Los Angeles

Los Angeles (L.A.), officially the City of Los Angeles, is the largest city in California, in the United States. There are many ethnicities of people living in the city, and over 18 million people in the Greater Los Angeles region. The city has an area of 460 sq mi (1,190 km²). Los Angeles is the city with the second-biggest population in the United States after New York City, overtaking Chicago in the 1970s.

Los Angeles is known for its Mexican food, Mexican culture and has the largest Mexican population.

It is a car-centric city requiring much parking, and it is one of the most spread-out cities in the world. Greater Los Angeles is home to many movie stars and many of the biggest rock bands in the history of the United States. Los Angeles is surrounded by South Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, Huntington Park, Maywood, Walnut Park, Commerce, Bell, Glendale, South Pasadena, Monterey Park, South Gate, Carson, Cudahy, West Hollywood, Alhambra, Bell Gardena and Westmont.

Los Angeles has Spanish and Mexican influences due to being a former colony of Mexico and Spain. Los Angeles is a diverse city with many ethnic groups such as Mexican, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Italian, Salvadoran, Iranian/Persian and Armenian. Mexican and Spanish architecture can be seen in Los Angeles.

Many celebrities live throughout the city of Los Angeles. Los Angeles is known to be the entertainment capital of the world. Many movies, television shows and fashion shows are made in Hollywood and are often set in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles has the second largest Hispanic and Latino population in the United States, only behind New York City. Many are of Mexican and Central American descent.

Los Angeles is one of the most expensive cities to live in.

History

The area comprising present-day Los Angeles County was first settled by small groups of Native Americans for centuries before the first European contact in 1769 when Gaspar de Portola and a group of missionaries camped on what is now the banks of the Los Angeles River. The name Los Angeles comes from the Spanish language, and it means “The Angels”. The name is an abbreviation from the original name of the place. The original name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río Porciúncula” (in English, “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the River Porciúncula”), giving it both one of the longest and shortest (referring to its shortening of “LA”) place names in the world. Los Angeles was founded in 1781 while the area was within the borders of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The area had been explored earlier by two Franciscan priests named Junipero Serra and Juan Crespi.

Following the Mexican War of Independence, the region passed into the hands of Mexico, which subsequently ceded control of California to the U.S. in 1848. On April 4, 1850, California became a state of the USA. Los Angeles began half a century of rapid growth after railroads arrived in the city in the 1870s. Los Angeles was home to the Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984. It will host the Olympic Games in 2028. The city broke out in riots three times: in 1943, in 1965, and in 1992, all due to racism. In 1994, an earthquake killed 72 people and damaged many buildings.

The June 2025 Los Angeles protests started; Rioting is ongoing (as of the second week of June).

Demographics

Los Angeles has the second largest Mexican, Belizean, Armenian, Salvadoran, Filipino and Guatemalan population by city in the world, the third largest Canadian population in the world, and has the largest Japanese, Iranian/Persian, Cambodian and Roma (Gypsy) population in the country.

Christianity is the most practiced religion in Los Angeles.

Spanish is the most spoken foreign language in Los Angeles. Korean, Filipino, Armenian, Chinese, and Persian are also spoken in the city.

2020 census

In the 2020 census, there were 3,898,747 people, 1,410,260 households, and 839,676 families living in Los Angeles. The population density was 8,304.2 people per square mile (3,206.3/km²). There were 1,496,453 housing units. The breakdown by race was 34.9% White, 11.9% Asian, 8.6% Black, 1.7% Native American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 29.5% from one other race, and 13.3% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos made up 46.9% of the people.

The median (middle) age was 36.5 years. The age breakdown was 19.3% under age 18, 67.2% from 18 to 65, and 13.6% over 65. The gender breakdown was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

Of the households, 28.3% had children under age 18, 37.0% had a married couple, 8.4% had an unmarried couple, 31.5% had a woman with no partner, 23.1% had a man with no partner, and 29.2% had one person living alone. The average household size was 2.68 people.

Tourism

Most tourists in Los Angeles come from UK, Canada, Mexico, China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and India. They come to visit places such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Sign.

Geography

Los Angeles is a very large city, and the edges of the city are very far from the center, going from the beaches to the mountains. The Santa Monica Mountains run through the city, separating it into the San Fernando Valley to the north and the Los Angeles Basin to the south. The Los Angeles River also runs through the city some 51 mi (82 km). Los Angeles moves about one-quarter of an inch (6.3 millimeters) to the east every year. It is caused by the city’s tectonic plates and rough ground geography and since Los Angeles is at a close distance with the San Andreas Fault. This brings Los Angeles and San Francisco 2.5 inches closer together each year.

Climate

The climate in Los Angeles is a Mediterranean climate. The weather is usually warm and dry during the summer, and it is mildly cold and rainier in the fall and winter. The weather is different depending on how far away from the ocean you are, so places near the beach usually do not get as hot in the summer. It is very rare for temperatures to go below freezing near the coast but can occur further inland. The city receives about 15 inches of rain each year, although the amount can change a lot from year to year. Snow is very rare except on the mountain tops where some occasional light snow might fall.

