Los Angeles is an enormous coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 3,820,914 people and 1181 associated neighborhoods, Los Angeles is the largest community in California.
Housing costs in Los Angeles are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in California.
Of important note, Los Angeles is also a city of artists. Los Angeles has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Los Angeles’s character.
Also of interest is that Los Angeles has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 17.32% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Los Angeles is a popular destination for single career-starters. One thing that you will notice when you are out and about town is that there is a large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters out at restaurants, listening to live music, and enjoying other activities. They are a real visible part of the culture of Los Angeles. This makes Los Angeles a good place to live for young professionals. With so many people in this demographic, Los Angeles presents many opportunities for single professionals to enjoy themselves, socialize, and to create lasting relationships.
Los Angeles is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
In Los Angeles, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 31.95 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit.
Los Angeles, like many big cities in America, has a public transportation system, but the citizens of Los Angeles are lucky because theirs is one of the most extensive and widely used. Many commuters choose to leave their cars at home and instead use the bus to get to and from work. In fact, for some people it is feasible to forgo car ownership entirely, avoiding the cost and headache of driving in heavy traffic. The benefits include reduced air pollution and load on the road network.
The population of Los Angeles is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 37.82% of adults in Los Angeles have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.
The per capita income in Los Angeles in 2022 was $46,270, which is upper middle income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $185,080 for a family of four. However, Los Angeles contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Los Angeles is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Los Angeles home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Los Angeles, accounting for 47.23% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Los Angeles residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Los Angeles include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Armenian.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Los Angeles's cultural character, accounting for 35.81% of the city’s population.
The most common language spoken in Los Angeles is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Tagalog.