Los Angeles County, California

Los Angeles County is a in  and is by far the  in the. Figures from the give an estimated 2006 population of 9,948,081 residents,   while the California State government's population bureau lists a   estimate of 10,331,939. The is the City of.

The county is home to 88 incorporated and many  areas. The coastal portion of the county is heavily, though there is a large expanse of lesser populated inland in the , and especially in the  which encompasses the northeastern parts of the county and adjacent eastern , lying just north of Los Angeles County. In between the large desert portions of the county ― which make up around 40 percent of its land area ― and the heavily urbanized central and southern portions sits the containing. All of southern Los Angeles County, north to about the center of the county, is heavily urbanized.

This county holds most of the principal cities encompassing the, and is the most important of the five counties that make up the area. As of 2004, the county's population is larger than the populations of and is home to over a quarter of all California residents. According to the, Los Angeles County boasts a GDP among the twenty largest in the world.

History
Los Angeles County was one of the original counties of California, created at the time of statehood in. Parts of the county's territory were given to in, to  in  and to  in.

Most of the County's history is recounted in the other articles covering its constituent cities and their neighborhoods.

Geography


With 4,061 square miles (10,517 km²), Los Angeles County borders 70 miles of coast on the and encompasses numerous other natural landscapes including towering mountain ranges, deep valleys, forests, islands, lakes, rivers, and desert. More specifically, the county contains the following rivers:, , the and the. The primary mountain ranges are the and the. It also includes the westernmost part of the, and and  in the Pacific Ocean.

Most of the population of Los Angeles County is located in the southern and southwestern portion of the county. The major population centers are the and the  and  Valleys. Moderate population are in the, and  Valleys. The area north of the Santa Clarita Valley (Northwest Los Angeles County, adjacent to and  counties) is mostly ous, rugged, well- and filled with  and receives plentiful  in the, right to the point of  conditions. This area is less populated. Mountains in this area include, the southernmost part of , and the.

Most of the highest peaks in the county are located in the, which are part of the. They include (10,064 ft) at the Los Angeles- county lines,  (9,399 ft),  (8,997 ft), and the well-known  (5,710 ft) where the   is located. Several smaller, lower are located in the northern, western, and southwestern Los Angeles County.

The county has a total area of 12,308 (4,752 ). 10,518 km² (4,061 sq mi) of it is land and 1,791 km² (691 sq mi) of it (14.55%) is water.

Major divisions of the county

 * East:, ,
 * West: ,
 * South:, , ,
 * North:, portions of the and
 * Central: ,
 * Central: ,

Unincorporated communities in Los Angeles County
The following areas are regions of the county which fall directly under the county government's jurisdiction. Most, but not all of them, are s. With no city government, residents of these areas must petition the appropriate member of the Board of Supervisors when they have a grievance about the quality of local services.

Many of these communities have town councils which are the official advisory bodies for the supervisor in the community. Typically these town councils are elected from the residents in a given region and have a direct channel to the supervisor and his staff to communicate concerns. Currently, Acton, Agua Dulce, Altadena, Castaic, Hacienda Heights, Juniper Hills, Quartz Hill, Rowland Heights, Topanga, and Val Verde have active town councils, though they may not be called by that name.
 * See: Los Angeles Almanac MAP: Unincorporated Areas and Communities of Los Angeles County
 * See also: 

ZIP codes
See

Adjacent counties

 * - west
 * - north
 * - east
 * - southeast

Air
The county's primary commercial aviation airport is (LAX) in. Other important airports include the in Long Beach and  in Burbank. is planned for expanded commercial service. There are also general aviation airports in Los Angeles, including airports in and. Other general aviation airports exist in, , , , , and.

Train
The county has the following intercity Amtrak service at in the city of Los Angeles.
 * The  to, , or.
 * The  to
 * The  to
 * The  to and

Union Station is also the primary hub for commuter rail, which serves much of the.

Light rail, subway (heavy rail), and long-distance bus service are all provided by the (Metro).

Roads
The county has a network of legendary size and complexity, which is maintained by  and patrolled by the. It also has a large network, most of which is maintained by city governments. The county and most cities generally do a decent job of maintaining and cleaning streets. For more information about the primary exception, see the article.

Both the freeways and streets are notorious for severe, and the area's freeway-to-freeway interchanges regularly rank among the top 10 most congested points in the country.

In addition to Metro Bus service, numerous cities within the county also operate their own bus companies and shuttle lines.

Sea
The county's two main s are the and the. Together they handle over a quarter of all traffic entering the United States, making the complex the largest and most important port in the country.

The Port of Los Angeles is the largest cruise ship center on the west coast, handling over 1 million passengers annually.

The Port of Long Beach is home to the program, which uses a floating launch platform to insert payloads into orbits that would be difficult to attain from existing land-based launch sites.

link to the mainland.

Navigating in the county
- The most popular series of map books among Los Angeles residents.

Economy
The major industries of Los Angeles County are international trade, supported by the and the,  and  program production,  recording and production, , and  services such as  and.

