The city stretches along the Pacific, offering beach paths, wetlands habitat at Bolsa Chica, and a robust calendar of surf contests and festivals. Inland neighborhoods range from classic post‑war tracts to newer master‑planned enclaves, while an active business community supports aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and hospitality.

Early development followed the Pacific Electric Railway and oil discoveries in the 1920s. Incorporated in 1909, Huntington Beach transitioned from oil fields and agriculture to a tourism and residential economy after WWII, later branding itself around its deep surf culture.