Middle 524 and Laguna Beach High 815. Attendance is set by the district and can change, so confirm the current assignment for a specific address with the district before relying on it.
K-5 · 404 students
K-5 · 536 students
6-8 · 524 students
9-12 · 815 students
FAQs
Common questions about Central Coast
What area does Central Coast cover?
The city's published boundary encloses 235 acres, drawn as evacuation zone 9b, on the shoulder of the village south of downtown between the hillside and South Coast Highway. The assessor counts 1,203 parcels on seventy-two named streets, among them Glenneyre, Catalina, Oak, Anita, Cress, Thalia, Brooks and St Anns Drive.
Which schools serve Central Coast?
Laguna Beach Unified serves the whole city from four campuses and 2,291 students on the 2024-25 federal count: El Morro Elementary 404, Top of the World Elementary 536, Thurston Middle 524 and Laguna Beach High 815. Both the middle school and the high school stand a short way inland on Park Avenue. Elementary assignment is set by the district, so confirm the current one for a specific address with the district office.
Can you surf here?
Yes, at two of the four beaches the city designates for surfing. Thalia Street and Brooks Street beaches both sit at the foot of streets inside this boundary. The city's other two designated surfing beaches are Agate and Rockpile. Check the city's Marine Safety page for seasonal restrictions before paddling out.
How old is Central Coast?
Among the oldest ground in the city. S. H. Finley recorded two maps in 1894 and the Completed Corrected Map of Laguna Beach followed in 1896. Thirty tracts went on record between 1894 and 1986, and 74 percent of the structures standing today predate 1950, with the 1930s the single heaviest decade of building.
Are there historic properties in Central Coast?
More than anywhere else in Laguna Beach. The city's Historic Resources Inventory lists 222 resources inside the boundary, filed under seven vicinity names, with 139 under Laguna South, 47 under South Coast Highway and 15 under the Park Avenue neighborhood. Check a specific address against the inventory with the city before planning any exterior work.