Southern Cal Demography

English: Long Beach, California at night (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Languna Beach, California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Southern California’s population encompasses eight metropolitan areas, or MSAs: the Los Angeles metropolitan area, consisting of Los Angeles and Orangecounties; the Inland Empire, consisting of Riverside and San Bernardinocounties; the San Diego metropolitan area; the Bakersfield metropolitan area; theOxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura metropolitan area; the Santa Barbara metro area; the San Luis Obispo metropolitan area; and the El Centro area. Out of these, three are heavy populated areas: the Los Angeles area with over 12 million inhabitants, the Riverside-San Bernardino area with over 4 million inhabitants, and the San Diego area with over 3 million inhabitants. For CSA metropolitan purposes, the five counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura are all combined to make up the Greater Los Angeles Area with over 17.5 million people. With over 22 million people, southern California contains roughly 60% of California’s population.

Big Sur, California (Photo credit: the_tahoe_guy)

To the east of southern California are the Colorado Desert and the Colorado Riverat the border with the state of Arizona and the Mojave Desert at the border with the state of Nevada. To the south lies the international border with Mexico, and to the west lies the Pacific Ocean.

Within southern California are two major cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as three of the country’s largest metropolitan areas.^[1] With a population of 3,792,621, Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States. To the south and with a population of 1,307,402 is San Diego, the second most populous city in the state and the eighth most populous in the nation.

Its counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside are in the top 15 most populous counties in the United States and all five are the top 5 most populous counties in California.^[2] The region is also home to Los Angeles International Airport, the second-busiest airport in the United States by passenger volume (see World’s busiest airports by passenger traffic) and the third by international passenger volume (seeBusiest airports in the United States by international passenger traffic); San Diego International Airport the busiest single runway airport in the world; Van Nuys Airport, the world’s busiest general aviation airport; major commercial airports atOrange County, Ontario, Burbank and Long Beach; and numerous smaller commercial and general aviation airports. Southern California is also home to the Port of Los Angeles, the United States’ busiest commercial port; the adjacent Port of Long Beach, the United States’ second busiest container port; and the Port of San Diego. Also of note in the region is the freeway system, which is the world’s busiest. Six of the seven lines of the commuter rail system, Metrolink, run out of Downtown Los Angeles, connecting Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, and San Diego counties with the other line connecting San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties directly.

University of California, Santa Barbara

The Tech Coast is a moniker that has gained use as a descriptor for the region’s diversified technology and industrial base as well as its multitude of prestigious and world-renowned research universities and other public and private institutions. Amongst these include 5University of California campuses (Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and San Diego); 12 California State University campuses (Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Northridge, Pomona, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Marcos, and San Luis Obispo); and private institutions such as the California Institute of Technology, Chapman University, the Claremont Colleges (Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, and Scripps College), Loma Linda University, Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College,Pepperdine University, University of San Diego, and the University of Southern California.

Universal Studios at Hollywood

Southern California is also the entertainment (motion picture, television, and recorded music) capital of the world^{[citation needed]} and is home to Hollywood, a district in Los Angeles and a name associated with the motion picture industry. Headquartered in southern California are The Walt Disney Company (which also owns ABC), Sony Pictures, Universal, MGM, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Brothers.

Besides the entertainment industry, southern California is also home to a large home grown surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Volcom, Quiksilver, No Fear,RVCA, and Body Glove are all headquartered in southern California. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, professional surfers Rob Machado, Tim Curran, Bobby Martinez, Pat O’Connell, Dane Reynolds, and Chris Ward, and professional snowboarderShaun White live in southern California. Some of the world’s legendary surf spots are in southern California as well, including Trestles, Rincon, The Wedge, Huntington Beach, and Malibu, and it is second only to the island of Oahu in terms of famous surf breaks. Some of the world’s biggest extreme sports events, including the X Games,^[3]Boost Mobile Pro,^[4] and the U.S. Open of Surfing are all in southern California. Southern California is also important to the world of yachting. The annual Transpacific Yacht Race, or “Transpac”, from Los Angeles to Hawaii, is one of yachting’s premier events. The San Diego Yacht Club held the America’s Cup, the most prestigious prize in yachting, from 1988 to 1995 and hosted three America’s Cup races during that time.

Southern California is home to many sports franchises and sports networks such as Fox Sports Net. Professional teams that are located in the region include the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA, and San Diego Chargers. Southern California also is home to a number of popular NCAA sports programs such as the UCLA Bruins, the USC Trojans, and the San Diego State Aztecs.

Southern California is culturally diverse and well known worldwide. Many tourists frequent the southern California coast for its popular beaches and the eastern desert for its dramatic open spaces.

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