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Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, of which the City of Los Angeles is the county seat, is the most populous county in the United States and is home to over a quarter of all California residents. The large size of the city of Los Angeles, as well as its history of annexing smaller towns, has made city boundaries in the central area of Los Angeles County quite complicated. Many cities are completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles and are often included in the city's areas despite being independent municipalities. For example,
Santa Monica and
Beverly Hills (which is almost completely surrounded by Los Angeles) are considered part of the Westside, while
Hawthorne and
Inglewood are associated with South L.A. Adjacent areas that are outside the actual city boundaries of incorporated Los Angeles but border the city itself include the
Santa Clarita Valley, the
San Gabriel Valley,
South Bay, and the
Gateway Cities. Despite the large footprint of the city of Los Angeles, a majority of the land area within Los Angeles County is unincorporated and under the primary jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. Much of this land, however, cannot be easily developed due to planning challenges presented by geographic features such as the
Santa Monica Mountains, the
San Gabriel Mountains, and the
Mojave Desert. Actual land development in these regions occurs on the fringes of incorporated cities, some of which have been fully developed, such as the cities of
Palmdale and
Lancaster.
Subregions in Los Angeles County While there is not an official designation for the regions that comprise Greater Los Angeles, one authority, the
Los Angeles Times, divides the area into the following regions: •
Angeles Forest •
Antelope Valley • Central L.A. (
Downtown Los Angeles,
Hollywood,
Mid-Wilshire, etc.) •
Eastside •
Gateway Cities/Harbor Area • Northeast L.A. (
Highland Park,
Eagle Rock, etc.) • Northwest L.A. County (including the
Santa Clarita Valley) •
Pomona Valley (partially in San Bernardino County) •
San Fernando Valley •
San Gabriel Valley •
Santa Clarita Valley •
Santa Monica Mountains (
Malibu,
Topanga, etc.) •
South Bay (incl.
Palos Verdes Peninsula,
Beach Cities) •
South Los Angeles • Southeast Los Angeles County (including
Norwalk and
Whittier, see
Gateway Cities) • The Verdugos (including
Glendale,
Pasadena and the
Crescenta Valley) •
Westside Some of the above areas can be defined as being bounded by natural features such as mountains or the ocean; others are marked by city boundaries, freeways, or other constructed landmarks. For example,
Downtown Los Angeles is the area of Los Angeles roughly enclosed by three freeways and one river: the
Harbor Freeway (SR 110) to the west, the
Santa Ana Freeway (
US 101) to the north, the
Los Angeles River to the east, and the
Santa Monica Freeway (
I-10) to the south. Meanwhile, the
San Fernando Valley ("The Valley") is defined as the basin consisting of the part of Los Angeles and its suburbs that lie north-northwest of downtown and is ringed by mountains.
Edge cities in Los Angeles County Central and Western area •
Beverly Hills/
Century City •
LAX/
El Segundo As an international center for finance, entertainment, media, culture, education, tourism, and science, Los Angeles is considered one of the world's most powerful and influential
global cities. List of the 88 cities of Los Angeles County and six large CDPs by population at the 2020 U.S. census: •
Los Angeles (3,898,747) •
Long Beach (466,742) •
Santa Clarita (228,673) •
Glendale (196,543) •
Lancaster (173,516) •
Palmdale (169,450) •
Pomona (151,713) •
Torrance (147,067) •
Pasadena (138,699) •
East Los Angeles CDP (118,786) •
Downey (114,355) •
West Covina (109,501) •
