Los Angeles County is one of the original counties of California, created at the time of statehood in 1850.[8] The county originally included parts of what are now Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, Inyo, Tulare, Ventura, and Orange counties. In 1851 and 1852, Los Angeles County stretched from the coast to the state line of Nevada.[9] As the population increased, sections were split off to organize San Bernardino County in 1853, Kern County in 1866, and Orange County in 1889.
Before the 1870s, Los Angeles County was divided into townships (many of which were amalgamations of one or more old ranchos):[10]
Los Nietos – consisted of areas south of the Whittier Narrows and Puente Hills south to present-day Long Beach, centered on the early settlement at Los Nietos. Some of this area is now in Orange County
Los Angeles County, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
In 2019, the median household income in the county was $72,797.[24]
2010 Census
Los Angeles County had a population of 9,818,605 in the 2010 United States Census.[25] This includes a natural increase since the last census of 583,364 people (i.e., 1,152,564 births minus 569,200 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 361,895 people. Immigration resulted in a net increase of 293,433 people, and migration from within the United States resulted in a net decrease of 655,328 people.[26]
The racial makeup of Los Angeles County was 4,936,599 (50%) White, 1,346,865 (13.7%) Asian, 856,874 (9%) African American, 72,828 (0.7%) Native American, 26,094 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 2,140,632 (21.8%) from other races, and 438,713 (4.5%) from two or more races.
Non-Hispanic whites numbered 2,728,321, or 28% of the population.[27] Hispanic or Latino residents of any race numbered 4,687,889 (48%); 36% of Los Angeles County's population was of Mexican ancestry, 3.7% Salvadoran, and 2.2% Guatemalan heritage.[28]
The county has a large population of Asian Americans, being home to the largest numbers of Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Korean, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, and Thai outside their respective countries.[29] The largest Asian groups in Los Angeles County are 4.0% Chinese, 3.3% Filipino, 2.2% Korean, 1.0% Japanese, 0.9% Vietnamese, 0.8% Indian, and 0.3% Cambodian.
The racial makeup of the county is 48.7% White,[35] 11.0% African American, 0.8% Native American, 10.0% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 23.5% from other races, and 4.9% from two or more races. 44.6% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. The largest European-American ancestry groups are German (6%), Irish (5%), English (4%) and Italian (3%). 45.9% of the population reported speaking only English at home; 37.9% spoke Spanish, 2.22% Tagalog, 2.0% Chinese, 1.9% Korean, 1.87% Armenian, 0.5% Arabic, and 0.2% Hindi.[36]
The county has the largest Native American population of any county in the nation: according to the 2000 census, it has more than 153,550 people of indigenous descent, and most are from Latin America.
At the 2000 census,[40] there were 9,519,338 people, 3,133,774 households, and 2,137,233 families in the county. The population density was 2,344 inhabitants per square mile (905/km2). There were 3,270,909 housing units at an average density of 806 per square mile (311/km2).
Of the 3,133,774 households 37% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48% were married couples living together, 15% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32% were non-families. 25% of households were one person and 7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.61.
The age distribution was 28% under the age of 18, 10% from 18 to 24, 33% from 25 to 44, 19% from 45 to 64, and 10% 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.
Income
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The median personal earnings for all workers 16 and older in Los Angeles County are $30,654, slightly below the US median; earnings, however vary widely by neighborhood, race and ethnicity, and gender.[41] The median household income was $42,189 and the median family income was $46,452. Males had a median income of $36,299 versus $30,981 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,683. There are 14.4% of families living below the poverty line and 17.9% of the population, including 24.2% of under 18 and 10.5% of those over 64.
