City comparison
Aliso Viejo, CA is about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from McLean, VA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,800 miles, or about 47 hours (about 5 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Aliso Viejo, CA to McLean, VA takes about 4 h 32 min, covering roughly 2,300 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Aliso Viejo, CA is on Pacific Time and McLean, VA is on Eastern Time — a 3-hour difference. When it's noon in Aliso Viejo, it's 3 p.m. in McLean, which puts Aliso Viejo 3 hours behind.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Aliso Viejo has a population of 51,896, vs 49,587 in McLean — about the same size. By land area, McLean covers about 25 sq mi vs 6.9 sq mi for Aliso Viejo.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Aliso Viejo | McLean | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,625/mo | $3,319/mo | 26.4% higher in McLean |
| Median home value | $818,500 | $1,257,900 | 53.7% higher in McLean |
| Median household income | $131,708 | $250,001 | 89.8% higher in McLean |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 104.3 | 2.0% higher in Aliso Viejo |
| Utilities index | 155.6 | 105.6 | 47.3% higher in Aliso Viejo |
| Transportation index | 104.4 | 102.2 | 2.2% higher in Aliso Viejo |
| Healthcare index | 104.3 | 101.6 | 2.7% higher in Aliso Viejo |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Aliso Viejo, you'd need $92,102 in McLean to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
McLean, VA is about 7.9% cheaper overall than Aliso Viejo, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 8% higher in Aliso Viejo than in McLean. If you earn $80,000 in Aliso Viejo, you'd need about $73,682 in McLean to keep the same standard of living.