Although the City of Los Angeles is commonly associated with the entertainment industry, all of the major studios, except, are now located outside of its boundaries (in neighboring , and ). is the only major studio that is in (a district of Los Angeles City).

For major companies headquartered in the City of Los Angeles, and adjacent cities, see the.

The following major companies have headquarters in Los Angeles County cities not adjacent to the city of Los Angeles:

Demographics
Los Angeles County has the highest population of any census-designated area in the United States. The population is one of the most diverse in the world; those identifying as Hispanic or Latino form a plurality of the population, and the county also has the largest Asian population in the country at 1.4 million.

As of the of 2000, there were 9,519,338 people, 3,133,774 households, and 2,137,233 families residing in the county. The was 905/km² (2,344/sq mi). There were 3,270,909 housing units at an average density of 311/km² (806/sq mi). The county has a unique ethnic diversity. The racial makeup of the county is 48.71%, 11.0% , 0.81% , 10.0% , 0.28% , 23.53% from , and 4.94% from two or more races. 44.56% of the population are or  of any race. 45.87% of the population reported speaking only at home; 37.89% speak, 2.22% , 1.98% , 1.87% , and 1.57%. 

There were 3,133,774 households out of which 36.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% were living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.61.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,189, and the median income for a family was $46,452. Males had a median income of $36,299 versus $30,981 for females. The for the county was $20,683. There are 14.4% of families living below the and 17.9% of the population, including 24.2% of under 18 and 10.5% of those over 64.

Housing
The homeownership rate is 47.9%, and the median value for houses is $209,300. 42.2% of housing units are in multi-unit structures.

Demographics (as of 2005)
As of: 1 July 2005


 * Total Population: 9,935,475, a 4.4% increase between 2000 and 2005, or about 27% of California's population.

Law, government and politics


The county is governed by the five-member, who are elected by the county's voters. The small size of the board means each supervisor represents over 2 million people. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and capacity. As a legislative authority, it can pass ordinances for the unincorporated areas (ordinances that affect the whole county, like posting of restaurant ratings, must be ratified by the individual city). As an executive body, it can tell the county departments what to do, and how to do it. As a quasi-judicial body, the Board is the final venue of appeal in the local planning process, and holds public hearings on various agenda items.

The county government is operated by a Chief Executive Officer, currently William T Fujioka, and is organized into many departments, each of which is enormous in comparison to equivalent county-level (and even state-level) departments anywhere else in the United States. Some of the larger or better-known departments include:
 * – Performs autopsies and determines the cause of death for those who die without medical supervision.
 * Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors
 * Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services – administers foster care
 * – (portrayed in the famous television series ).
 * – operates several county hospitals and a network of primary care clinics, and also runs the public health system, which has a requirement that all restaurants in the unincorporated County and the majority of independent cities prominently post their food safety inspection grade in their front window
 * – administers public parks and the largest public golf course system in the U.S.
 * – administers many federal and state welfare programs
 * – operates countywide flood control system, constructs and maintains roads in unincorporated areas
 * – maintains the Zoning Code that regulates land use in the unicorporated areas, researches and facilitates land-use decisions and serves to connect the community to the established building regulations.
 * – prosecutes criminal suspects
 * – public art museum
 * – defends indigent criminal suspects
 * – operates a large network of branch libraries
 * – provides law enforcement services to unincorporated areas and cities that do not have their own police departments, and operates the huge county jails. The LASD is the largest county Sheriff's Department in the United States.
 * Los Angeles County Disaster Communications Service ( DCS )is a volunteer organization administered by the Sheriff's Department Emergency Operations Bureau for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Their main function, authorized under County Ordinance, is to provide volunteer disaster relief communication for the citizens of Los Angeles County.
 * – provides law enforcement services to unincorporated areas and cities that do not have their own police departments, and operates the huge county jails. The LASD is the largest county Sheriff's Department in the United States.
 * Los Angeles County Disaster Communications Service ( DCS )is a volunteer organization administered by the Sheriff's Department Emergency Operations Bureau for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Their main function, authorized under County Ordinance, is to provide volunteer disaster relief communication for the citizens of Los Angeles County.

The, despite its name, is not a County department. Technically it is a state-mandated county transportation commission that also operates bus and rail.

The Los Angeles Superior Court, which covers the entire county, is not a County department but a division of the State's trial court system. The courthouses, however, are county-owned buildings that are maintained at county expense.

Politics
Despite being a highly liberal county, many suburban cities in Los Angeles County are relatively conservative, particularly in the. Twenty-six cities in the county had a majority of votes go to in the 2004 Presidential Election; they were :, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and. The remainder of the 89 cities and districts in the county voted for Bush's Democratic opponent,.

In the, all of districts 27-39 are entirely within the county and are all represented by Democrats. In order of district number they are, , , , , , , , , , , , and. Parts of the county are also in the, , , , and districts, which are all represented by Republicans: , , , , and  respectively.

