HOW THE CITY GREW
Since its incorporation in 1850, the City of Los Angeles has been gobbling up territory through annexation to expand its borders from 28 square miles to more than 464. The map below shows the original city and the parcels acquired along the way. The table shows the city’s area and population at the end of each decade. Original city incorporated April 4, 1850.
Year Area* Population** (sq.mi.) 1850 28.01 l,610 1860 29.21 4,385 1870 29.21 5,728 1880 29.21 11,183 1890 29.21 50,395 1900 43.26 102,479 1910 100.72 319,198 1920 364.36 576,673 1930 441.70 1,238.048 1940 450.80 1,504,277 1950 453.47 1,970,358 1960 457.88 2,479,015 1970 463.69 2,816,061 1980 464.88 2,966,850 1988 468.80 3,361,500
*at end of each year, except 1988 **April 1 of each year, except 1988 Source: City Bureau of Engineering (area) and U.S. Census Bureau (population)
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