Mission Viejo is a city located in southern Orange County, California in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in its size. The city has a 2011 estimated population of 93,483.
Mission Viejo is suburban in nature and culture. The city is mainly residential, although there are a number of offices and businesses within its city limits. The city is known for its picturesque tree-lined neighborhoods, receiving recognition from the National Arbor Day Foundation. The city’s name is a reference to Rancho Mission Viejo, a large Spanish land grant from which the community was founded.
Mission Viejo was named the safest city in the United States in a 2007 Morgan Quitno crime statistic survey (compiled from FBI data). In 2009, it was named the safest city in California and third safest in the nation, according to CQ Press.