Long Beach is a city located in Los Angeles County California. With a 2020 population of 456,154, it is the 7th largest city in California and the 43rd largest city in the United States . Long Beach is currently declining at a rate of -0.70% annually and its population has decreased by -1.32% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 462,257 in 2010. Long Beach reached it's highest population of 470,128 in 2015. Spanning over 80 miles, Long Beach has a population density of 8,998 people per square mile.
The average household income in Long Beach is $86,806 with a poverty rate of 16.83%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $1,324 per month, and the median house value is $556,100. The median age in Long Beach is 34.9 years, 34.2 years for males, and 35.6 years for females.
Long Beach is most known for being the home of the Port of Long Beach, which is one of the largest ports in the world.
Top Employers in Long Beach
The city’s top employer is the Long Beach Unified School District, which has over 12,000 employees. Other top employers in the city including Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, the City of Long Beach, Boeing and California State University at Long Beach.
Long Beach Population Growth
Long Beach has seen substantial population growth throughout its history, even recording almost 700% growth between the census taken in 1900 and 1910. In recent years, however, growth has slowed, with the statistics of 2000 and 2010 showing only a 0.2% increase in population. Current estimates show that since the 2010 census, the population has grown by 1.7%, indicating that the city still has some growing to do, although not quite at the rate observed in the past.
The region that is now Long Beach has been inhabited for thousands of years. Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th century, and during this time the Tongva people resided in the area. The Tongva people relocated during the 19th century because of political issues, missionization, and death by diseases. The region was initially known as Rancho Los Cerritos and Rancho Los Alamitos. Rancho Los Cerritos was purchased by Jonathan Temple in the 1840s, using the land to build a cattle ranch. He later sold it in the 1860s to a group of men who had previously purchased land that would later become Irvine. In 1880, 4.000 acres of the property was sold to William Willmore, who subdivided it. His venture of creating a farm community was unsuccessful, and the land was purchased by the Long Beach Land and Water Company.
Following this purchase, the name was changed to Long Beach. It was incorporated as a city in 1897. Later in the early 1900s, the remaining land of Rancho Los Cerritos was divided into neighborhoods including North Long Beach. Long Beach got its start as a seaside resort, complete with an amusement park that operated until the late 1960s. During its early history, the city’s industry was centered on the Navy shipyard and the oil industry. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Long Beach was known for its thriving oil industry, and in the 1960s, many immigrants also came to call Long Beach home.
The city faced challenges in 1933 when an earthquake hit, killing over 100 people and destroying many of the buildings. However, the city persevered, and it became home to the Ford Motor Company Long Beach Assembly. Douglas Aircraft Company also built its largest facility in Long Beach – a plant that is over 1.4 million square feet. Today, Long Beach is a very multicultural city that boasts museums, theaters, and cultural events. Long Beach is the site of beautiful beaches and multiple parks that have fishing lakes, campgrounds, bike trails, and other recreational activities.