El Monte (109,450) •
Inglewood (107,762) •
Burbank (107,337) •
Norwalk (102,773) •
Compton (95,740) •
Carson (95,558) •
Santa Monica (93,076) •
South Gate (92,726) •
Hawthorne (88,083) •
Whittier (87,306) •
Alhambra (82,868) •
Lakewood (82,496) •
Bellflower (79,190) •
Baldwin Park (72,176) •
Redondo Beach (71,576) •
Lynwood (67,265) •
Montebello (62,640) •
Pico Rivera (62,088) •
Florence-Graham CDP (61,983) •
Monterey Park (61,096) •
Gardena (61,027) •
Arcadia (56,681) •
South Whittier CDP (56,415) •
Diamond Bar (55,072) •
Huntington Park (54,883) •
Hacienda Heights CDP (54,191) •
Paramount (53,733) •
Glendora (52,558) •
Covina (51,268) •
Rosemead (51,185) •
Azusa (50,000) •
Cerritos (49,578) •
Rowland Heights CDP (48,231) •
La Mirada (48,008) •
Altadena CDP (42,846) •
Rancho Palos Verdes (42,287) •
Culver City (40,779) •
San Gabriel (39,568) •
Bell Gardens (39,501) •
La Puente (38,062) •
Monrovia (37,931) •
Claremont (37,266) •
Temple City (36,494) •
West Hollywood (35,757) •
Manhattan Beach (35,506) •
San Dimas (34,924) •
Bell (33,559) •
Beverly Hills (32,701) •
Lawndale (31,807) •
La Verne (31,334) •
Walnut (28,430) •
South Pasadena (26,943) •
Maywood (25,138) •
San Fernando (23,946) •
Calabasas (23,241) •
Cudahy (22,811) •
Duarte (21,727) •
Lomita (20,921) •
La Cañada Flintridge (20,573) •
Agoura Hills (20,299) •
Hermosa Beach (19,728) •
South El Monte (19,567) •
Santa Fe Springs (19,219) •
El Segundo (17,272) •
Artesia (16,395) •
Hawaiian Gardens (14,149) •
Palos Verdes Estates (13,347) •
San Marino (12,513) •
Commerce (12,378) •
Signal Hill (11,848) •
Sierra Madre (11,268) •
Malibu (10,654) •
Rolling Hills Estates (8,280) •
Westlake Village (8,029) •
La Habra Heights (5,682) •
Avalon (3,460) •
Rolling Hills (1,739) •
Hidden Hills (1,725) •
Irwindale (1,472) •
Bradbury (921) •
Industry (264) •
Vernon (222)
Orange County in
Orange County Orange County was originally an agricultural area dependent on citrus crops, avocados, and oil extraction, and became a
bedroom community for Los Angeles when
I–5, the Santa Ana Freeway, linked it to the city in the 1950s. The growth of Los Angeles initially fueled population growth in Orange County, but by the 1970s it had become an important economic center in its own right, with tourism and electronics industries, among others. Today, Orange County is known for its tourist attractions, such as
Disneyland Resort,
Knott's Berry Farm, its several pristine beaches and coastline, and its wealthier areas, featured in television shows such as
The O.C. None of the original downtowns serves as the central urban core for the county, but there are important clusters of business and culture in
Downtown Santa Ana and in three
edge cities: the
Anaheim–Santa Ana edge city from
Disneyland Resort to the
Orange Crush interchange (
Orange, Santa Ana), the
South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city (Santa Ana,
Costa Mesa,
Irvine), and Irvine's
Spectrum edge city. Orange County is sometimes figuratively divided into "North County" and "South County", with North Orange County including cities such as
Anaheim,
Fullerton, and
Santa Ana, and is the older, more ethnically diverse and more densely built-up area both geographically and culturally closer to Los Angeles. South County, defined variously as beginning with either Costa Mesa or Irvine and includes cities to the east and south such as
Laguna Beach,
Mission Viejo,
Newport Beach, and
San Clemente, is more residential, affluent, recently developed, and has a mostly white population. Irvine is an exception, as it is a center of employment and is ethnically diverse. A growing alternative dividing marker between north and south is the
El Toro Y interchange.
Orange Coast or South Coast area is defined instead as consisting of some or all of the cities lining the coast.
