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City of Rancho Santa Margarita, California
Seal
Location of Rancho Santa Margarita within Orange County, California.
Coordinates: 33°38′29″N 117°35′40″W / 33.64139, -117.59444
Country	United States
State	California
County	Orange
Incorporated	January 1, 2000
Government
- Mayor	L. Anthony Beall
Area
- Total	12.3 sq mi (31.9 km²)
- Land	12.3 sq mi (31.8 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km²)
Elevation	951 ft (290 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	47,214
- Density	3,847.9/sq mi (1,485.7/km²)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	92688, 92679
Area code(s)	949
FIPS code	06-59587
GNIS feature ID	1867054
Website: http://www.cityofrsm.org/

Rancho Santa Margarita is a city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a newer, planned community set upon rolling hills. Most homes in Rancho Santa Margarita are maintained by homeowners associations. The multiplicity of names often creates confusion: people in the Dove Canyon, Rancho Cielo, or Robinson Ranch neighborhood, for example, can receive mail addressed to them at Rancho Santa Margarita, Dove Canyon, Coto de Caza, Robinson Ranch or Trabuco Canyon.

The population was 47,214 at the 2000 census.

Although it is named for Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, which was in San Diego County, the city limits fall within the borders of Rancho Mission Viejo.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Larger Homeowner's Associations and Communities 4 Demographics 5 Education 6 Population History from the U.S. Census Bureau 7 External links

The city seal has the brands of Rancho Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita and Las Flores on the border, with artwork containing Santiago Peak in the background. The tower in the foreground symbolizes the Rancho Santa Margarita Lake Tower. St. Daisy Ranch in Spanish it is named after Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores.

Antonio Parkway coincidentally intersects with Avenida de las Banderas in Rancho Santa Margarita. (See actor Antonio Banderas).

Rancho Santa Margarita is located at 33°38′29″N, 117°35′40″W (33.641518, -117.594524)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.9 km² (12.3 mi²). 31.8 km² (12.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.13 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.16%) is water.

Dove Canyon is a private residential community located in eastern Rancho Santa Margarita, California. It is a small enclave of approximately 1,200 homes and 5,000 residents. Included within the guard gated entry is a Jack Nicklaus signature golf club, pool, tennis courts, a small child's park, a wide field, a shopping center, and a reservoir. The majority of its residents are upper middle class residents of Orange County, and all of the homes in Dove Canyon are single family residences. It is located in the Southeasternmost foothills of Orange County, California. Major roads include Dove Canyon/Bell Canyon and Sycamore Canyon. A horse trail starts at the waterfalls outside of the community and continues until the end of Sycamore Canyon. From there, hikers, horse riders, bikers, etc. can continue into Dove Canyon's neighbor community, Coto de Caza

Robinson Ranch is a mid-sized residential community located northeastern Rancho Santa Margarita south of Trabuco Canyon. It is one of the older communities in Rancho Santa Margarita. It has several condominium areas closer to Plano Trabuco Road aand a large park. Major Roads include Robinson Ranch and Shadow Rock. Like Dove Canyon and Rancho Cielo it is assigned with a Trabuco Canyon zip code even though the areas were annexed into Rancho Santa Margarita in the 1990s.

Rancho Cielo is a smaller residential community located in eastern Rancho Santa Margarita, California. It included with a guarded and gated entry. Meaning "Sky Ranch" in spanish it is near the intersection of Plano Trabuco Road and Dove Canyon Drive. All of the homes are all single family residences and the majority of it's residents are upper-middle class. Major Roads include Rancho Cielo and Camino Del Cielo.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 47,214 people, 16,253 households, and 12,417 families residing within the city. The population density was 1,485.7/km² (3,847.6/mi²). There were 16,515 housing units at an average density of 519.7/km² (1,345.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.59% White, 1.75% African American, 0.42% Native American, 7.40% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 4.49% from other races, and 4.15% from two or more races. Hispanic of any race were 13.00% of the population.

There were 16,253 households out of which 51.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.7% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.6% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 41.4% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 3.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $78,475, and the median income for a family was $88,216. Males had a median income of $61,314 versus $40,799 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,531. About 1.5% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over. Most of the neighborhoods in RSM are maintained by larger homeowner's associations including Melinda Heights, Dove Canyon, Rancho Cielo, Robinson Ranch, and Trabuco Highlands. Dove Canyon, Trabuco Highlands, Robinson Ranch, and Rancho Cielo were all established before Rancho Santa Margarita was an unincorporated community so from Trabuco Canyon to the end of Plano Trabuco Road is designated with a Trabuco Canyon zip code even though the area was annexed into Rancho Santa Margarita in the 1990s.^[1]

The city is served by Saddleback Valley Unified School District and the Capistrano Unified School District.

• RSM Intermediate School, one of the most technologically advanced middle schools in the state, serves 7th-8th graders. It is one of the few schools that has a separate theater and school gym.
• Public Elementary schools include Cielo Vista, Trabuco Mesa, Robinson Ranch, Arroyo Vista, and Melinda Heights.
• Private Elementary and Middle Schools include St. John's Episcopal, Serra Catholic, and Mission Hills Christian School.
• Santa Margarita Catholic High School is a private Roman Catholic high school associated with the Catholic Diocese of Orange, and headed by Principal Ray Dunne. SMCHS is located in Rancho Santa Margarita.

• 1990....11,390 (Z)
• 2000....47,214
• (est. Present)... 49,000

(Z): Census figure taken prior to incorporation

• City of Rancho Santa Margarita official website

• Rancho Santa Margarita, California is at coordinates 33°38′30″N 117°35′40″W / 33.641518, -117.594524Coordinates: 33°38′30″N 117°35′40″W / 33.641518, -117.594524

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Orange County, California
County seat: Santa Ana
Cities	Aliso Viejo | Anaheim | Brea | Buena Park | Costa Mesa | Cypress | Dana Point | Fountain Valley | Fullerton | Garden Grove | Huntington Beach | Irvine | La Habra | La Palma | Laguna Beach | Laguna Hills | Laguna Niguel | Laguna Woods | Lake Forest | Los Alamitos | Mission Viejo | Newport Beach | Orange | Placentia | Rancho Santa Margarita | San Clemente | San Juan Capistrano | Santa Ana | Seal Beach | Stanton | Tustin | Villa Park | Westminster | Yorba Linda
CDPs	Coto de Caza | Las Flores | Rossmoor | Tustin Foothills
Unincorporated communities	Ladera Ranch | Midway City | Modjeska Canyon | Orange Park Acres | Santa Ana Heights | Santiago Canyon | Silverado | Sunset Beach | Trabuco Canyon