Demographics of Los Angeles

The U.S. Census Bureau recorded 3,694,820 people, 1,275,412 households, and 798,719 families residing in the city, with a population density of 7,876.8 people per square mile (3,041.3/km²). There were 1,337,706 housing units at an average density of 2,851.8 per square mile (1,101.1/km²).

Race, ethnicity, and national origin

Los Angeles transformed from being a city predominantly inhabited by white people to being one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, with major new groups of Latin American and Asian immigrants in recent decades. As of the the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, the city's population was 48.7% White (29.3% non-Hispanic White alone), 9.9% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 10.6% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 27.3% from some other race and 2.8% from two or more races. 48.5% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[1]

As of the 2000 Census, the racial distribution in Los Angeles was 46.9% White American, 11.2% African American, 10.0% Asian American, 0.8% Native American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 25.7% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. 46.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino (of any race).^[2]

Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, Little Armenia, Little Ethiopia, Tehrangeles, Little Tokyo, Thai Town provide examples of the polyglot character of Los Angeles.

Languages

Los Angeles is sometimes referred to the largest Spanish-speaking community in the U.S. except for Miami-Dade where a higher percentage of Latinos live.^{[citation needed]} The percentage of Spanish-speaking people in L.A. increased from the waves of 20th century Latino immigration, but it's important to realize Latinos (esp. Chicanos and Mexican-Americans) were present in the region for over 200 years. The bilingual character in the barrios of inner city L.A. and across L.A. county with the rest of Southern Cal. is evident by the presence of billboards and storefronts advertise often in Spanish or along side with English.

42 % spoke English, 41.2% Spanish, 2.4% Korean, 2.3% Filipino, 1.7% Armenian, 1.5% Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin) and 1.3% Persian as their first language.^[3]

Household structure, age distribution, and sex ratio

According to the census, 33.5% of households had children under 18, 41.9% were married couples, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 28.5% of households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size 3.56.

The age distribution was: 26.6% under 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.

Income and wealth

The median income for a household was $36,687, and for a family was $39,942. Males had a median income of $31,880, females $30,197. The per capita income was $20,671. 22.1% of the population and 18.3% of families were below the poverty line. 30.3% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those aged 65 or older were below the poverty line.

Employment

Transportation and utilities access

Education

Housing

References

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