Carson is a city in
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...
, United States, in the South Bay region of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
, located south of
downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, Carson is the newest municipality in the
South Bay region of
Metropolitan Los Angeles. The city is locally known for its plurality of Filipino-Americans and immigrants. As of 2019, it was estimated that the city had a population of 91,394.
History
The year 1921 marked the first drilling for oil at Dominguez Hill, on the northwest side of the
Rancho San Pedro
Rancho San Pedro was one of the first California land grants and the first to win a patent from the United States. The Spanish Crown granted the of land to soldier Juan José Domínguez in 1784, with his descendants validating their legal clai ...
(also called Rancho Domínguez), site of the famous battle during the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Second Federal Republic of Mexico, Mexico f ...
called the
Battle of Rancho Domínguez
The Battle of Dominguez Rancho or The Battle of the Old Woman's Gun or The Battle of Dominguez Hills took place on October 8th and October 9th, 1846, was a military engagement of the Mexican–American War that took place within Manuel Domin ...
in 1846. The mineral rights to this property were owned by Carson Estate Company, the Hellman Family, the Dominguez Estate Company, and the Burnham Exploration Company of
Frederick Russell Burnham. On September 7, 1923, Burnham Exploration partnering with Union Oil brought in the first producer on the site: Callender No. 1-A well at a depth of and .
Before long a number of refineries were up and running, with over 350 oil derricks, tank farms, and sprawling industrial complexes becoming a familiar part of the scenery. The principal leases were with
Shell Oil Company and
Union Oil of California
Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headq ...
and the first two wells were located west of Central Avenue and north of Victoria Street. Oil led to an increase in jobs in the community and a subsequent post-war population surge. An average of was produced from each of these wells through 1960.
In 2011, Shell was ordered by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to clean up the Carousel Tract neighborhood after the discovery of
benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen ato ...
and
methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ear ...
gas contamination, as well as soil and groundwater contamination.
In 2021, Carson was subjected to an air pollution event as a result of
hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The und ...
emanating from the nearby
Dominguez Channel, and received the nickname "Stinky City".
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy
An economy is an area of th ...
, Carson has an area of . of it is land and of it (1.29%) is water.
Carson is bordered by
West Rancho Dominguez
West Rancho Dominguez, () formerly known as West Compton, is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) located in southern Los Angeles County, California. Per the 2020 census, the population was 24,347. The community lies to the west (but ...
on the north,
Torrance on the west,
Rancho Dominguez
Rancho Dominguez is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, California. Rancho Dominguez is located between the cities of Compton, Long Beach and Carson.
The communities of unincorporated Rancho Dominguez are: Rancho Dominguez, East ...
and
Long Beach on the southeast, Rolling Hills Estates, and
West Carson
West Carson is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 21,699 at the 2010 census, up from 21,138 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined West Carson as a c ...
on the southwest.
Bixby Marshland
Bixby Marshland is a wildlife area operated by the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts in Carson, California, as part of the environmental mitigation of wastewater.
The space is in area and is a restoration of the old Bixby Slough. The o ...
, a 17-acre wetland habitat, is located in Carson.
Climate
Carson experiences a warm-summer
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
''Csb''), similar to that of the Los Angeles Basin with noticeably cooler temperatures during the summer due to the nearby Pacific Ocean (which is approximately 6 to 8 miles away). Rainfall is scarce during the summer in Carson but receives enough rainfall throughout the year to avoid Köppen's BSh (semi-arid climate).Carson, like many of the Southern California coastal areas, is subject to a late spring/early summer weather phenomenon called "June Gloom." This involves overcast or foggy skies in the morning which yield to sun by early afternoon.
Demographics
2010
The
2010 United States Census reported that Carson had a population of 91,714. The population density was . The racial makeup of Carson was 21,864 (23.8%)
White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
(7.7% Non-Hispanic White), 21,856 (23.8%)
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 518 (0.6%)
Native American, 23,522 (25.6%)
Asian (20.9% Filipino, 0.8% Japanese, 0.8% Korean, 0.5% Chinese, 0.4% Vietnamese, 0.4% Asian Indian, 0.2% Cambodian, 0.1% Pakistani, 0.1% Thai), 2,386 (2.6%)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...
