Westside (Los Angeles County) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Los Angeles Westside
Region
Los Angeles Westside Location in Western Los Angeles
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Cities	Los Angeles Beverly Hills Culver City Santa Monica Malibu
Unincorporated areas	Marina del Rey Ladera Heights

The Los Angeles Westside is a busy area in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. It's not an official place with fixed borders. However, many people and sources like LA Weekly and the Mapping L.A. survey from the Los Angeles Times agree it's on the western side of the Los Angeles Basin. This area is located south of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Where is the Westside Located?

The Westside is a big area, and people have different ideas about its exact borders. It's generally found south of the Santa Monica Mountains and a place called Sepulveda Pass.

What are the Eastern Borders?

People often disagree on where the Westside ends and the Eastside begins. Here are some common ideas for its eastern border:

• Downtown Los Angeles: Some say the Westside starts west of Downtown Los Angeles. This is an old idea. Many streets get "west" added to their names west of Main Street.
• The 110 Freeway: This busy road is another idea for the border.
• La Cienega Boulevard: This street is often mentioned as a dividing line.
• The 405 Freeway: This major freeway is also a popular choice for the eastern edge.

How the Los Angeles Times Defined the Westside

The Los Angeles Times did a project called Mapping L.A.. They asked readers to draw maps showing where they thought the Westside was. Readers sent in over 300 maps! The most common ideas for the eastern border were Downtown, La Cienega Boulevard, and the 405 Freeway.

After looking at all the maps, the Los Angeles Times decided on a definition for the Westside. It covers about 101.28 square miles (262 km²). This area includes many parts of the city of Los Angeles. It also has two areas that are not officially part of a city, called unincorporated neighborhoods. Plus, it includes the cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City, and Santa Monica. However, it does not include any part of West Hollywood.

Neighborhoods and Cities of the Westside

The Westside.
Map by the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Times Mapping L.A. project lists many neighborhoods within the city of Los Angeles as part of the Westside. These include:

Other Cities in the Westside

The Westside as seen from an airplane leaving Los Angeles International Airport

Besides parts of Los Angeles, the Westside also includes these nearby cities:

• Beverly Hills
• Culver City
• Malibu
• Santa Monica

Unincorporated Areas

Some parts of the Westside are not part of any city. These are called unincorporated areas:

• Ladera Heights
• Marina del Rey
• Alsace

Who Lives in the Westside?

In 2000, the Westside had a population of about 529,427 people. Most of the people living there were non-Hispanic white, making up 63% of the population. The median income for the area was about $96,300 in 2019.

Learning and Education in the Westside

The Westside is home to many schools and colleges. Many adults in the area have gone to college. By 2000, over half of the residents aged 25 and older had a four-year college degree or higher. This included many people with master's degrees or even higher levels of education.

Colleges and Universities

The Westside is famous for its great schools. One of the most well-known is the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

UCLA is a large public research university. It is located in the Westwood neighborhood. It's the second-oldest of the ten campuses in the University of California system. UCLA is considered one of the top universities in the system, along with UC Berkeley.

UCLA offers many different study programs for both undergraduate and graduate students. It has about 28,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students. This makes UCLA the university with the most students in California. It is also one of the most popular universities in the United States for people applying to college.

Other Colleges

The Westside also has other important colleges:

• Otis College of Art and Design: This school focuses on art and design.
• Santa Monica College: This college first opened in 1929. It has over 30,000 students. They can choose from more than 90 different fields of study.
• West Los Angeles College: This college offers programs that can lead to an associate degree. It also has programs that help students transfer to four-year universities.

The view from the Getty Center, showing the Westside as the 405 goes through the Sepulveda Pass in the Santa Monica Mountains and down through the city