As a predominantly residential city, Laguna Niguel serves as a bedroom community for the job centers of northern and central Orange County.

Laguna Niguel has a median household income 31 percent above the Orange County average[7] and nearly double the U.S.

In 1842, the 13,316-acre (5,389 ha) Rancho Niguel was granted to Juan Avila; he retained ownership of the land through the Mexican–American War (when California became part of the United States) until 1865, when a severe drought forced him into bankruptcy.

In 1895 Lewis Moulton and Jean Pierre Daguerre bought the Rancho Niguel and other portions of the surrounding area from farmers who were struggling due to persistent drought conditions.

The Moulton Company was established to oversee 19,000 acres (7,700 ha) of local land which was used, mainly for orchards and sheep ranching, well into the mid-20th century.

[11] In 1951 the land was divided between the Moulton and Daguerre families, the latter inheriting 8,056 acres (3,260 ha) in the future location of Laguna Niguel.

The initial 7,100-acre (2,900 ha) town plan was created by Viennese architect Victor Gruen and expanded beginning in 1971 by AVCO Community Developers after they acquired the Laguna Niguel Corporation.

As the city would be developed in stages, ranchers and farmers signed annual leases with the Laguna Niguel Corporation to use the land until the planned communities were built.

[14] In 1964, Crown Valley Parkway was completed from I-5 to the Pacific Coast Highway, facilitating transport through the growing city.

[15] The Laguna Niguel Homeowner's Association was formed in 1966 as an advisory to the Orange County Board of Supervisors (which governed the unincorporated community).

The Chet Holifield Federal Building (a local landmark popularly known as the "Ziggurat"), designed by William L. Pereira, was constructed for Rockwell International in 1971 and was meant to bring 7,000 jobs to the area.

Both cities submitted incorporation requests in December 1986, when a controversy immediately erupted over the coastal Monarch Beach community.

Although Monarch Beach had been developed by the Laguna Niguel Corporation, its residents voted 61 percent in favor of joining with Dana Point.

Laguna Niguel was formally incorporated on December 1, 1989, without the coastal strip, as Orange County's 29th city.

[21] In 1992, Alicia Parkway was completed to I-5, providing a shorter route for northbound commuters; in 1996 the 73 San Joaquin Hills toll road opened, linking Laguna Niguel to the Interstate 405 in Costa Mesa.

[15] In 1994 local residents first noticed damage to retaining walls and roads near an artificial slope on Via Estoril in the Niguel Summit community, and geologists warned that the area could be subject to a landslide.

After heavy rains caused by the 1997–98 Super El Niño, the hill collapsed on March 19, 1998, destroying 5 or 6 homes at the top and five condominium units at the bottom.

[22] In addition, the project had been plagued by instability throughout its construction, and halted repeatedly "after complaints of mudslides, slope washouts, erosion and dust.

This fire started after problems and circuit activity was reported on a Southern California Edison short distance electricity tower in Laguna Beach.

Laguna Niguel Lake, formed by damming Sulphur Creek, is the largest body of water in the city.

[26] Although Laguna Niguel is located very close to the Pacific, it does not border it, the result of a controversy over the coastline with Dana Point in 1989 (see #History).

The racial makeup of Laguna Niguel was 72.6% White, 1.9% African American, 11.3% Asian, and 15.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As a bedroom community, most residents commute outside of Laguna Niguel to central and north Orange County cities, such as Irvine and Newport Beach.

The main thoroughfare is Crown Valley Parkway, which bisects Laguna Niguel roughly from southwest to northeast, linking the PCH in Dana Point to I-5 in Mission Viejo.

[26] The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) operates the 85, 87, 90, 91, 187 and 490 bus routes in Laguna Niguel.

[73] Laguna Niguel's major roads are designated as "scenic highways" within landscape corridors, which includes parks, decorative medians, and grade-separated recreational paths.

[74] Crown Valley Park, visited by about 240,000 people per year, has the city's main public sports facilities.

[76] Aliso and Wood Canyons is part of the larger South Coast Wilderness, 22,000 acres (8,900 ha) of preserved open space in the San Joaquin Hills that also includes the larger Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Crystal Cove State Park outside the city limits.

The interconnected city and regional park systems provide a significant refuge for wildlife in an area of Orange County otherwise filled with suburban sprawl.

[80] The Laguna Ridge Trail passes through Badlands County Park, which exposes the namesake geological formations, and approaches the summit of Niguel Hill, the highest point in the city.