(2.2% Samoan, 0.2% Guamanian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian), 17,151 (18.7%) from
other races, and 4,417 (4.8%) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 35,417 persons (38.6%) (32.6% Mexican, 1.1% Salvadoran, 1.0% Guatemalan, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.3% Cuban, 0.2% Honduran, 0.2% Peruvian, 0.2% Ecuadorian).
The Census reported that 90,411 people (98.6% of the population) lived in households, 1,170 (1.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 133 (0.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 25,432 households, out of which 10,980 (43.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,178 (55.7%) were married couples living together, 4,787 (18.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,761 (6.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. 3,776 households (14.8%) were made up of individuals, and 1,790 (7.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.56. There were 20,726
families (81.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.90.
The population was spread out, with 21,992 people (24.0%) under the age of 18, 9,964 people (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 23,105 people (25.2%) aged 25 to 44, 24,013 people (26.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 12,640 people (13.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.
There were 26,226 housing units at an average density of , of which 19,529 (76.8%) were owner-occupied, and 5,903 (23.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%. 68,924 people (75.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 21,487 people (23.4%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the census of 2000,
there were 89,730 people, 24,648 households, and 20,236 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,762.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,838.9/km
2). There were 25,337 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 25.69% White, 25.41% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 22.27% Asian, 2.99% Pacific Islander, 17.98% from
other races, and 5.09% from two or more races. 34.92% of the population were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race.
There were 24,648 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.9% were non-families. 14.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.59 and the average family size was 3.92.
Age ranges of residents were 28.4% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.
According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $60,457, and the median income for a family was $66,468. Males had a median income of $33,579 versus $31,110 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,107. About 7.2% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over. Carson has the distinction of being the only incorporated city in the United States where the black population has a higher median income than the white population.
Mexican (28.9%) and
Filipino (19.4%) are the most common ancestries in Carson.
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
(43.7%) and
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
(39.3%) are the most common foreign places of birth in Carson.
Economy
Top employers
As of 2021, the top ten employers in the city were:
Former companies
Nissan previously had its North American headquarters in Carson. The property consisted of 13 buildings, with a total of of office and light industrial space. One of the buildings, a nine-story tower, had the Nissan logo on it. Vincent Roger of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' wrote that it "was a familiar sight to drivers passing the intersection of the Harbor and San Diego freeways."
[Vincent, Roger.]
Nissan's old campus in South Bay gets 'flipped'
" ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
''. March 3, 2010. Retrieved on March 7, 2014. Around 2006 the company had 1,500 employees at the headquarters.
[Fujita, Akiko.]
Toyota built Torrance into the second-largest home of Japanese Americans. Now, it's leaving
Archive
. '' The World''. Public Radio International. May 16, 2014. Retrieved on May 27, 2015. In 2005 a leak revealed that Nissan planned to move its offices to Tennessee. In the summer of 2006, the Nissan headquarters completed the move.
[ Over half of the employees chose to stay in the Los Angeles area.][
]
Arts and culture
County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the Carson Regional Library and the Dr. Martin Luther King Library. Both libraries are in Carson.
Carson is the site of California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system.
In 2020, ...
(CSUDH). CSUDH is a major commuter school, particularly for students from the surrounding cities of Long Beach, Gardena, and Torrance. It was founded as "South Bay College" and then renamed California State University at Palos Verdes. It moved to the City of Carson to meet a significant need for higher education opportunities in the largely black middle class suburbs of Los Angeles. Today it is among the most racially diverse campuses in the United States. The student body does not have a racial or ethnic majority. In 1965, Carson was chosen as the home for the relocating university over the communities of Friendship Park, Fort MacArthur and Torrance.
