A young family in East Los Angeles, 1952. Photo courtesy of the Moya Family.
Also see:
- Historical Resident Population for Spanish & Mexican Period, 1781-1840
- General Population by City in Los Angeles County 1850-1900
- General Population by City in Los Angeles County 1910-1950
- General Population by City in Los Angeles County 1960-2010
Between the census counts of 1850 and 2010, the population of the city of Los Angeles is 2,356 times its 1850 number and Los Angeles County's overall population is 2,781 times its 1850 number. By comparison, over the same period, the population for the entire state of California is 402 times larger than that of 1850.
| Year | Population of City of Los Angeles | City of Los Angeles Population as Percentage of Los Angeles County | Population of Los Angeles County | Los Angeles County Population as Percentage of California | California Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850* | 1,610 | 45.6% | 3,530 | 3.8% | 92,597 |
| 1860 | 4,385 | 38.7% | 11,333 | 3.0% | 379,994 |
| 1870 | 5,728 | 37.4% | 15,309 | 2.7% | 560,247 |
| 1880 | 11,183 | 33.5% | 33,381 | 3.9% | 864,694 |
| 1890 | 50,395 | 49.7% | 101,454 | 8.4% | 1,213,398 |
| 1900 | 102,479 | 60.2% | 170,298 | 11.5% | 1,485,053 |
| 1910 | 319,198 | 63.3% | 504,131 | 21.2% | 2,377,549 |
| 1920 | 576,673 | 61.6% | 936,455 | 27.3% | 3,426,861 |
| 1930 | 1,238,048 | 56.1% | 2,208,492 | 38.9% | 5,677,251 |
| Year | Population of City of Los Angeles | City of Los Angeles Population as Percentage of Los Angeles County | Population of Los Angeles County | Los Angeles County Population as Percentage of California | California Population |
| 1940 | 1,504,277 | 54.0% | 2,785,643 | 40.3% | 6,907,387 |
| 1950 | 1,970,358 | 47.5% | 4,151,687 | 39.2% | 10,586,223 |
| 1960 | 2,479,015 | 41.0% | 6,039,771 | 38.4% | 15,717,204 |
| 1970 | 2,816,061 | 40.0% | 7,032,075 | 35.2% | 19,971,069 |
| 1980 | 2,966,850 | 39.7% | 7,477,239 | 31.6% | 23,667,902 |
| 1990 | 3,485,567 | 39.3% | 8,863,052 | 29.7% | 29,811,427 |
| 2000 | 3,694,820 | 38.8% | 9,519,315 | 28.1% | 33,871,653 |
| 2010 | 3,792,621 | 38.6% | 9,818,605 | 26.4% | 37,253,956 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
* See comment box below.
Chart illustrating data from chart above.
Also, Historical Populations by Cities in Los Angeles County
The 1850 Census for Los Angeles County was actually conducted in the first two months of 1851, due to California becoming a state only late in 1850. The census-taker for Los Angeles County was a single individual, John R. Everston, a local who was tasked with covering a county that then encompassed not only present-day Los Angeles County, but also present-day Orange, Ventura and San Bernardino Counties. Considering the size of territory that he had to cover in a short time, despite its sparse population, Everston's count was considered inaccurate and a gross under-count. Since congressional representation depended on census counts, California conducted its own census in 1852 and counted a bit less than 8,000 residents in Los Angeles County, half of whom were Indian.