Los Angeles County has the highest number of millionaires of any county in the nation, totaling 261,081 households as of 2007.[42]
The homeownership rate is 47.9%, and the median value for houses is $409,300. 42.2% of housing units are in multi-unit structures. Los Angeles County has the largest number of homeless people, with "48,000 people living on the streets, including 6,000 veterans," in 2010.[43]
As of 2017[update] the number of homeless people in the county increased to nearly 58,000.[44]
Religion
In 2015, there were over two thousand Christian churches, the majority of which are Catholic.[45][46] Roman Catholic adherents number close to 40% of the population. There were 202 Jewish synagogues, 145 Buddhist temples, 38 Muslim mosques, 44 Baháʼí Faith worship centers, 37 Hindu temples, 28 Tenrikyo churches and fellowships, 16 Shinto worship centers, and 14 Sikh gurdwaras in the county.[47] The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has approximately 5 million members and is the largest diocese in the United States. In 2014, the county had 3,275 religious organizations, the most out of all US counties.[48]
The county's voters elect a governing five-member Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The small size of the board means each supervisor represents over 2 million people. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial capacity. As a legislative authority, it can pass ordinances for the unincorporated areas (ordinances that affect the whole county, like posting of restaurant ratings, must be ratified by the individual city). As an executive body, it can tell the county departments what to do, and how to do it. As a quasi-judicial body, the Board is the final venue of appeal in the local planning process, and holds public hearings on various agenda items.
As of 2020, the Board of Supervisors oversees a $35.5 billion annual budget and over 112,000 employees.[50] The county government is managed on a day-to-day basis by a chief executive officer and is organized into many departments, each of which is enormous in comparison to equivalent county-level (and even many state-level) departments anywhere else in the United States. Some of the larger or better-known departments include:
Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs – offers consumers in the county a variety of services including: consumer and real estate counseling, mediation, and small claims counseling investigates consumer complaints, real estate fraud and identity theft issues. The department also provides small business certifications and helps entrepreneurs navigate the process of opening a business.
Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services – administers foster care
Los Angeles County Fire Department – provides firefighting services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and lifeguarding services. A 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that more than 54 percent of all fires requiring an LAFD response are associated with homelessness. That’s the equivalent of more than 24 fires every day. Arson-related fires constitute one-third of overall incidents, rising along with homeless-related fire incidents. The city’s arson clearance rate is 6 percent, meaning that most perpetrators go unpunished.[51]
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health – administers public health programs including STD programs, smoking cessation, and restaurant inspection. The cities of Long Beach and Pasadena have their own autonomous Public Health departments assuming county functions, and county public health orders are not applicable in those cities.
Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services – administers many federal and state welfare programs
On November 4, 2008, Los Angeles County was almost evenly split over Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. The county voted for the amendment 50.04% with a margin of 2,385 votes.[58]
The Los Angeles County Superior Court is the county's court of general jurisdiction, while the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California may hear cases where federal jurisdiction is present. Both are headquartered in a large cluster of government buildings in the city's Civic Center.
Historically, the courthouses were county-owned buildings that were maintained at county expense, which created significant friction since the trial court judges, as officials of the state government, had to lobby the county Board of Supervisors for facility renovations and upgrades. In turn, the state judiciary successfully persuaded the state Legislature to authorize the transfer of all courthouses to the state government in 2008 and 2009 (so that judges would have direct control over their own courthouses). Courthouse security is still provided by the county government under a contract with the state.
Unlike the largest city in the United States, New York City, all of the city of Los Angeles and most of its important suburbs are located within a single county. As a result, both the county superior court and the federal district court are respectively the busiest courts of their type in the nation.[59][60]
Many celebrities have been seen in Los Angeles courts. In 2003, the television show Extra (based in nearby Glendale) found itself running so many reports on the legal problems of local celebrities that it spun them off into a separate show, Celebrity Justice.