Carson is also the location of Dignity Health Sports Park, a sports complex including a soccer-specific stadium used by the Los Angeles Galaxy and formerly the Los Angeles Sol, C.D. Chivas USA, and the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL), a tennis stadium which hosts the yearly JP Morgan/Chase tennis tournament, and a track and field facility. It is also the training headquarters for the United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF.
The U.S. team ...
. It opened in 2003, adjacent to CSUDH. The ADT Event Center is the only permanent indoor velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement c ...
in the U.S. In July 2007, the Galaxy signed international soccer superstar David Beckham to the team. In 2011, International Boxing Hall of Fame Promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank began publicizing professional boxing events.
One of the Goodyear Blimps was based in Carson. The 1st and 2nd U.S. and International Aviation Meets was held at the Dominguez Hill Rancho in 1910 and 1911, which featured many blimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than ...
s and zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, ...
s. The International Printing Museum, which has one of the largest collections of antique printing presses in the United States, is located in Carson.
Carson Mall, now SouthBay Pavilion
SouthBay Pavilion, formerly Carson Mall, is a partially enclosed shopping mall in Carson, California. Opened in 1973, it features as its anchor stores, anchor retailers Burlington (department store), Burlington, IKEA, J. C. Penney, JCPenney, Ross ...
, opened in 1973 and is located at the Avalon Boulevard exit off the San Diego Freeway ( Interstate 405). Major tenants include Burlington, IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been ...
, JCPenney, Ross, Target, and 24 Hour Fitness.
Sports
One professional sports team currently plays their home games in Carson;
The Los Angeles Chargers of the NFL played their home games in Carson from 2017 to 2019.
2028 Summer Olympics
Rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
, modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is an Summer Olympics, Olympic sport consisting of fencing (sport), fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, show jumping, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by t ...
, tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...
, field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shootin ...
and track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles.
History
Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...
will all be held in Carson during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Former NFL stadium proposals
As Carson has large tracts of undeveloped land, unusual for a city in such close proximity to metropolitan Los Angeles, various plans for the use of the land have been proposed. One such tract of land located at Del Amo Boulevard, west of the 405, attracted particular attention in the past as a potential site for a National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
stadium. An outdoor power center Power center may refer to:
*Power center (geometry), the intersection point of the three radical axes of the pairs of circles
*Power center (retail)
A power center or big-box center (known in Canadian and Commonwealth English as power centre o ...
complex called Carson Marketplace
Carson may refer to:
People
* Carson (surname), people with the surname
* Carson (given name), people with the given name
Places
;In the United States
*Carson, California, a city
*Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois
* Carson, Iowa, a city
...
was originally planned for the site. In February 2015, however, the Marketplace plans were scrapped in favor of a $1.2 billion NFL stadium, backed by Goldman Sachs, that would have hosted both the then-Oakland Raiders and the then-San Diego Chargers. The NFL had previously considered the site as a location for a stadium, but the plans stalled after it was discovered that the site was once used as a toxic waste dump
Dump generally refers to a place for disposal of solid waste, a rubbish dump, or landfill. The word has other uses alone or in combination, and may refer to:
* Midden, historically a dump for domestic waste
* Dump job, a term for criminal disposal ...
and would require an extensive clean-up operation before construction was legally allowed to commence. In May 2015, the Carson City Council allocated $50 million to clean up the site for either the dual NFL stadium or the originally planned Carson Marketplace as a fallback should the NFL stadium not come to fruition.
On January 12, 2016, NFL owners rejected Carson's bid to host an NFL stadium in favor of the competing bid of SoFi Stadium
SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport ...
in Inglewood backed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Despite this rejection, the Los Angeles Chargers temporarily played their home games at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson from 2017 to 2019 while waiting for the construction of SoFi Stadium to be completed.
Government
Municipal government
According to the city's most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $96.3 million in revenues, $81.8 million in expenditures, $611.4 million in total assets, $129.2 million in total liabilities, and $187.2 million in cash and investments.
State and federal representation
In the California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatur ...
, Carson is in , and in .
In the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...
, Carson is in .