Subregions in Orange County •
North Orange County •
South Orange County Edge cities in Orange County •
Anaheim–Santa Ana edge city The Inland Empire also became a key transportation center following the completion of
Route 66, and later
I-10. With the post-World War II economic boom leading to rapid development in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, land developers bulldozed acres of agricultural land to build suburbs in order to accommodate the Los Angeles area's expanding population. Additionally, the southwest portion of Riverside County, centered on the city of
Temecula is more economically linked to San Diego county, with its growth largely being driven by migrants from San Diego seeking more affordable housing similar to how northwestern Riverside county's growth was driven by migrants from Orange County and Los Angeles seeking more affordable housing. However, with clear northern and southern limits to expansion, the region's urban eastern boundaries have become increasingly nebulous as
suburban sprawl continues to spread out to form a unified whole with Los Angeles, with further development encroaching past the
San Bernardino and
San Jacinto Mountains and into the outlying desert areas. As a result, the regional definition of Greater Los Angeles can now be extended to include
Barstow and surrounding towns in the northeast, the
Morongo Basin in the east-central including
Yucca Valley and
Twentynine Palms, and the
Coachella Valley cities in the southeast. This interconnectivity, provided by one of the most extensive freeway systems in the world, as well as economic, social and media ties, has blended boundaries between these regions and the urbanized Los Angeles and Inland Empire areas.
Subregions in the Inland Empire •
High Desert (includes
Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County plus
Victor Valley and
Morongo Basin) •
Low Desert (
Coachella Valley,
Palm Springs and
Palm Desert area) •
San Bernardino Mountains (
Lake Arrowhead and
Big Bear Lake area) • Northwest
Riverside County (
Corona,
Norco,
Jurupa Valley, and
Riverside area) • Moreno Valley (
Moreno Valley and
Perris) •
Pomona Valley (
Pomona,
Rancho Cucamonga,
Chino,
Eastvale,
Upland,
Claremont,
Montclair,
La Verne and
Ontario area. Partially in Los Angeles County) •
San Bernardino Valley (
San Bernardino,
Fontana,
Rialto,
Colton,
Loma Linda,
Highland, and
Redlands area) •
San Gorgonio Pass (
Banning,
Yucaipa,
Calimesa, and
Beaumont area) •
San Jacinto Valley (
Hemet and
San Jacinto area) •
Temecula Valley (
Lake Elsinore,
Menifee,
Murrieta,
Wildomar, and
Temecula area)
Edge cities in the Inland Empire •
Ontario Airport/
Rancho Cucamonga These areas are sparsely developed and are part of the
Mojave and
Colorado Deserts. To the north,
I-15 crosses desolate desert landscape after passing Barstow, linking Greater Los Angeles with
Las Vegas, with
Baker being the only significant outpost along the route. To the east, lie the
Mojave National Preserve and
Joshua Tree National Park along with the towns of
Needles and
Blythe on the California-Arizona state line.
Ventura County Ventura County is mostly suburban and rural and also has developed primarily through the growth of Los Angeles. Central and southern Ventura County formerly consisted of small towns along the Pacific Coast until the expansion of
US 101 drew in commuters from the San Fernando Valley. Master-planned cities soon began developing, and the county became increasingly urbanized. The northern part of the county, however, remains largely undeveloped and is mostly within the
Los Padres National Forest.
Subregions in Ventura County •
Conejo Valley •
Oxnard Plain Edge cities in Ventura County •
Ventura/Coastal Plain (emerging edge city as of 1991)
Cities in Ventura County List of the 10 cities of Ventura County by population at the 2020 U.S. census: •
Oxnard (202,063) •
Thousand Oaks (126,966) •
Simi Valley (126,356) •
Ventura (110,763) •
Camarillo (70,741) •
Moorpark (36,284) •
Santa Paula (30,657) •
Port Hueneme (21,954) •
Fillmore (16,419) •
Ojai (7,637)
Urban areas within At the core of the Los Angeles–Long Beach combined statistical area (CSA) lies the Los Angeles–
Long Beach–
Anaheim, CA
urban area, the second most populous in the United States. Within the boundaries of the CSA the Census Bureau defines 30 other urban areas as well, two of which (
Riverside–
San Bernardino and
Oxnard–
Ventura) form the core of their own metropolitan areas separate from the Los Angeles metropolitan statistical area. Urban areas situated primarily outside the Los Angeles metropolitan statistical area but within the CSA are identified with a cross (†) in the table below. ==Demographics==