Los Angeles | History, Map, Population, Climate, & Facts | Britannica (2025)

Los Angeles , city, seat of Los Angeles county, southern California, U.S. It is the second most populous city and metropolitan area (after New York City) in the United States. The city sprawls across a broad coastal plain situated between mountains and the Pacific Ocean; the much larger Los Angeles county, which encompasses the city, contains some 90 other incorporated cities, including Beverly Hills, Pasadena, and Long Beach. The county also encompasses two of the Channel Islands, Santa Catalina and San Clemente; Mount San Antonio, familiarly known as Mount Baldy or Old Baldy, 10,046 feet (3,062 metres) high; more than 900 square miles (2,330 square km) of desert; and 75 miles (120 km) of seacoast.

Since the city and the county are interwoven geographically, culturally, and economically, any consideration of Los Angeles must, to some degree, involve both entities. Population density around the metropolitan area varies greatly—as low as one person per square mile in mountainous areas and as high as 50,000 per square mile near downtown Los Angeles. Area city, 466 square miles (1,207 square km); county, 4,070 square miles (10,540 square km). Pop. (2010) 3,792,621; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Glendale Metro Division, 9,818,605; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana Metro Area, 12,828,837; (2020) 3,898,747; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Glendale Metro Division, 10,014,009; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim Metro Area, 13,200,998.

Character of the city

Los Angeles, the heart of southern California, became a world-class city very recently. At the start of the 20th century it was considered merely “a large village.” This ascendancy is all the more remarkable considering that the city originally lacked some of the essential building blocks associated with cityhood, such as a natural harbour. Yet it overcame natural deficiencies and established itself as an important centre of commerce, agriculture, tourism, and industry. For more than a century it has been indelibly associated with a benign climate, extensive leisure, and outdoor recreation, as well as the special aura of celebrity associated with Hollywood. The lifestyle of Los Angeles residents (who are called Angelenos) relies on the automobile, idealizes the single-family dwelling, and favours informality. With notable exceptions, the skyline is primarily horizontal rather than vertical. Los Angeles is a place of extraordinary ethnic and racial diversity, owing largely to immigration, and, like other world cities, it reflects a growing gap between rich and poor.

Los Angeles has endured the barbs of many detractors. Critics refer to it either as a laid-back “la-la land” or, conversely, as a place reeling from earthquakes, fire, smog, gang warfare, and riots. The city’s defenders admire its mild climate and geographic variety. They claim that its major social problems are similar to those of all big cities and are perhaps even less severe there than elsewhere. In fact, some observers regard it as the most modern and quintessential American city.