Newport Beach vs Newport Coast: A Home Buyer's Comparison
Newport Coast is part of the City of Newport Beach, yet buyers shop it as a separate market, and the MLS lists it as its own city. The price gap is wide. In the 12 months to October 30, 2026, homes in Newport Coast sold for a median $6.2 million against $3.52 million in Newport Beach. Newport Beach is the deeper market, with 680 sales in those 12 months and 281 homes for sale on October 30, against 111 sales and 56 homes for sale in Newport Coast. Pace is close: the typical home went under contract in 25 days in Newport Beach and 27 in Newport Coast. You are choosing a setting. Newport Beach is a harbor and beach town, with established neighborhoods around Newport Center and the Back Bay. Newport Coast is a master-planned hillside of gated villages above Crystal Cove State Park.
One note on the numbers. The figures on this page follow the MLS split, so “Newport Beach” means the MLS city of that name, which leaves out both Newport Coast and Corona del Mar; each has its own page and its own figures. Sale figures are CRMLS closings for the 12 months to October 30, 2026, and homes for sale are counted on that date. Newport Coast records about a sixth as many sales, so a few large closings move its figures more. Its 90-day median, $4,450,000 through October 23, 2026, ran below the 12-month figure, so check the live Newport Beach real estate and Newport Coast real estate pages for current numbers.
Newport Coast| Metric | Newport Beach | Newport Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $3,520,000 | $6,200,000 |
| Change on the year before | Up 0.6 percent | Up 13.3 percent |
| Single-family median | $4,354,000 (460 sales) | $9,025,000 (82 sales) |
| Condo and townhome median | $1,500,000 (181 sales) | $2,110,000 (29 sales) |
| Median price per square foot | $1,456 | $1,613 |
| Median days on market | 25 | 27 |
| Sale price to original list | 96.2 percent | 94.6 percent |
| Buyers paying cash | 53 percent | 53 percent |
| Homes for sale (Oct 30, 2026) | 281 (228 active, 4.0 months of supply) | 56 (44 active, 4.8 months of supply) |
| ZIP codes | 92660, 92661, 92662, 92663 | 92657 |
| School district | Newport-Mesa Unified | Newport-Mesa Unified |
| Best known for | Newport Harbor, Balboa Island, Lido Isle, the Balboa Peninsula and its beaches | Crystal Cove State Park, Pelican Hill and guard-gated villages |
Price and market positioning
Newport Coast costs more at the median, $6.2 million against $3.52 million, and the gap is widest for detached homes: single-family homes sold for a median $9,025,000 in Newport Coast and $4,354,000 in Newport Beach over the same 12 months. By the square foot the two sit closer. Newport Coast homes sold for a median $1,613 a square foot against $1,456 in Newport Beach, about 11 percent more. Most of the gap in the headline median comes from house size. Newport Coast’s plan set aside estate lots for large custom homes alongside its condo and townhome villages, while Newport Beach’s harbor and beach neighborhoods sit on older, narrower lots.
Read the year-over-year change with care. Newport Coast’s median rose 13.3 percent and its single-family median 41 percent, but that rests on 82 single-family sales, and a handful of estate closings can move it. Newport Beach’s 680 sales give a steadier figure, up 0.6 percent. Price any single home off recent sales in its own village or neighborhood, which our community pages list sale by sale.
Homes and neighborhoods
Newport Beach is a city of distinct waterfront and inland neighborhoods built over a century. About half its sales in the last 12 months, 356 of 680, were in ZIP code 92660, which runs from Newport Center, the Bluffs and the Back Bay down to Linda Isle and Harbor Island in the harbor. The harbor holds Balboa Island, Lido Isle, Linda Isle and Harbor Island, with bay front homes and private docks; the Balboa Peninsula runs between the harbor and the ocean; Newport Heights sits on the bluffs above the harbor; and Dover Shores and Bayshores line the Upper Bay and the harbor near Pacific Coast Highway. Homes run from beach cottages and duplexes to bay front estates that sell for $20 million and more. For the harbor front in detail, see our guide to Newport Beach waterfront homes.
Newport Coast is a different kind of place. The Irvine Company master-planned it on former Irvine Ranch land, it developed in unincorporated Orange County, and it joined the City of Newport Beach by annexation in 2002. Most of its villages sit behind gates: Crystal Cove, Pelican Crest, Pelican Point, Pelican Hill, Ocean Heights and Pacific Ridge among them. Mediterranean architecture dominates by design, and preserved canyons and ridgelines frame the views. Condo and townhome villages such as Ziani, Trovare and Altezza are the way in: condos and townhomes sold for a median $2,110,000 in the last 12 months. Browse every village in the Newport Coast homes for sale search.
