THE LOS ANGELES LAND BRIEF
Land in the
Los Angeles Plain setting.
Los Angeles city has 470.5 square miles of land in Los Angeles County. Its Census reference point is in Los Angeles Plain, within Southern California/Northern Baja Coast.
Coastal and alluvial plains alternate with low hills in southern California. Sage scrub, chaparral and oak communities characterize the region's natural coastal landscape.
Regional context: Southern California/Northern Baja Coast ↗ · Classification at the Census reference point
Los Angeles and Los Angeles County
Los Angeles is associated with Los Angeles County in the Census boundary data. Start with the parcel’s tax bill to match the property to that jurisdiction, then confirm which government handles its land use.
Los Angeles by land and water
The Census records 31.5 square miles of water within Los Angeles, or 6.3% of its total area. It is 8.2 percentage points lower than the 14.5% recorded for Los Angeles County. This is geographic context; waterfront status and usable land must be checked at the parcel.
For scale, Los Angeles city has 92 times the land area of nearby Culver City city (5.11 square miles). These areas describe boundaries, not comparable property prices.