In the, all of districts 20-22 and 24-28, and 30 are entirely within the county and are all represented by Democrats. In order of district number they are, , , , , , , , and. Most of the 23rd district is in the county and is represented by Democrat. Parts of the 17th, 19th, 29th, and 32nd districts are also in the county. The 17th, 19th, and 29th districts are represented by Republicans, , and , respectively. The 32nd is represented by Democrat.

In the, all of districts 39, 40, 42-55, 57, and 58 are entirely within the county and are all represented by Democrats. In order of district number they are, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (the 55th district is vacant; it was previously held by , who was elected to the in 2007), , and. Most of districts 38, 41, and 56 are in the county. The 38th is held by Republican ; the 41st and 56th are held by Democrats and. Parts of districts 36, 37, 59, 60, and 61 are also in the county. The 36th, 37th, 59th, and 60th districts are represented by Republicans:, , , and. The 61st is represented by Democrat.

Legal system
The Los Angeles County Superior Court has jurisdiction over all cases arising under state law, while the hears all federal cases. Both are headquartered in a large cluster of government buildings in the city's Civic Center.

Unlike the largest city in the United States,, all of the city of Los Angeles and most of its important suburbs are located within a single county. As a result, both the county superior court and the federal district court are respectively the busiest courts of their type in the nation.

Many like  have been seen in Los Angeles courts. In, the  Extra (based in nearby ) found itself running so many reports on the legal problems of local celebrities that it spun them off into a separate show, Celebrity Justice.

State cases are appealed to the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District, which is also headquartered in the Civic Center, and then to the, which is headquartered in but also hears argument in Los Angeles (again, in the Civic Center). Federal cases are appealed to the, which hears them at its branch building in. The court of last resort for federal cases is the in

Education
The county is home to many prestigious colleges and universities. It also has a huge number of public school districts and many private schools.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education provides a supporting role for school districts in the area. The county office also operates two magnet schools, including and.

Colleges and universities

 * , Santa Clarita
 * and (Los Angeles)
 * , Pasadena
 * ,, (Los Angeles), , and
 * , (LACC)
 * , Los Angeles
 * , (Los Angeles)
 * (Pierce),
 * , Los Angeles
 * , (LATTC) Los Angeles
 * , (Los Angeles)
 * , Long Beach
 * , Santa Clarita
 * , (Los Angeles)
 * (Oxy), (Los Angeles)
 * (SMC),
 * , Whittier
 * , Pasadena
 * (Pierce),
 * , Los Angeles
 * , (LATTC) Los Angeles
 * , (Los Angeles)
 * , Long Beach
 * , Santa Clarita
 * , (Los Angeles)
 * (Oxy), (Los Angeles)
 * (SMC),
 * , Whittier
 * , Pasadena
 * (SMC),
 * , Whittier
 * , Pasadena
 * , Whittier
 * , Pasadena




 * (Caltech),
 * , (Cal Poly Pomona),
 * , (CSUDH)
 * , (CSULB),
 * , (CSULA),
 * , (CSUN), (Los Angeles)
 * (LMU), (Los Angeles)
 * , Los Angeles
 * , (UCLA) (Los Angeles)
 * , (USC) Los Angeles
 * , Los Angeles
 * , (UCLA) (Los Angeles)
 * , (USC) Los Angeles
 * , (UCLA) (Los Angeles)
 * , (USC) Los Angeles
 * , (USC) Los Angeles

Sites of interest
The county's most visited park is, owned by the City of Los Angeles. The county is also known for the annual in, the annual  in Pomona, the , the , the , the , the , and two horse racetracks and two car racetracks ( and ), also the  located in , and the , and miles of beaches--from Zuma to Cabrillo.

is a popular attraction where its used to find throngs of tourists admiring "hardbodies". Today it is more arts-centered. 's pier is a well known tourist spot, famous for its and bumper car rides, which were featured in the introductory segment of the   . Further north in one finds the beaches used in the television series . The fabled, home of many a film or television , lies west of it.

In the mountain, canyon, and desert areas one may find, where many old westerns were filmed. in the is open for the public to view astronomical s from its, now -assisted. Many county residents find relaxation in and swimming at  Lake Recreation Area - the county's largest park by area - as well as enjoying natural surroundings and starry nights at  in the eastern  - California State Parks' largest in area within the county. The is located in the western Antelope Valley and shows off the State's flower in great quantity on its rolling hills every spring.

Museums

 * , Mid-City
 * , Downtown Los Angeles (founded in 1950)
 * , (19th and early 20th Century art)
 * , (Ancient, , and European Renaissance Art)
 * , Downtown Los Angeles (founded in 1980)
 * , (Contemporary art)
 * , Los Angeles (formerly the Museum of Science and Industry)
 * at La Brea Tar Pits
 * (Gene Autry Museum), in
 * at La Brea Tar Pits
 * (Gene Autry Museum), in
 * at La Brea Tar Pits
 * (Gene Autry Museum), in
 * at La Brea Tar Pits
 * (Gene Autry Museum), in
 * at La Brea Tar Pits
 * (Gene Autry Museum), in