If you’ve ever sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 405 or tried to find a parking spot in Koreatown on a Saturday night, you’d swear there are roughly a billion people living in Los Angeles. It feels crowded. It's loud. The energy is constant. But if you look at the actual hard data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Finance, the reality is a bit more nuanced than "everyone is moving here."
Honestly, the answer to how many people live in Los Angeles depends entirely on where you draw the line.
Are we talking about the city limits? The massive sprawl of the county? Or the entire metro area that seems to stretch forever?
As of early 2026, the City of Los Angeles holds approximately 3.88 million residents. This makes it the second-largest city in the United States, trailing only New York City. However, if you zoom out to Los Angeles County, that number balloons to roughly 9.8 million people. To put that in perspective, if L.A. County were its own state, it would be more populous than about 40 other U.S. states.
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Why the Numbers Keep Shifting
People aren't just staying put. For a long time, the narrative was that California—and specifically L.A.—was shrinking. You’ve probably heard the "California Exodus" stories. While it's true that the city saw a slight dip during the pandemic years, 2024 and 2025 showed a surprising stabilization.
The California Department of Finance recently noted that the state's population actually grew by about 108,000 people in 2024. But L.A. is a different beast. While the state grew, the county of Los Angeles saw a minor decline of about 0.29% in the fiscal year ending July 2025.
Why?
Wildfires. High housing costs. Remote work.
The Palisades and Eaton fires in 2025 actually displaced a significant number of people, contributing to a domestic migration loss. Basically, people are moving to the Inland Empire or out of state to find cheaper rent, while international immigrants are still fighting to get in. It’s a revolving door.
The City vs. The County: A Massive Difference
Most people get this wrong. When someone asks how many people live in Los Angeles, they usually mean the whole area. But there’s a legal and statistical wall between "L.A. City" and "L.A. County."
- The City (3.88 Million): This includes neighborhoods like Hollywood, Van Nuys, and Downtown. It covers about 469 square miles.
- The County (9.8 Million): This includes 88 different cities. Think Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Long Beach. These are technically separate entities with their own mayors, but to a tourist, it’s all just "L.A."
- The Metro Area (12.7 Million): This is the "Greater Los Angeles" area, including Orange County.
It’s big. Really big.
Who Actually Lives Here?
L.A. is one of the most diverse places on the planet. There is no majority ethnic group. According to recent demographic breakdowns, the population is roughly 48% Hispanic or Latino, 28% White (non-Hispanic), 12% Asian, and about 8% Black or African American.
You’ve got the largest population of Thais outside of Thailand. The largest population of Koreans outside of Korea.
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This diversity isn't just a stat; it's the reason the food is so good. You can get authentic Oaxacan mole in the morning and world-class sushi in the afternoon without leaving a five-mile radius. But this density comes with a price. The median household income in the county is around $87,760, which sounds decent until you realize the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment often clears $2,500.
The "Squeezed" Middle Class
What's happening right now in 2026 is a "thinning" of the middle. High earners are staying because they can afford the $1.5 million "starter homes" in Silver Lake. Lower-income residents are staying because of deep-rooted community ties and social services. But the middle class? They’re the ones heading to Las Vegas, Phoenix, or Texas.
Expert demographers like those at the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) have pointed out that while births still outpace deaths, the "natural increase" is slowing down because the population is aging. We aren't having as many kids as we used to.
Surprising Facts About L.A.'s Density
Most people think L.A. is just a bunch of suburban houses with pools. That's the movie version. In reality, parts of Los Angeles are some of the most densely populated spots in the country.
- Westlake and Koreatown: These neighborhoods have population densities that rival parts of Manhattan. We're talking 40,000+ people per square mile.
- The "Shadow" Population: Official census numbers often miss people living in "unconventional" housing—converted garages, "granny flats," and unfortunately, the significant unhoused population, which was estimated at over 75,000 across the county in recent counts.
- The Commuter Surge: During work hours, the population of the City of Los Angeles actually swells by hundreds of thousands as people from the "burbs" (like Santa Clarita or Irvine) pour in.
Is Los Angeles Shrinking or Growing?
It’s complicated.
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The California Department of Finance projects that L.A. County might actually drop to around 8.2 million people by 2060. That’s a massive projected loss. The "real loser" in the long-term population game is the urban core, as people seek more space and lower taxes in the Central Valley or the Riverside-San Bernardino area.
But don't count L.A. out just yet.
International migration is still a powerhouse. Even with shifting federal policies, L.A. remains a primary gateway for people coming from the Pacific Rim and Latin America. In 2024, net international migration to California was over 260,000. L.A. gets a huge chunk of that.
What You Should Do With This Information
If you're thinking about moving to L.A. or starting a business here, don't just look at the raw number of how many people live in Los Angeles. Look at the flow.
Real Estate Insight: The population is shifting toward the edges. Areas like the Santa Clarita Valley and the Antelope Valley are seeing growth while the central city stays flat or dips. If you're looking for investment, the outskirts are where the people are heading.
Business Strategy: If you’re opening a shop, focus on the "Daytime Population." A neighborhood might only have 20,000 residents, but if it has 100,000 office workers and commuters passing through, that’s your real market.
Lifestyle Reality: Expect the "crowded" feeling to persist. Even if the population drops by 1% or 2%, the infrastructure is already at its limit. Traffic won't magically disappear because 20,000 people moved to Austin.
The best way to "beat" the population density is to live near where you work—the "15-minute city" concept is the only way to maintain your sanity in a county of nearly 10 million people. Check the latest local neighborhood council data before signing a lease; some pockets are growing much faster than the official city-wide average suggests.
Final Data Point for 2026:
- City of L.A.: ~3,878,704
- L.A. County: ~9,807,863
- Annual Growth Rate: -0.11% (City) / 0.26% (County)
Numbers tell one story, but the streets tell another. Los Angeles remains a massive, bustling, and slightly chaotic experiment in human density.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check Localized Data: Use the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts tool to compare specific L.A. zip codes, as density varies wildly between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside.
- Analyze Traffic Patterns: Before moving, use the "Typical Traffic" feature on Google Maps for your specific commute times; population density here translates directly to "time lost" on the road.
- Monitor Housing Trends: Keep an eye on the California Department of Finance's E-2 reports for the most current mid-year population estimates, which are often more up-to-date than the decennial census.