Greater Los Angeles

Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States (after New York's), with a population of 18.5 million in 2021,[2] encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, with Los Angeles County in the center and Orange County to the southeast. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Los Angeles–Anaheim–Riverside combined statistical area covers 33,954 square miles (87,940 km²), making it the largest metropolitan region in the United States by land area. Of this, the contiguous urban area is 2,281 square miles (5,910 km²),[1] the remainder mostly consisting of mountain and desert areas. In addition to being the nexus of the global entertainment industry (films, television, and recorded music), Greater Los Angeles is also an important center of international trade, education, media, business, tourism, technology, and sports.[6] It is the 3rd largest metropolitan area by nominal GDP in the world with an economy exceeding $1 trillion in output (behind Tokyo and New York City).

Greater Los Angeles Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim CSA
Megacity and Combined statistical area
Los Angeles Long Beach Anaheim Santa Ana Riverside
Coordinates: 34.0°N 118.2°W / 34.0; -118.2
Country	United States
State	California
Principal city	Los Angeles
Other major cities	Anaheim Burbank Carson Chino Compton Costa Mesa Corona Fontana Fullerton Garden Grove Glendale Hesperia Huntington Beach Inglewood Irvine Laguna Beach Lancaster Long Beach Menifee Mission Viejo Moreno Valley Murrieta Newport Beach Norwalk Ontario Orange Oxnard Palmdale Pasadena Pomona Rancho Cucamonga Rialto Riverside San Bernardino Santa Ana Santa Clarita Santa Monica Thousand Oaks Temecula Torrance Ventura Victorville West Covina
Area
• Urban [1]	2,281.0 sq mi (5,907.8 km2)
• Metro	33,954 sq mi (87,940 km2)
Highest elevation	11,499 ft (3,505 m)
Lowest elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Megacity and Combined statistical area	18,490,242
• Density	549.1/sq mi (212.0/km2)
	Ranked 2nd in the US
Time zone	UTC−8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
Area codes	213/323, 310/424, 562, 626, 661, 714/657, 760/442, 805/820, 818/747, 909/840, 949, 951
GDP	$1.252 trillion (2017)[3][4][5]
GDP per capita	$66,635 (2017)

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
Metropolitan statistical area
Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim MSA
Coordinates: 34°03′N 118°15′W
Country	United States
State(s)	California
Largest city	Los Angeles
Area
• Total	4,850.3 sq mi (12,562 km2)
Highest elevation	Mount San Antonio 10,068 ft (3,069 m)
Lowest elevation	Wilmington −9 ft (−3 m)
Population  (2019)
• Total	18,710,563
• Rank	2nd in the U.S.
• Density	2,744/sq mi (1,059/km2)
Time zone	UTC–8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC–7 (PDT)

There are three contiguous component metropolitan areas in Greater Los Angeles: the Inland Empire, which can be broadly defined as Riverside and San Bernardino counties; the Ventura/Oxnard metropolitan area (or Ventura County); and the Los Angeles metropolitan area (also known as Metropolitan Los Angeles or Metro LA)[7] consisting of Los Angeles and Orange counties only. The Census Bureau designates the latter as the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim metropolitan statistical area, the fourth largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States, by population.[8] It has a total area of 4,850 square miles (12,561 km²). San Diego–Tijuana, though contiguous with Greater Los Angeles at San Clemente and Temecula, is not part of it, but together both form part of the Southern California Megalopolis.

Throughout the 20th century, Greater Los Angeles was one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, but growth has slowed since 2000. At the 2010 U.S. census, the smaller Los Angeles metro area had a population of nearly 13 million residents. In 2015, the Greater Los Angeles population was estimated to be about 18.7 million,[9] making it the second largest metropolitan region in the country, behind New York, as well as one of the largest megacities in the world.[10][11] Over time, droughts and wildfires have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining the region's water security.[12][13][14][15]