Mayors of Carson
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Carson is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...
.
High schools serving portions of Carson include Carson High School in Carson, Rancho Dominguez Preparatory School
Rancho Dominguez Preparatory School (RDPS) is a public middle and high school in Long Beach, California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, California, United States. It is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. It was previously name ...
in Long Beach, and Banning High School in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
. The area is within Board District 8.
Magnolia Science Academy-3
a public span school (serving grades 6-12) in Carson, is
Magnolia Public Schools
campus.
Circa 2019 there were plans to open a campus of the charter school Ganas Academy on the campus of the LAUSD public school Catskill Avenue Elementary School, but there was opposition to this move.
Although the California Academy of Mathematics and Science is located in Carson on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system.
In 2020, ...
, it is actually a part of the Long Beach Unified School District
The Long Beach Unified School District is a school district headquartered in Long Beach, California, United States.
Established in 1885, Long Beach Unified School District now
educates 81,000 students in 84 public schools in the cities of
Lo ...
. The school accepts residents of LBUSD, Compton USD, portions of LAUSD (including sections serving Carson), and other districts.
Infrastructure
Emergency services
Fire protection in Carson is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department which operates out of Fire Stations 10, 36, 105, 116, and 127. Ambulance transportation is provided by McCormick Ambulance Service Station 17. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
(LASD) operates the Carson Station in Carson.
Health care
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Torrance Health Center in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles
The Harbor Gateway is a in the Los Angeles Harbor Region, in the southern part of the city. The neighborhood is narrow and long, running along a north-south axis. Its unusual shape has given it the alternative name of "the Shoestring Strip". Th ...
, near Torrance and serving Carson.
Post office
The United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
operates the Carson Post Office at 21350 Avalon Boulevard and the South Bay Pavilion Station in Suite 116 at 20700 Avalon Boulevard.
Transportation
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, the city operated the Carson Circuit bus that serves the local community and connects to other bus and rail transit services including the Los Angeles Metro A Line at the Del Amo Station
Del Amo station is an elevated light rail station on the A Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located between Compton Creek and Santa Fe Avenue, and elevated over the intersection of Del Amo Boulevard, after which the sta ...
. Service was suspended on March 28, 2020. However, their Dial-A-Ride services remained in service during that time.
On September 26, 2021, Long Beach Transit began serving Carson with three new routes. On January 3, 2022, Carson Circuit was reinstated with two revised routes.
Historically, the city was served by the Pacific Electric
The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...
Long Beach Line.
Notable people
* Ab-Soul, rapper and member of group Black Hippy
* Justin Bibbins
Justin Bibbins (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Dinamo Sassari of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for Long Beach State and Utah.
College career
Bibbins was recruited by Utah o ...
, basketball player
* Bishop Lamont, rapper
* Chuckii Booker, singer, songwriter
* The Boys (American band)
* Brandy, singer/actress
* Chad Brown, former National Football League referee
* Antwuan Dixon
Antwuan Willis Dixon (born August 19, 1988) is an American professional skateboarder.
Skateboarding career
Early life
Dixon started skateboarding at the age of twelve, when his mom ordered a Powell Peralta deck from CCS. In addition to the ...
, professional skateboarder
* Dr. Dre (Andre Young, Sr.), rapper/producer, lived in Carson during his middle school years
* Rocky Fellers
The Rocky Fellers were a Filipino-born pop/rock band discovered by Stanley Kahn in the 1960s, who signed them to Scepter Records. The group was composed of four Filipino brothers: Tony, Junior, Eddie and Albert Maligmat, and their father, Dorot ...
, pioneer Asian-American pop/rock band of four young Filipino brothers during the 1960s with multiple hits including the 1963 chart-topper "Killer Joe".
* Vince Ferragamo
Vince Anthony Ferragamo (born April 24, 1954) is an American former gridiron football player. He played professionally as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Early years
Born in Torranc ...
, NFL quarterback for Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...