Costs beyond the price
Gated living has running costs. Many Newport Coast homes pay dues to a master association and to their own village association, which together cover gates, guards, slopes and common areas. Ask for both figures, the reserve study and any special assessments, and read the property tax bill line by line for assessments beyond the base 1 percent levy. Newport Beach homes vary more: many have no association at all, condos and some gated enclaves do, and a bay front home with a private dock carries its own costs, including the City’s pier permit and the rent it charges for the public tidelands a dock occupies. Insurance is the other difference. Our city pages mapped the homes for sale on October 30, 2026: about seven in ten Newport Coast listings (40 of 55) sat in a state Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, against none of 280 in Newport Beach, and fire zone affects which insurers will write a policy and at what price. Collect insurance quotes early in escrow. Our city pages show the flood, fire and earthquake zone counts, and each listing page names its own.
Schools, beaches and daily life
Both communities are served by the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Newport Coast Elementary sits inside the Newport Coast plan and serves most of the community, and students there continue to Corona del Mar Middle and High School. In Newport Beach, assigned schools depend on the address, so confirm them with the district before you write an offer.
Newport Beach life centers on the water: the harbor, the Balboa Island Ferry, the piers and the beaches along the Peninsula. Newport Coast is a hillside community whose backyard is Crystal Cove State Park, with its beaches, tide pools and canyon trails, plus 36 holes of golf at Pelican Hill. Shopping is close for both, at Fashion Island and the Newport Coast and Crystal Cove shopping centers, and John Wayne Airport is a short drive from either.
Newest Homes for Sale in Newport Beach and Newport Coast
The six newest listings in each, updated from the MLS every 5 minutes.
Newport Beach
Newport Coast
Who each market suits
Choose Newport Beach if you want the harbor, a walk to the sand, a dock, or the widest choice of home types and prices. It had six times as many sales in the last 12 months and five times as many homes for sale, so you can compare more homes at once and find a fit at more price points. Choose Newport Coast if you want a newer home, gates, open space and ocean views over rooftops, and you accept association dues and a thinner market where the right home may take months to appear. Set a saved search on the Newport Beach homes for sale page or the Newport Coast search and new listings that match it arrive in a daily email.
If you own in either community and want to know where your home stands, request a free home valuation. Realatrends Real Estate has sold homes across the Orange County coast since 1983, with more than 700 sales and $1B+ closed, and can walk you through both markets street by street. For the year-by-year record, see the Newport Beach housing market and Newport Coast housing market pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Newport Coast part of Newport Beach?
Yes. Newport Coast joined the City of Newport Beach by annexation in 2002, so it shares the city’s government, police and fire service. It keeps its own ZIP code, 92657, and the MLS lists it as a separate city, which is why its sales and prices are reported apart from Newport Beach.
Is Newport Coast more expensive than Newport Beach?
Yes. In the 12 months to October 30, 2026, Newport Coast homes sold for a median $6.2 million against $3.52 million in Newport Beach. Per square foot the gap narrows to about 11 percent, $1,613 against $1,456, so most of the difference comes from larger homes in Newport Coast.
Which has more homes for sale, Newport Beach or Newport Coast?
Newport Beach, by a wide margin: 281 homes for sale on October 30, 2026 against 56 in Newport Coast. Newport Beach also recorded 680 sales in the 12 months to that date, against 111 in Newport Coast.
Are Newport Beach and Newport Coast in the same school district?
Yes. Both are served by the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Newport Coast Elementary serves most of Newport Coast, and its students continue to Corona del Mar Middle and High School; assignments in Newport Beach depend on the address, so confirm them with the district.
Are Newport Coast homes in gated communities?
Most are. Crystal Cove, Pelican Crest, Pelican Point, Ocean Heights and Pacific Ridge are among the guard-gated villages, and many homes pay dues to a master association and a village association. Ask for both figures before you make an offer.
Compare more Orange County markets
- Newport Beach vs Corona del Mar
- Laguna Beach vs Newport Beach
- Laguna Beach vs Corona del Mar
- Dana Point vs Laguna Niguel
- San Clemente vs Dana Point
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