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Los Angeles, California
| Los Angeles, California | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Los Angeles
Karen Bass | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2022 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2026 |
| Last city council election: | 2024 |
| Next city council election: | 2026 |
| City council seats: | 15 |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 3,898,747 |
| Race: | White 34.9% African American 8.6% Asian 11.9% Native American 1.7% Pacific Islander 0.2% Multiple 13.3% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 46.9% |
| Median household income: | $80,366 |
| High school graduation rate: | 79.3% |
| College graduation rate: | 37.8% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census and 2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Los Angeles offices | |
| California Congressional Delegation California State Legislature California state executive offices | |
Los Angeles is a city in Los Angeles County, California. The city's population was 3,898,747 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Los Angeles utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1]
Mayor
The mayor is the city's chief executive. The responsibilities of the mayor include proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors and committee members, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations. The mayor also possesses veto powers.[1][2] The current Mayor of Los Angeles is Karen Bass (nonpartisan). Bass assumed office in 2022.
City council
The Los Angeles City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, overseeing the use of municipal properties, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[1]
The city council is made up of 15 members. They are elected from 15 districts to four-year terms.[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Mayoral partisanship
Los Angeles has a Democratic mayor. As of September 2025, 66 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 23 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2024
The city of Los Angeles, California, held general elections for city council on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for March 5, 2024. The filing deadline for this election was December 6, 2023.
2023
The city of Los Angeles, California, held a special primary election for District 6 of the Los Angeles City Council on April 4, 2023. If needed, a runoff will be held on June 27, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was January 4, 2023.[4]
2022
The city of Los Angeles, California, held general elections for mayor, city attorney, city controller, and city council on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for June 7, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was March 9, 2022.
2020
The city of Los Angeles, California, held a primary election for Districts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 on the city council on March 3, 2020. A general election was scheduled for November 3, 2020, if no candidate received a majority of votes in the primary. The filing deadline for this election was December 6, 2019.
2017
The city of Los Angeles, California, held primary elections for mayor, eight city council seats, city attorney, and city controller on March 7, 2017. Three community college board of trustees seats were also up for general election on that date.
Most races where no candidate earned a majority (50% plus one) of the primary votes cast advanced to a general election on May 16, 2017. This rule did not apply to the community college board races, which were determined by a plurality winner in the March election.[5]
This election was the second impacted by Charter Amendment 1. Passed in March 2015, the amendment shifted city elections to even-numbered years beginning in 2020. As a result, officials elected in 2017 won special five-and-a-half year terms ending in 2022.
2015
The city of Los Angeles, California, held elections for city council on May 19, 2015. A primary election took place on March 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was December 3, 2014. Seven of the 15 city council seats were up for election.[6]
Because candidates in the races for District 2, 6, 8, 12, and 14 received over 50% of the vote in the primary election, those races did not proceed to the general election. In the primary for District 4, however, no candidate received a majority of the vote. That race was decided on May 19, 2015.
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Los Angeles | |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles | |
| Population | 3,898,747 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 470 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 37.3% |
| Black/African American | 8.5% |
| Asian | 12% |
| Native American | 1.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 2.7% |
| Other (single race) | 25.1% |
| Multiple | 15.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 47.2% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 79.3% |
| College graduation rate | 37.8% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $80,366 |
| Persons below poverty level | 16.5% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30 of the next year. The city charter gives responsibility for drafting a budget to the mayor, who must submit a budget proposal to the city council for review and approval by April 20. The city council has until June 1 to adopt or modify the proposed budget[7]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[8]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[9] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[10] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[8]
Los Angeles, California, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
200 N. Spring Street, Room 303
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213-978-0600
City Clerk's office
200 N. Spring Street, Room 360
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213-978-1020
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
The city of Los Angeles is in Los Angeles County. A list of ballot measures in Los Angeles County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Los Angeles, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Los Angeles, California began on Wednesday, May 27, 2020, with demonstrations on the 101 freeway and at the Los Angeles County Hall of Justice.[11] On May 30, Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) instituted a curfew.[12] The same day, Garcetti requested that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) deploy the California National Guard to the city with members arriving overnight.[13]
2017: Agreement to host 2028 Summer Olympics
On July 31, 2017, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for Los Angeles to be the host city for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. As part of this agreement, it was also announced that Paris, France, would host the 2024 games. Both cities wanted to host the Olympics in 2024, but Los Angeles agreed to wait four years in exchange for financial concessions from the IOC which had the potential to result in cost savings and additional revenue for the city. Specifically, the IOC will give Los Angeles a larger share of its television broadcast revenues, and also agreed to waive costs that it usually imposes on host cities. Additionally, Los Angeles received a $180 million advance from the IOC. Garcetti said this money would be invested in youth sports programs in the city. Finally, the IOC agreed not to take their customary 20 percent share of any surplus revenue that hosting the games generates.[14]
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Los Angeles, California, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[15]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
2015: Minimum wage increase
| Minimum Wage Increase Timeline | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Minimum Wage ($/Hour) | |
| 2015 | $9.00 | |
| 2016 | $10.50 | |
| 2017 | $12.00 | |
| 2018 | $13.25 | |
| 2019 | $14.25 | |
| 2020 | $15.00 | |
On May 19, 2015, the city council approved a measure 14-1 that raised the city's minimum wage. The measure raised the minimum wage annually on July 1 from $9 to $15 by 2020. Starting in 2022, the city's minimum wage will increase annually based on the Consumer Price Index averaged over the previous 20 years. When the measure passed, it was estimated that nearly half of the city's workers made less than $15 an hour. On the measure, Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said:[16]
| “ | We’re leading the country; we’re not going to wait for Washington to lift Americans out of poverty. We have too many adults struggling to be living off a poverty wage. This will re-establish some of the equilibrium we’ve had in the past.[9] | ” |
See also
- Cities in California
- Los Angeles County, California
- Largest cities in the United States by population
External links
- City of Los Angeles
- Office of the Mayor
- City Council website
- Office of the City Controller
- Office of the City Attorney
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 City of Los Angeles, "Elected Official Offices," accessed September 15, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Mayor's Office, "About," accessed April 28, 2014
- ↑ City of Los Angeles, "City Council," accessed September 15, 2014
- ↑ City of Los Angeles Office of the City Clerk, "CITY CALLS FOR SPECIAL ELECTION - LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 6," November 2, 2022
- ↑ Los Angeles Daily News, "A dozen hopefuls step up to the starting line for Los Angeles mayoral race," November 11, 2016
- ↑ Los Angeles City Clerk, "2015 Scheduled Elections," accessed September 18, 2014
- ↑ City of Los Angeles, "FY 2023-2024 Proposed Budget," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ USA Today, "'Stop killing black people': George Floyd's death sparks protests in Minneapolis, Memphis, LA," May 28, 2020
- ↑ ABC News, "Los Angeles mayor imposes downtown curfew," May 30, 2020
- ↑ The Los Angeles Times, "L.A., wracked by looting and upheaval, turns yet again to the National Guard," June 1, 2020
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "L.A. gains financial concessions in return for agreeing to host the 2028 Olympic Games," July 31, 2017
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
- ↑ New York Times, "Los Angeles Lifts Its Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour," May 19, 2015
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