Los Angeles
Home to the world's third-largest GDP city, a global hub for film and TV, and the site of three Summer Olympics: 1932, 1984, and 2028.
Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second-most populous in the United States, with an estimated 3.87 million residents within city limits as of 2025. It serves as the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California and is the largest city in the Western U.S. The city proper covers about 469 square miles, lying primarily in the Los Angeles Basin adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, extending through the Santa Monica Mountains into the San Fernando Valley, and bordering the San Gabriel Valley to the east. Founded on September 4, 1781, by 44 settlers known as 'Los Pobladores' on the indigenous Tongva village of Yaanga, it was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850. The area became part of the United States in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after being claimed for Spain in 1542 by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and later ruled by Mexico from 1821. Rapid growth followed the discovery of oil in the 1890s and the completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913. Today, it is the third-most visited city in the U.S., with over 3.6 million visitors as of 2023, and hosts a diverse economy anchored by film and television production, one of the busiest container ports in the Americas, and a gross metropolitan product of over $1.295 trillion in 2024.
- Region
- Southern California, United States
- Geographic Feature
- Pacific Ocean Coastline
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Established in 1781 as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, the settlement grew from a modest village under Spanish rule before transitioning through Mexican sovereignty to United States territory following the Mexican-American War. The discovery of oil in the late 19th century triggered rapid growth. In 1910, Hollywood merged into Los Angeles with 10 movie companies already operating there; by 1921, more than 80 percent of the world's film industry was concentrated in L.A. The city created the first municipal zoning ordinance in the United States on September 14, 1908. During World War II, it became a major center for shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing.
In Their Own Story
The city proper covers about 469 square miles, stretching from the Pacific Ocean through the Santa Monica Mountains to the San Fernando Valley. In the early 1900s, the Los Angeles Times advocated for pronouncing the name 'Loce AHNG-hayl-ais,' but since the 1930s, the pronunciation 'lawss AN-jəl-əs' has been most common, a standard decreed by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1934. The city's urban core features the world's largest showcase of architecture designed by Frank Gehry.
Reader's Guide
Los Angeles is the county seat and most populated city of Los Angeles County, which had an estimated 9.86 million residents as of 2022. It has a diverse economy with broad industries, including one of the busiest container ports in the Americas. The metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of over $1.295 trillion in 2024, making it the city with the third-largest GDP in the world after New York and Tokyo.
Did You Know?
- The settlement was founded on September 4, 1781, by a group of 44 settlers known as 'Los Pobladores' on the indigenous Tongva village of Yaanga.
- In 1908, librarian Charles Fletcher Lummis reported there were at least 12 different pronunciation variants for the city's name.
- The city created the first municipal zoning ordinance in the United States on September 14, 1908, establishing residential zones where industrial uses like barns and lumber yards were prohibited.
- By 1921, more than 80 percent of the world's film industry was concentrated in Los Angeles.
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