1977–86, Super Bowl XIV, played for No. 1-ranked Nebraska 1976, an Academic All American, was LA City's MVP 1972
* The Game
The Game or The Games may refer to:
Sports and games
* The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig
* The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself
* ...
(Jayceon Taylor), rapper, lived in Carson age 7 to 15 while in foster care
* Courtney Hall, former San Diego Chargers center and guard 1989–1999
* Ekene Ibekwe
Ekenechukwu Brian "Ekene" Ibekwe (born July 19, 1985) is a Nigerian American professional basketball player for Urunday Universitario of the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol. He played college basketball for the University of Maryland at Colle ...
, University of Maryland basketball forward, 2012 and 2016 Olympian (Nigerian Basketball National Team)
* Ras Kass, rapper
* Baby Keem, rapper
* Tommy "Tiny" Lister, actor, NCAA shot put champion and former professional wrestler
* A$ton Matthews
Matthew Lopez (born October 30, 1989), known professionally as Aston Matthews (stylized as A$ton Matthews), is a Guatemalan-American rapper from Los Angeles, California. In 2014, he began to gain recognition following the release of his second ...
, rapper
* Juanita Millender-McDonald, Democratic U.S. Congresswoman from 1996 to 2007
* Michael Quercio, musician
* Ray J
William Ray Norwood Jr. (born January 17, 1981), known professionally as Ray J, is an American singer, actor, and television personality. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Carson, California, he is the younger brother of recording ...
(Willie Norwood, Jr.), singer/actor
* Reason
Reason is the capacity of Consciousness, consciously applying logic by Logical consequence, drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activ ...
, rapper
* Danny Reece, NFL cornerback and punt returner, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1976–1980, punt return leader 1979 and 1980
* Kris Richard, NFL player and coach
* Albert Robles
Albert Robles is an American politician, is California's senior Latino elected official since November 1991 and the former Mayor of Carson, California. When first elected in 1991 he was California's youngest person to hold public office. A memb ...
, mayor of Carson from 2015 until 2020[
* Rex Salas, musician
* Ashton Sanders, actor
* Demetrius Shipp Jr., actor
* ]Gilbert D. Smith
Gilbert D. Smith (born 1933/1934) is an American politician who served as the first African-American mayor of Carson, California.
Biography
Smith was born in Los Angeles and attended Los Angeles public schools. In 1952, he graduated from Manua ...
, first African-American mayor of Carson[
* SoShy, (Deborah Epstein), a French singer and songwriter
* Kia Stevens, also known as Awesome Kong and Amazing Kong in TNA Wrestling, professional wrestler
* Tammy Townsend, television actress
* Wesley Walker, NFL wide receiver, NY Jets 1977-1989
* Elbert Watts, Green Bay Packers defensive back 1986
* Forest Whitaker, director, producer, and Academy Award-winning actor
* Bob Whitfield, Stanford University graduate, NFL offensive lineman, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars
* Brett Young, football player
]
In popular culture
* '' Reno 911!''
* '' Jackie Brown''
* '' Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 Version)''
* ''Emergency!
''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama
A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television) ...
'' (Exteriors of the then-fictional 'Station 51' of the series. The station shown is Station 127 of the Los Angeles County Fire Department)
* '' Pros vs. Joes''
* '' 10 Items or Less''
* '' Larry Crowne''
Sister cities
Carson's sister cities are:
* La Carlota, Philippines
* Muntinlupa & Parañaque
Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 689,992 people.
It is ...
, Philippines
* Sōka, Japan
* Wanju County, South Korea
See also
* George Henry Carson
George Cady Carson (1832–1901) was a merchant, road builder, rancher and member of the Los Angeles, California, Common Council in the 1850s.
Personal
Carson was born in New York in 1832, and when he was thirteen he was brought to Saint Charl ...
* List of cities in Los Angeles County, California
* Demographics of Filipino Americans
Further reading
* - ''Personal account of growing up in Carson.''
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1968 establishments in California
Cities in Los Angeles County, California
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Los Angeles Harbor Region
Populated places established in 1968
South Bay, Los Angeles