Lynwood is a city in
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...
, United States. At the
2020 census, the city had a total population of 67,265, down from 69,772 at the
2010 census. Lynwood is located near
South Gate and
Compton in the central portion of the
Los Angeles Basin
The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary Structural basin, basin located in Southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an wikt:anomalous, anomalous group of east–west trending chains of mountai ...
. Incorporated in 1921, Lynwood was named after the Lynwood Dairy and Creamery, from which the local station of the
Pacific Electric Railway had been named.
History
Spanish aristocrats, or dons, and American pioneers purchased, settled, and formed a small communal town in the area. In 1810, Don Antonio Maria Lugo was awarded 11 square leagues of land in California by the king of Spain for his military service during the establishment of the Francisco missions in the state. After Lugo received these tracts of land (29,514 acres), Lugo named the area Rancho San Antonio, possibly after birthplace at La Misión San Antonio de Padua, in Jolon, California. These tracts of land make up the bordering cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Maywood, Montebello, South Gate, Vernon, and Walnut Park today.
Once majority white non-Hispanic, Lynwood elected its first Black councilmember in 1983
and in December 1985, elected its first Black mayor,
Robert Henning.
Into the 1990s, the political establishment remained in the control of the Black population which was gradually eroded by ascendent Latino population.
[ After a succession of African American mayors ( Evelyn Wells, Paul Richards), Lynwood saw its first Latino mayor, Armando Rea, in 1997.
On March 20, 2006, Lynwood's longest serving former mayor Paul H. Richards II was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after being convicted in 2005 on numerous corruption charges that centered on his funneling of $6 million in city business — including exorbitant no-bid contracts — to a "consulting company" controlled by him and his family. Richards had served on the City Council from 1986 until he was recalled by voters in 2003; during that time he served seven terms as mayor.
]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
2010
At the 2010 census, Lynwood had a population of 69,772. The population density was . The racial makeup of Lynwood was 27,444 (39.3%) White (2.2% Non-Hispanic White), 7,168 (10.3%) African American, 464 (0.7%) Native American, 457 (0.7%) Asian, 206 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 31,652 (45.4%) from other races, and 2,381 (3.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 60,452 persons (86.6%).
The census reported that 67,120 people (96.2% of the population) lived in households, 449 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 2,203 (3.2%) were institutionalized.
There were 14,680 households, 9,790 (66.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,303 (56.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,266 (22.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,569 (10.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,281 (8.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 105 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,064 households (7.2%) were one person and 328 (2.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 4.57. There were 13,138 families (89.5% of households); the average family size was 4.62.
The age distribution was 22,977 people (32.9%) under the age of 18, 8,705 people (12.5%) aged 18 to 24, 21,245 people (30.4%) aged 25 to 44, 13,075 people (18.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,770 people (5.4%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 27.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.
There were 15,277 housing units at an average density of 3,156.4 per square mile, of the occupied units 6,829 (46.5%) were owner-occupied and 7,851 (53.5%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%. 34,023 people (48.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 33,097 people (47.4%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
At the 2000 census, there were 69,845 people in 14,395 households, including 12,941 families, in the city. The population density was 5,560.3/km (14,389.2/mi2). There were 14,987 housing units at an average density of 1,193.1/km (3,087.6/mi2). The racial makeup of the city was 33.62% white, 13.53% African American, 1.20% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.39% Pacific Islander, 46.14% from other races, and 4.36% from two or more races. 82.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 14,395 households, 63.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples living together, 20.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 10.1% were non-families. 7.7% of households were made up of individuals, and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 4.70 and the average family size was 4.76.
The age distribution was 38.0% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 13.5% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.2 males.
The median household income was $35,888 and the median family income was $35,808. Males had a median income of $23,241 versus $19,149 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,542. 23.5% of the population and 21.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 28.3% were under the age of 18 and 14.3% were 65 or older.
As of 2000, speakers of Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
as their first language
A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...
accounted for 77.43% of residents, while English was spoken by 22.13%, Thai was spoken by 0.16%, Samoan was spoken by 0.09%, Gujarati was spoken by 0.07%, Tagalog was spoken by 0.07%, Vietnamese by 0.05% of the population.
Lynwood went through five phases of demographic change in the 20th century. First, a colonial settlement. Second, a farming small town. Third, a mostly working-class white suburb from 1940 to 1970. Fourth, a majority African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
city between 1970 and 1990, and today, predominantly Latino.
In 2000, Mexican (68.1%) and Salvadoran (2.9%) were the most common ancestries in Lynwood. Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
(84.0%) and El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
(7.8%) were the most common foreign places of birth.
Government and infrastructure
The Long Beach Freeway (I-710) and Century Freeway
A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
A ...
(I-105) run through the city. The C Line of the Los Angeles Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), branded as Metro, is the county agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the Transportation in Los Angeles, public transportation system in Los Ang ...
runs through the city, in the median of I-105, and serves the city at Lynwood station.
Fire protection in Lynwood is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through Contract city, contracting, including the city of ...
. The LACFD operates Station #147 at 3161 East Imperial Highway and Station #148 at 4262 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, both in Lynwood, as a part of Battalion 13 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 Century Station in Lynwood. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Health Services Los Angeles County, officially the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and is the United States' second largest municip ...
operates the South Health Center in Watts
Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power.
Watts may also refer to:
People
*Watts (surname), a list of people with the surname Watts
Fictional characters
*Albie Watts, a fictional character in the British soap opera ''EastEnders''
*Angie ...
, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, serving Lynwood.
Lynwood is represented in the 62nd California State Assembly District by Jose Solache and in the 33rd Senate District represented by Democrat Ricardo Lara. In the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Lynwood is in .
Janice Hahn
Janice Kay Hahn (born March 30, 1952) is an American politician serving as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a U.S. Representative from California ...
represents Lynwood located in the Fourth Los Angeles Board of Supervisors District.
The United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates the Lynwood Post Office at 11200 Long Beach Boulevard and the East Lynwood Post Office at 11634 Atlantic Avenue.
The City of Lynwood operates three parks: Lynwood City Park, Lynwood Skate Park, and Yvonne Burke-John D. Ham Park.
Education
Most of Lynwood is served by the Lynwood Unified School District. High schools include Lynwood High School, Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School, and Vista High School.
Public libraries
County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the Lynwood Library at 11320 Bullis Road.
Sister cities
* Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...
, Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...
, Mexico
* Zacatecas
Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...
, Zacatecas
Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...
, Mexico
* Talpa de Allende, Jalisco
Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
, Mexico
Notable people
* Rick Adelman
Richard Leonard Adelman (born June 16, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden S ...
, NBA coach
* Jim Barr, MLB pitcher
* Glen Bell, founder of Taco Bell
Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...
* Kat Blaque, YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
personality and transgender rights activist
* Gennifer Brandon, WNBA player
* Rick Burleson
Richard Paul Burleson (born April 29, 1951), nicknamed "Rooster", is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop. Burleson, who played for three American League teams over 13 seasons, was an intense ballplayer. Former Boston Red Sox team ...
, MLB Shortstop
* Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...
, actor and director
* Louella Daetweiler, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley, which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...
player
* Dudley Dickerson, Three Stooges actor
* Ed Fiori, professional golfer
* Steven Dean Gordon, serial killer on California’s death row
Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...
* David Greenwood, UCLA and NBA basketball player
* Greg Harris, professional baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
pitcher
* Robert Henning, first African-American mayor of Lynwood
* Davon Jefferson, professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...
* Leslie Jones, comedian
* Jim Ladd
James William Ladd (January 17, 1948 – December 17, 2023) was an American disc jockey, radio producer and writer. He was one of the last notable remaining Freeform (radio format), freeform rock DJs in United States commercial radio.
Ladd first ...
, radio broadcaster
* Ulysses Llanez, soccer player
* Pat Martin
Patrick D. "Pat" Martin (born December 13, 1955, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015, representing the riding of Winnipeg Centre for the New Democratic Party.
C ...
, radio broadcaster
* Bob May, professional golfer
* Shane Mosley, boxing champion
* Efren Navarro, professional baseball player
* Violet Palmer
Violet Renice Palmer (born July 20, 1964) is a retired American basketball referee in the NBA and WNBA and the first female official to reach the highest competitive tier in any major U.S. professional sports league. She also earned recognition ...
, NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
referee
* Ricky Peters
Richard Devin Peters (November 21, 1955 – March 9, 2025) was an American professional baseball player. He played professional baseball, principally as an outfielder, including five seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers (1979� ...
, MLB outfielder
* Paul Richards, former mayor of Lynwood
* Patty Rodriguez, producer, author, radio personality
* Pete Rozelle
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was an American professional football executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retire ...
, NFL Commissioner, 1960–89
* Loretta Sanchez, politician who served in the United States House of Representatives
* Duke Snider
Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing f ...
, Hall of Fame outfielder for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
* Dave Stevens, artist, illustrator and creator of the Rocketeer
* Jeff Tedford
Jeffrey Raye Tedford (born November 2, 1961) is an American football coach and former player. From 2002 to 2012, Tedford was the head football coach for the California Golden Bears, where he was twice named Pac-10 Coach of the Year and holds ...
, college football coach
* Janet Thurlow, jazz singer
* Robert Van't Hof, professional tennis player and 1980 NCAA singles champion for University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
* Fidel Vargas, mayor of Baldwin Park
* Julio G, radio host and DJ
* Leon White, professional wrestler "Big Van Vader"
* Evelyn Wells, the first female and second African-American mayor of Lynwood
* Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American inactive tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA for 11 wee ...
, tennis player, former World no. 1 and 7-time Grand Slam winner
* "Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...
, parody musician; named his 2006 album '' Straight Outta Lynwood'' in honor of his hometown
Landmarks and Attractions
Landmarks in Lynwood include Plaza México
A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...
, Lynwood Pacific Electric Railway Depot, and Lynwood Park. Plaza México is a shopping mall located at 3100 E Imperial Highway in Lynwood, California. The mall is inspired by traditional Mexican plazas and incorporates architectural and cultural elements that celebrate Mexican heritage. It serves as both a commercial and cultural hub, offering a unique shopping and dining experience while hosting events that reflect the vibrancy of Mexican traditions. The Lynwood Pacific Electric Railway Depot is a historic landmark in Lynwood, California, that reflects the city’s transportation heritage. Originally constructed in 1917, the depot was part of the Pacific Electric Railway’s Santa Ana Line, which provided interurban train service connecting Lynwood to Los Angeles and surrounding communities.
See also
* St. Francis Medical Center
* South Central Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown.
It is de ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Cities in Los Angeles County, California
Gateway Cities
Incorporated cities and towns in California
1921 establishments in California
Populated places established in 1921
Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California