Page 15 - 2020-21 Budget Summary

ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Introduction
The City of Los Angeles, California (the “City”) is the second most populous city in the United States with
an estimated 2019 population of 4.04 million persons. Los Angeles is the principal city of a metropolitan
region stretching from the City of Ventura to the north, the City of San Clemente to the south, the City of
San Bernardino to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
Founded in 1781, Los Angeles was a provincial outpost under successive Spanish, Mexican, and American
rule for its first century. The City experienced a population boom following its linkage by rail with San
Francisco in 1876. Los Angeles was selected as the Southern California rail terminus because its natural
harbor seemed to offer little challenge to San Francisco, home of the railroad barons. But what the region
lacked in commerce and industry, it made up in temperate climate and available real estate; soon, tens and
then hundreds of thousands of people living in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States migrated to
new homes in the region. Agricultural and oil production, followed by the creation of a deep water port, the
opening of the Panama Canal, and the completion of the City-financed Owens Valley Aqueduct to provide
additional water, all contributed to an expanding economic base. The City’s population climbed to 50,000
persons in 1890, and then swelled to 1.5 million persons by 1940. During this same period, the motor car
became the principal mode of American transportation, and the City developed as the first major city of the
automotive age. Following World War II, the City became the focus of a new wave of migration, with its
population reaching 2.4 million persons by 1960.
The City and its surrounding metropolitan region have continued to experience growth in population and in
economic diversity. The City’s 470 square miles contain 11.5 percent of the area and approximately 39
percent of the population of the County of Los Angeles (the “County”). Tourism and hospitality, professional
and business services, direct international trade, entertainment (including motion picture and television
production), and wholesale trade and logistics all contribute significantly to local employment. Emerging
industries are largely technology driven, and include biomedical, digital information technology,
environmental technology and aerospace. The County is a top-ranked county in manufacturing in the
nation. Important components of local industry include apparel, computer and electronic components,
transportation equipment, fabricated metal, and food. Fueled by trade with the Pacific Rim countries, the
Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined rank first in the nation in volume of cargo shipped and
received. As home to the film, television and recording industries, as well as important cultural facilities,
the City serves as a principal global cultural center.

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