According to the authors of Wild L.A., a book about urban biodiversity, "Los Angeles is the birdiest county in the country with over 500 recorded species." L.A.'s amenable climate supports a large number of introduced, tropical and migratory species.[66] Because of the county's wide range of biomes it is possible to see desert bighorn sheep and green sea turtles in the same day, without crossing the county line.[66] The range of habitats in the county is "greater than in many states, with mountains, wetlands, desert, ocean, meadows and chaparral, each with its own endemic species."[67] There are at least 100 species of trees, and 1000 species of non-native plants, in the urban areas of the county.[68]
Los Angeles County is commonly associated with the entertainment and digital media industry; all five major film studios—Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and Walt Disney Studios—are located within the county. Numerous other major industries also define the economy of Los Angeles County, including international trade supported by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, music recording and production, aerospace and defense, fashion, and professional services such as law, medicine, engineering and design services, financial services.[69] High-tech sector employment within Los Angeles County is 368,500 workers,[70] and manufacturing employment within Los Angeles County is 365,000 workers.[71][72] Despite a business exodus from Downtown Los Angeles since the COVID-19 pandemic, the city's urban core is evolving as a cultural center with the world's largest showcase of architecture designed by Frank Gehry.[73]
The following major companies have headquarters in Los Angeles County:
The Los Angeles County Office of Education provides a supporting role for school districts in the area. The county office also operates two magnet schools, the International Polytechnic High School and Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. There are a number of private schools in the county, most notably those operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese. The county's public education sector is run by numerous school districts with the Los Angeles Unified School District being the largest one running public schools primarily within the city of Los Angeles and its immediately neighboring cities.
Venice Beach is a popular attraction whose Muscle Beach used to attract throngs of tourists admiring "hardbodies". Today, it is more arts-centered. Santa Monica's pier is a well known tourist spot, famous for its Ferris wheel and bumper car rides, which were featured in the introductory segment of the television sitcom Three's Company. Further north in Pacific Palisades one finds the beaches used in the television series Baywatch.[76] The fabled Malibu, home of many film and television stars, lies west of it.
In the mountain, canyon, and desert areas one may find Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, where many old Westerns were filmed. Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains is open for the public to view astronomical stars from its telescope, now computer-assisted. Many county residents find relaxation in water skiing and swimming at Castaic Lake Recreation Area – the county's largest park by area – as well as enjoying natural surroundings and starry nights at Saddleback Butte State Park in the eastern Antelope Valley – California State Parks' largest in area within the county. The California Poppy Reserve is located in the western Antelope Valley and shows off the State's flower in great quantity on its rolling hills every spring.
Los Angeles is a major freight-railroad transportation center, largely due to the large volumes of freight moving in and out of the county's sea port facilities. The ports are connected to the downtown rail yards and to the main lines of Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe headed east via a grade-separated, freight rail corridor known as the Alameda Corridor.
The county's two main seaports are the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. Together they handle over a quarter of all container traffic entering the United States, making the complex the largest and most important port in the country, and the third-largest port in the world by shipping volume.
The Port of Los Angeles is the largest cruise ship center on the West Coast, handling more than 1 million passengers annually.
The Port of Long Beach is home to the Sea Launch program, which uses a floating launch platform to insert payloads into orbits that would be difficult to attain from existing land-based launch sites.
^Coy, Owen C.; Ph.D. (1923). California County Boundaries. Berkeley: California Historical Commission. p. 140. ASINB000GRBCXG.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^Segal, Elizabeth; Emerling, Jennifer (May 9, 2018). "A Haven for the Homeless". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001. U.S. Census websiteArchived December 27, 1996, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^ abHiggins, Lila; Pauly, Gregory B. M (2019). Wild L.A.: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Los Angeles. Timber Press. ISBN978-1604697100.
^Horton, Sue (May 24, 2005). "Stop, look, listen, count; Nothing matters to speed birders except tallying as many species as possible in 24 hours". Los Angeles Times. pp. F1.
^Encyclopedia.comArchived January 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, "Dole gets ready to turn first shovel of headquarters dirt: plans are set to go to Westlake Village City Council". (Dole Food Co. Inc. Los Angeles Business Journal. January 31, 1994. Retrieved on September 27, 2009.
^Jon Gertner (March 18, 2007). "Playing Sim City for Real". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.