Los Angeles
City in Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with 3,898,747 residents (2020 Census). It sits at 348 ft (106 m) above sea level. The nearest town is Culver City, 1.2 miles SE.
- 3,898,747residents (2020 Census)
- 348 ftelevation · 106 m
- 470.5 sq miland area · 1,218.6 km²
- 8,286 / sq mipopulation density
- 90034main ZIP code (30 in total)
About Los Angeles
Los Angeles (often shortened as LA or L.A.) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3.87 million residents within the city limits as of 2025, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, behind New York City, and the largest city in the Western United States. The city has an ethnically and culturally diverse population, and is the principal city of a metropolitan area of 12.9 million people (2024). Greater Los Angeles, a combined statistical area that includes the Los Angeles and Riverside–San Bernardino metropolitan areas, is a sprawling metropolis of over 18 million residents.
The majority of the city proper lies in the Los Angeles Basin adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending partly through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to its east. It covers about 469 square miles (1,210 km2), and is the county seat and most populated city of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estimated 9.86 million residents as of 2022. It is the third-most visited city in the U.S. (after New York City and Miami), with over 3.6 million visitors as of 2023.
The area that became Los Angeles was originally inhabited by the indigenous Tongva people and later claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542. The city was founded on September 4, 1781, under Spanish governor Felipe de Neve, on the village of Yaanga. It became a part of the First Mexican Empire in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and became part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood. The discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The city was further expanded with the completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, which delivers water from Eastern California.
Los Angeles has a diverse economy with a broad range of industries. Despite a decline in film production, it is the oldest and one of the largest hubs of film and television production. It has one of the busiest container ports in the Americas. Despite an exodus of commerce and an increasingly unreliable water supply, Downtown Los Angeles is evolving as a cultural center with the world's largest showcase of architecture designed by Frank Gehry. In 2024, the Los Angeles metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of over $1.295 trillion, making it the city with the third-largest GDP in the world, after New York and Tokyo. Los Angeles hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, and will host the games for a third time in 2028.
Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Los Angeles weather: 7-day forecast
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Live webcams in Los Angeles
Traffic cameras: Caltrans
Living in Los Angeles
- Median household income
- $81,939
- Median home value
- $921,200
- Median rent
- $1,933/mo
- Median age
- 37.2
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Map of Los Angeles
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Open in Google Maps ›Los Angeles, CA population
Los Angeles had 3,898,747 residents in the 2020 Census.
| 2020 Census | 3,898,747 |
|---|---|
| Density | 8,286 per sq mi (3,199 per km²) |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census.
Los Angeles at a glance
| State | California (CA) |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Type | City |
| Population | 3,898,747 (2020) |
| Land area | 470.52 sq mi (1,218.6 km²) |
| Water area | 31.49 sq mi (81.55 km²) |
| Elevation | 348 ft (106 m) |
| Coordinates | 34.0194° N, 118.4108° W |
| ZIP codes | 90034, 90008, 90016, 90019, 90024, 90025, 90035, 90036, 90043, 90048, 90056, 90064, 90066, 90067, 90073, 90094, 90095, 90211, 90212, 90230, 90232, 90291, 90292, 90293, 90301, 90302, 90401, 90403, 90404, 90405 |
| Census code (GEOID) | 0644000 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (Gazetteer, ZCTA), USGS GNIS, Wikidata.
Towns near Los Angeles
- Culver City1.2 mi SE
- Ladera Heights2.8 mi SE
- Marina del Rey3.8 mi SW
- View Park-Windsor Hills4.0 mi SE
- Beverly Hills4.2 mi N
- Santa Monica5.0 mi W
- West Hollywood5.3 mi NE
- Inglewood5.8 mi SE
- Lennox6.4 mi SE
- Del Aire7.5 mi S
- El Segundo7.6 mi S
- Hawthorne8.1 mi SE
Straight-line distance between town centers.
Frequently asked questions about Los Angeles
What county is Los Angeles in?
Los Angeles is in Los Angeles County, California.
What is the population of Los Angeles, CA?
3,898,747 people lived in Los Angeles at the 2020 Census.
What is the ZIP code of Los Angeles, CA?
The main ZIP code is 90034. Other ZIP codes: 90008, 90016, 90019, 90024, 90025, 90035, 90036, 90043, 90048, 90056, 90064, 90066.
What is the elevation of Los Angeles?
348 feet (106 m) above sea level.
What towns are near Los Angeles?
Culver City (1.2 mi), Ladera Heights (2.8 mi), Marina del Rey (3.8 mi), View Park-Windsor Hills (4.0 mi), Beverly Hills (4.2 mi).
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