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.
A relatively large number of people in Los Angeles telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 17.32% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.
One downside of living in Los Angeles, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 31.95 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
Los Angeles is a big city, and with that comes lots of benefits. One benefit is that most big cities have public transit, but Los Angeles really shines when it comes to the extensiveness and use of its public transit system. More than most large American cities, Los Angeles citizens use public transit daily to get to and from work. And while there are transportation options, most people in Los Angeles ride the bus. Whereas in some cities one is destined to sit in traffic every morning to get to work and every evening to get home, in Los Angeles a lot leave their cars at home (if they even choose to own one), and hop a ride on the bus.
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.