Sights

L.A. has many famous sights. There are many very long beaches, such as Venice Beach, Dockweiler State Beach and Bruce’s Beach. Many visitors go to Hollywood, home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hollywood Sign, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Dolby Theater, El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood Pantages Theater and L.A. Live and Hollywood Park entertainment complexes. Los Angeles also has many fine museums, such as the L.A. County Museum of Art, California Science Center, and the Getty Museum. Other sights include the Griffith Observatory, the historic Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, Beverly Center and Westfield Culver City malls and the Los Angeles City Zoo. Los Angeles is the only major city in the world with an active population of wild mountain lions.

Industries

Los Angeles is known for its large movie and television industry. Much of this is located in Hollywood. Some military aircraft are also made there, as well as spacecraft. The music industry is also concentrated in the area. The city is also a banking center. The San Pedro area has a busy port where the Los Angeles Harbor resides, where a lot of shipping businesses ship goods and provides ferry services for spectators.

Neighborhoods

Los Angeles has dozens of neighborhoods and named areas, including:

• Hollywood, home of many well-known movie theater, film studios and Walk of Fame

• Downtown Los Angeles, the financial center of the city. Home to Los Angeles’ and California’s two tallest buildings, the Wilshire Grand Center and the U.S. Bank Tower. It also home to the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena.

• Elysian Park, home of Dodger Stadium and previously Chavez Ravine.

• Venice Beach.

• Burbank, home to many well-known film and television studios.

• Studio City, home to many movie studios including Radford Studio Center

• Bel-Air, a very wealthy area in Central Los Angeles

• Santa Monica, beachfront district (officially a separate city).

• Inglewood, home of SoFi Stadium, Kia Forum, Intuit Dome, NFL Network headquarters, Hollywood Park entertainment complex and Market Street (officially a separate city).

• Culver City, home to Sony Picture Studios

• Brentwood, a very wealthy area in West Los Angeles

• Baldwin Hills, a very wealthy area in South Los Angeles.

• Leimert Park, home to LA’s historic African-American museums, bookstores, Leimert Plaza Park and Vision Theater

• Crenshaw, a well-known district in South Los Angeles known for Destination Crenshaw, Stocker Street Creative movie studio and the historic Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza mall.

• Hancock Park, a very wealthy area in Central Los Angeles

• View Park-Windsor Hills, a very wealthy area in South Los Angeles

• University Park, home to the University of Southern California.

• Universal City, home to Universal Studios Hollywood

• Westwood, home to the University of California, Los Angeles.

• Ladera Heights, wealthy area in Los Angeles Westside

• Boyle Heights, where many Mexican Americans reside.

• Exposition Park, home to the University of Southern California, the Coliseum, BMO Stadium, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the California Science Center.

• San Fernando Valley, a large suburban area.

• San Pedro, where the Port of Los Angeles is located in the city.

Politics

Los Angeles leans politicly to the left. As of December 2022, the mayor of Los Angeles is Karen Bass.

Music

Los Angeles has a rich history and culture of popular music. Many of the most notable recording artists in the history of the United States either started or flourished in Los Angeles or Greater Los Angeles. The surf music scene is largely associated with Los Angeles and suburbs like Malibu. Motown Records moved from Detroit, Michigan to Los Angeles in the 1970s. The West Coast hip hop scene and other genres such as R&B, Smooth jazz, Yacht rock, New jack swing, Pop rap, Rock and G-funk are largely centered in Greater Los Angeles.

Notable bands include:

• Toto
• The Internet
• The Whispers
• The Doors
• Mary Mary
• B2K
• Metallica
• Haim
• Klymaxx
• The Brothers Johnson
• The Mamas & the Papas
• The Byrds
• The Beach Boys
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Guns ’n’ Roses
• The Pharcyde
• War
• Love
• Tamara Lalayan
• The Platters
• Maroon 5
• Eagles
• The Good Girls
• Spirit
• Rage Against the Machine
• Buffalo Springfield
• Moonchild
• Beck
• Black Eyed Peas
• Cali Swag District
• The Offspring
• Portrait
• No Doubt
• Artur Zakiyan
• Shalamar
• The Sylvers
• System of a Down
• Troop
• Tool
• Linkin Park
• X
• 3T
• Jane’s Addiction
• Sublime (nearby Long Beach)
• Steppenwolf
• Isyss
• Incubus
• Sugar Ray
• The Wallflowers
• Brownstone
• Black Flag
• Thirty Seconds to Mars
• N.W.A.

Media

KABC American Broadcasting Company

KNBC NBC

KCBS CBS

KTLA The CW

KTTV FOX

KCOP MyNetwork

Fox Soul

TheGrio

KCET PBS

NFL Network

Amphibia (Subsequently removed)