Measuring a Metropolis : If the Valley Were a City, How Would it Compare

Will the day ever come when mail is postmarked “San Fernando Valley, CA”? Many Valley residents already feel separate from Los Angeles. And many non-Valley urbanites view the Valley the same way. Actual secession has even been discussed in the past.

In terms of size and services, the Valley could certainly hold its own against other large cities. If it were a city, the Valley’s population size would rank sixth in the country. It would cover about the same square-mile area as Chicago.

The Valley’s crime rate would be fairly low, compared to other cities of similar size. And although it may not seem like it, the majority of residents are from California. About 62% were born in the state. Conversely, 68% of Americans reside in the state they were born in. But a greater percentage of Valley residents are under 18 here-38% compared to the U.S. average of 25.5%

Statistics showing how the Valley stacks up against other areas fare based on 1990 U.S. Census data that includes Valley communities and San Fernando, but not Burbank or Glendale.

More People Than Maine. . .

The Valley’s population is larger than three other cities with 1 million-plus people. . .

City Population New York 7,322,564 Los Angeles 3,467,785 Chicago 2,783,726 Houston 1,630,553 Philadelphia 1,585,577 The Valley 1,239,431 San Diego 1,110,549 Detroit 1,027,974 Dallas 1,006,877 Phoenix 983,403

...and has more people than six states with populations over a million:

State Population Maine 1,227,928 Nevada 1,201,833 New Hampshire 1,109,252 Hawaii 1,108,229 Idaho 1,006,749 Rhode Island 1,003,464

The Valley is about the size of Chicago, but with less than half of its population density. . .

Persons per Sq. miles sq. mile U.S. average ... 70.2 Austin, Tex. 247 1,884 El Paso, Tex. 247 2,066 Chicago 228 13,054 The Valley 220 5,531 Columbus, Ga. 217 817 New Orleans 199 2,667

...and covers an area nearly four times the size of Liechtenstein:

Square miles The Valley 222 Andorra 180 Seychelles 175 Barbados 166 Malta 122 Liechtenstein 62 San Marino 23.4 Monaco 1,21

Car Crazy

The Valley has 1.83 cars per household, even more than Los Angeles, which has only 1.51 per household, supposedly the largest ratio in the world.

Crime and Punishers

A sampling of cities fand how the Valley ranks for number of major crimes per 1,000 residents. Figures are for 1991, the most recent available, excewpt where noted. Atlanta ranked highest, with 190.2

CRIME RATE PER City 1,000 RESIDENTS Los Angeles* 98.5 Buffalo 97.6 El Paso 96.8 Toledo 95.9 San Francisco 94.4 New York 93.1 Long Beach 91.6 Milwaukee 91.1 Cleveland 91.0 Tulsa 89.5 Nashville 86.6 San Diego 85.6 Pittsburgh 83.3 The Valley 80.0 Denver 77.1

Note: Major crimes include murder, rape and robbery. * 1992 figures

POLICE PER 1,000 RESIDENTS The Valley 1.1 Los Angeles 2.2 New York 3.8 Chicago 4.1

Student Stack-Up

The Valley school district would be seventh-largest in the nation, by number of students...

Number of District students* New York City 995,000 Los Angeles Unified* 641,206 Chicago 411,582 Dade County, Fla. 298,000 Philadephia 201,496 Houston 198,209 The Valley 190,000 Broward County, Fla. 180,000

* Note: K-12 enrollment 1992-93

Number of District students* LAUSD 641,206 The Valley 190,000 San Diego Unified 123,591 Fresno Unified 74,693 Long Beach Unified 74,048

* Fall, 1991 figures

Sources: Caltrans, 1990 U.S. Census, LAUSD, The Universal Almanac; Researched by JULIE SHEER / Los Angeles Times