Demographics

A view of downtown Los Angeles from the air.

Historical populations
Year	Pop.	%±
1850	1,610	—
1860	4,385	172.4%
1870	5,728	30.6%
1880	11,183	95.2%
1890	50,395	350.6%
1900	102,479	103.4%
1910	319,198	211.5%
1920	576,673	80.7%
1930	1,238,048	114.7%
1940	1,504,277	21.5%
1950	1,970,358	31.0%
1960	2,479,015	25.8%
1970	2,816,061	13.6%
1980	2,966,850	5.4%
1990	3,485,398	17.5%
2000	3,694,820	6.0%
2010	3,792,621	2.6%

According to the 2010 Census, the racial and ethnic composition of Los Angeles was as follows:

• White: 49.8% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 28.7%)
• Black or African American: 9.6%
• Native American: 0.7%
• Asian: 11.3%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
• Two or more races: 4.6%

• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 48.5%

According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, the top ten European ancestries were the following:

• German: 4.5% (170,483)
• Irish: 3.9% (146,658)
• English: 3.5% (129,684)
• Italian: 2.8% (100,145)
• Russian: 2.6% (98,737)
• Polish: 1.6% (59,774)
• French: 1.2% (45,127)
• Scottish: 0.8% (28,931)
• Swedish: 0.6% (23,227)
• Scotch-Irish: 0.6% (22,651)

Source:

Current estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau put the city's population at 3,833,995. The California Department of Finance estimates the population at 4,094,764 as of January 1, 2009. The 2000 census 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). Los Angeles has become a multiethnic and multicultural city, with major new groups of Latino and Asian immigrants in recent decades. From a metropolitan area that in 1960 was over 80% non-Hispanic white, Los Angeles has been transformed into a city that now has a "majority-minority" population. As of the 2000 US Census, the racial distribution in Los Angeles was 46.9% White American, 11.2% African American, 10.5% 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).

The census indicated that 42.2% spoke English, 41.7% Spanish, 2.4% Korean, 2.3% Tagalog, 1.7% Armenian, 1.5% Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin) and 1.3%Persian as their first language.

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.

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. Los Angeles has had a high degree of income disparity as compared to the rest of the country. Recently, however, income disparity has declined. The median household income of the wealthiest neighborhood was $207,938, while in the poorest it was $15,003.

Los Angeles is home to people from more than 140 countries speaking 224 different identified languages. Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, Little Armenia, Little Ethiopia,Tehrangeles, Little Tokyo, and Thai Town provide examples of the polyglot character of Los Angeles.