Los Angeles County Real Estate

Los Angeles County has the largest population of any county in the United States. In fact, 43 states have smaller populations than Los Angeles County's population. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $9.5 million people live in Los Angeles County in 88 incorporated cities, many of which make up the Greater Los Angeles Area.

All of the land that is livable is occupied. About 40 percent of the county is desert and mountain ranges run in and out of the county. These are the only areas that aren't heavily populated. The rest of the county is densely populated. Every bit of inhabitable land is completely developed into suburbs or business districts, all trying to meet the growing demands of a constantly growing population.

History of Los Angeles County

Before Europeans settled the land that would become Los Angeles County, the Tongva and Chumash Indians inhabited the area. These indigenous peoples gathered acorns and grain for food and hunted wild game. Spaniards first arrived in the area around 1542 and then returned to settle the land in the late 1700s.

Settlers from the San Gabriel Mission established a town called El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles de la Porciuncula. This name can prove to be a little cumbersome, so it was shortened to Los Angeles. In the 1820s, Mexico attained its independence from Spain, but Los Angeles was to change hands one more time. The Battle of Rio San Gabriel in 1847 established the United States' control over California and soon it became a state in the union.