PeopleGroups Initiative

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area is a 2 county area in southern California. Los Angeles is the most densely populated city in the United States with over 7,500 people per square mile, and is considered to be the most linguistically diverse metro area in the United States.

Click the following button to learn more about Los Angeles Send City.

Total Population: 12,997,353

Census Data

Foreign Born - 4,393,914
Language Spoken at Home - 6,416,790

[Source: American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Foreign Born and Language Spoken at Home]

Quick Facts

Asian people groups total over 1.5 million with people groups from the American peoples numbering over 2.6 million.

33.5% of the total population are Foreign Born (1st Generation Americans).

Home to the largest Vietnamese community in the United States, known as Little Saigon, and home to over 170 Buddhist Temples.

Home to the largest Armenian community in the United States, with the majority residing in the Glendale area of the metro.

Los Angeles city contains the largest number of ethnic enclaves in the United States. Read more ...

Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, Little Armenia, Little Ethiopia, Little Bangladesh in Mid-City, Los Angeles, Little Moscow inHollywood, Little Tokyo, several Little Saigons, Tehrangeles in West Los Angeles and Thai Town provide examples.

A University of California study insists that in Los Angeles County alone 1 in 10 residents are illegal. 63 percent of those undocumented residents are Mexican, 22 percent are from Central America and 8 percent are from the Philippines, China, or Korea.

Profile

Los Angeles is an incredibly diverse city, home to people from over numerous countries who speak a large percentage of all languages spoken in the United States. Ethnic enclave communities like Koreatown, Chinatown, Thai Town, Little Ethiopia and Little Tokyo reveal the Metro Areas diverse multilingual and cultural nature.

Mexicans comprise the largest ethnic group of Latinos, followed by Salvadorans and Guatemalans. The largest Asian people groups include Vietnamese, Filipino (Tagalog speakers) and Koreans, which are mostly concentrated in Koreatown and Historic Filipinotown, respectively. Chinese, Mandarin people also have large presence and can be found in Chinatown and throughout the Metro Area. Both Thaitown and Chinatown are home to many Thai and Cambodian people, while Japanese people live primarily in Little Toyko in downtown Los Angeles. Middle Eastern people groups include Persians in what is known as Tehrangeles and Armenians in Little Armenia.

Los Angeles is an incredibly diverse city, home to people from over numerous countries who speak a large percentage of all languages spoken in the United States. Ethnic enclave communities like Koreatown, Chinatown, Thai Town, Little Ethiopia and Little Tokyo reveal the Metro Areas diverse multilingual and cultural nature.

Mexicans comprise the largest ethnic group of Latinos, followed by Salvadorans and Guatemalans. The largest Asian people groups include Vietnamese, Filipino (Tagalog speakers) and Koreans, which are mostly concentrated in Koreatown and Historic Filipinotown, respectively. Chinese, Mandarin people also have large presence and can be found in Chinatown and throughout the Metro Area. Both Thaitown and Chinatown are home to many Thai and Cambodian people, while Japanese people live primarily in Little Toyko in downtown Los Angeles. Middle Eastern people groups include Persians in what is known as Tehrangeles and Armenians in Little Armenia.

Only a few miles from California’s Disneyland sits a string of Middle Eastern restaurants and shops backed by the Arab American community affectionately called, “Little Arabia.”

View Enlarged Map of Metro Area

People Group Highlights

Displaying 1-25 of 114 results.

PG Name	Country Of Birth	IMB Affinity Group	Affinity Bloc	Primary Religion	Baseline Population Total

Afghan	Afghanistan	Central Asia Peoples	Persian-Median	Islam	16,719
Jew, Yemeni	Yemen	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Jews	Ethnic Religions - Judaism	5,000
Arab, Najdi Spoken	Saudi Arabia	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Arab World	Islam	1,200
Arab, Lebanese Druze	Lebanon	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Arab World	Islam	900
Javanese	Malaysia	Southeast Asian Peoples	Malay Peoples	Islam - Sunni	450
Punjabi Sikh	India	South Asian Peoples	South Asian Peoples	Other Religions - Sikhism	32
Lamet	Laos	Southeast Asian Peoples	Southeast Asian Peoples	Buddhism	30
Vietnamese	Vietnam	Southeast Asian Peoples	Southeast Asian Peoples	Buddhism	268,271
Persian	Iran	Central Asia Peoples	Persian-Median	Islam	127,713
Jew, Russian	Russia	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Jews	Ethnic Religions - Judaism	80,000
Japanese	Japan	East Asian Peoples	East Asian Peoples	Ethnic Religions - Shintoism	73,041
Hindi	India	South Asian Peoples	South Asian Peoples	Hinduism	58,214
Thai	Thailand	Southeast Asian Peoples	Southeast Asian Peoples	Buddhism - Theravada	34,615
Gujarati	India	South Asian Peoples	South Asian Peoples	Hinduism	32,079
Jew, Tehrani	Iran	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Jews	Ethnic Religions - Judaism	30,000
Arab, Egyptian	Egypt	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Arab World	Islam	23,765
Urdu	Pakistan	South Asian Peoples	South Asian Peoples	Islam	19,405
Jew, Israeli	Israel	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Jews	Ethnic Religions - Judaism	18,885
Arab, Lebanese (Muslim)	Lebanon	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Arab World	Islam - Sunni	15,804
Turk	Turkey	Central Asia Peoples	Turkic Peoples	Islam - Sunni	11,500
Arab, Palestinian (Muslim)	Israel	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Arab World	Islam	10,421
Bengali	Bangladesh	South Asian Peoples	South Asian Peoples	Islam - Sunni	7,287
Arab, Moroccan	Morocco	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Arab World	Islam - Sunni	7,068
Arab, Syrian (Muslim)	Syria	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Arab World	Islam - Sunni	6,422
Arab, Iraqi	Iraq	North African and Middle Eastern Peoples	Arab World	Islam - Shia	5,771

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Ethnic Links

Ethnic Changes and Enclaves in Los Angeles - an article with a map on the various ethnic enclaves in Los Angeles and a map showing the various locations of ethnic enclaves.

A Map depicting the Ethnic Diversity of Los Angeles (by Los Angeles Times) - a map using a diversity index to reveal the most diverse neighborhoods and communities in Los Angeles.

Ethnic Enclaves in Southern California - a map depicting the various ethnic enclaves in the metro area.

Purepecha Festival - A yearly festival highlighting the culture, food, and music of the indigenous Purepecha people of Mexico.

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