81 articles
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach, California (Surf City USA): Orange County coastal city of about 191,000-199,000 residents, famed for surfing, its 1,850-foot pier, a 1920 oil boom, and recent state conflicts over voter ID and housing mandates.
Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California: Los Angeles County city of about 102,000 near LAX; incorporated 1908, aerospace and aviation history, home of SoFi Stadium, the Forum, and Intuit Dome.
Irvine, California
Irvine, California: master-planned Orange County charter city incorporated December 28, 1971, built on the Irvine Ranch around UC Irvine under William Pereira's plan; population about 318,764 (2025).
La Cañada Flintridge, California
La Cañada Flintridge is a Los Angeles County, California city incorporated December 8, 1976 from La Cañada and Flintridge, population 20,573 (2020), a contract city with council-manager government, home to JPL, and known for its no-hyphen name and single-family housing.
Laguna Beach, California
Laguna Beach is a seaside resort city in Orange County, California, incorporated 1927, known for its art colony, Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters, and fully protected state marine reserves along its coastline.
Lake Forest, California
Lake Forest, California (formerly El Toro), a city in Orange County incorporated December 20, 1991; population 85,858 in 2020, largest employer Oakley Inc., named for eucalyptus plantings and lakes.
Lakewood, California
Lakewood, also known as Lakewood, CA, is a city in Los Angeles County, California, incorporated in 1954 as a master-planned community of about 71,316 residents.
Lancaster, California
Lancaster, California: high-desert Antelope Valley city in northern Los Angeles County, about 60 miles from Los Angeles. Founded as an 1876 Southern Pacific railroad water stop, incorporated 1977; about 170,000 residents, aerospace- and healthcare-driven economy.
Lompoc, California
Lompoc (Lom-poke) is a Central Coast California city in Santa Barbara County, incorporated 1888 from an 1874 temperance colony; population about 43,000, majority Hispanic/Latino, near Vandenberg Space Force Base and La Purisima Mission.
Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California: coastal city in southern Los Angeles County, incorporated 1897, population about 450,000. Known for the Port of Long Beach, the 1921 oil boom, the 1933 earthquake and Field Act, the Queen Mary, and diverse neighborhoods.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, second-largest U.S. city, founded 1781 as El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles, incorporated 1850; 3.87 million residents (2025), major port, and Tongva heritage.
Lynwood, California
Lynwood, California, a city in Los Angeles County incorporated July 16, 1921, population 67,265 at the 2020 census, 87.7% Hispanic or Latino, governed by council-city manager, served by Lynwood Unified School District, between Interstates 105 and 710.
Malibu, California
Malibu is a coastal city in northwest Los Angeles County, California, incorporated March 28, 1991, with 21 miles of Pacific coastline, about 10,300 residents, famous beaches and surfing, and major wildfire and coastal-erosion hazards.
Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach, California: coastal city in Los Angeles County's South Bay, incorporated 1912, population about 33,000-35,500, 928-foot pier, 2.1 miles of beachfront, median home value over $2 million, site of Bruce's Beach land return.
Mission Viejo, California
Mission Viejo is a master-planned city in southern Orange County, California, begun in 1963 on 10,000 acres of Rancho Mission Viejo, incorporated March 31, 1988, population about 90,000, with 55 parks and Lake Mission Viejo.
Monrovia, California
Monrovia, California: a San Gabriel Valley city incorporated December 15, 1887 as the fourth city in Los Angeles County, named for founder William N. Monroe; about 38,000 residents, 164 historic landmarks, and a Metro A Line station opened in 2015.
Monterey Park, California
Monterey Park, California: San Gabriel Valley city eight miles east of downtown Los Angeles, the 'first suburban Chinatown' and first majority-Asian U.S. city (1990). 57,457 residents (2025), 64.8% Asian; transformed by Chinese immigration since the 1970s.
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, incorporated on September 1, 1906, known for Newport Bay's harbor, eight miles of beaches, and some of the state's highest home values.
Norwalk, California
Norwalk, California, a city in Los Angeles County 17 miles southeast of downtown LA; incorporated 1957, founded by the Sproul brothers in the 1870s; 2020 population 102,773, declining to an estimated 97,104 by 2025.
Ojai, California
Ojai, CA, is a small city of about 7,400 people in Ventura County, California, in a valley beside Los Padres National Forest, known as a tourism destination.
Orange, California
Orange, California: Orange County city founded 1871 as Richland, incorporated April 6, 1888; population 139,911 (2020); home to Old Towne Orange, the Plaza, and Chapman University.
Oxnard, California
Oxnard, California: largest city in Ventura County on the Oxnard Plain, incorporated 1903 around the Oxnard brothers' sugar beet factory; about 200,000 residents, 77.1% Hispanic or Latino, gateway to Channel Islands National Park.
Palmdale, California
Palmdale, California: high-desert Antelope Valley city in northern LA County, ~60 miles from downtown LA; grew from a railroad water stop (Palmenthal, 1886) into an aerospace hub around Air Force Plant 42; 169,450 residents in 2020, affordable housing, long commutes.
Palos Verdes Estates, California
A wealthy planned city in Los Angeles County, Palos Verdes Estates was designed by the Olmsted Brothers in the 1910s, incorporated in 1939, and features exclusive community living.
Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California: incorporated 1886 city in Los Angeles County, home of the Tournament of Roses (first held 1890), Rose Bowl (1922), Caltech, and JPL; 138,699 residents in 2020, recovering from the January 2025 Eaton Fire.
Pomona, California
Pomona, California: charter city in Los Angeles County named for the Roman goddess of fruit, incorporated 1888, population about 148,000, home of Cal Poly Pomona and the Metro A Line's San Gabriel Valley terminus.
Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Rancho Palos Verdes is a 1973-incorporated general law city in Los Angeles County on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, population about 39,654 (2025 estimate), known for the ongoing Portuguese Bend landslide, FEMA-funded buyouts, and dewatering remediation.
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is a coastal city on Santa Monica Bay in Los Angeles County, California, incorporated in 1892 with a 1.5-mile shoreline and horseshoe-shaped pier.
San Clemente, California
San Clemente, California: "Spanish Village by the Sea," southernmost Orange County coastal city founded by Ole Hanson in 1925, incorporated 1928, population about 62,000, known for Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, surfing, and coastal erosion threatening its rail line.
San Dimas, California
San Dimas, California: a San Gabriel Valley city in Los Angeles County, incorporated August 4, 1960, population about 34,924. Formerly Mud Springs, a citrus town born with the 1887 Santa Fe Railroad; council-manager government.