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Los Angeles County is a county with 9,802,800 residents (as of 2001), the most populous county in California and in the entire United States. The county seat is the city of Los Angeles.
The coastal portion of the county is heavily urbanized, though there is a large expanse of lesser populated desert inland in the Santa Clarita Valley, and especially in the Antelope Valley which encompasses the northeastern parts of the county and adjacent eastern Kern County, lying just north of Los Angeles County. In between the large desert portions of the county - which makes up around 40 per cent of its land area - and the heavily urbanized central and southern portions sits the San Gabriel Mountains containing Angeles National Forest. All of southern Los Angeles County, up to about the center of the county, is heavily urbanized.
This county holds the principal cities encompassing the Greater Los Angeles Area.
The county is governed by the five-member Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who are elected by the county's voters.
With 4,061 square miles, it borders on the Pacific Ocean and has the following rivers: Los Angeles River, Rio Hondo, the San Gabriel River and the Santa Clara River. The primary mountain ranges are the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains. It includes the westernmost part of the Mojave Desert, San Clemente Island and Santa Catalina Island.
The county's most visited park is Griffith Park, owned by the City of Los Angeles . The county is also known for the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, the annual Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Natural History Museum, the La Brea Tar Pits, the Arboretum of Los Angeles, and two horse racetracks and a car racetrack, and miles of beaches--from Zuma to Cabrillo.
Venice Beach is a popular attraction where its Muscle Beach used to find throngs of tourists admiring "hardbodies". Today it is more arts-centered. Santa Monica's pier is a well known tourist spot, famous for its ferris wheel and bumper car rides, which were featured in the introductory segment of the television sitcom Three's Company. Further north in Pacific Palisades one finds the beaches used in the television series Baywatch. The fabled Malibu, home of many a film or television star, lies north of it.
In the mountain, canyon, and desert areas one may find Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, where many old westerns, the original television series Star Trek and The Flintstones movies were filmed. Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains is open for the public to view astronomical stars from its telescope, now computer-assisted. Many county residents find relaxation in water skiing and swimming at Castaic Lake Recreation Area - the county's largest park by area - as well as enjoying natural surroundings and starry nights at Saddleback Butte State Park in the eastern Antelope Valley - California State Parks' largest in area within the county.
See also: List of California counties
(See also Los Angeles, California#Communities, neighborhoods and districts)
The major industries of L.A. County are motion picture and television program production, music recording and production, and aerospace.
Los Angeles County was one of the original counties of California, created at the time of statehood in 1850. Parts of the county's territory were given to San Bernardino County in 1853, to Kern County in 1866 and to Orange County in 1899.
As of 2000, there are 9,519,338 people, 3,133,774 households, and 2,137,233 families residing in the county. The population density is 905/km² (2,344/mi²). There are 3,270,909 housing units at an average density of 311 persons/km² (806 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 48.71% White, 9.78% African American, 0.81% Native American, 11.95% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 23.53% from other races, and 4.94% from two or more races. 44.56% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 3,133,774 households out of which 36.80% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.60% are married couples living together, 14.70% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 31.80% are non-families. 24.60% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.10% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.98 and the average family size is 3.61.
In the county the population is spread out with 28.00% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 32.60% from 25 to 44, 19.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $42,189, and the median income for a family is $46,452. Males have a median income of $36,299 versus $30,981 for females. The per capita income for the county is $20,683. 17.90% of the population and 14.40% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 24.20% are under the age of 18 and 10.50% are 65 or older.
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