kids encyclopedia robot

Westside (Los Angeles County) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Los Angeles Westside
Regions of Los Angeles County
Los Angeles Westside is located in Western Los Angeles
Los Angeles Westside
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
West Hollywood
Unincorporated areas Marina del Rey
Ladera Heights

The Los Angeles Westside is an urban region in western Los Angeles County, California. It has no official definition, but sources like LA Weekly and the Mapping L.A. survey of the Los Angeles Times place the region on the western side of the Los Angeles Basin south of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Neighborhoods and districts

Map of Westside area, Los Angeles County
The Westside.
Map by the Los Angeles Times

According to the Mapping L.A. survey of the Los Angeles Times, the Westside region consists of:

Other cities

Westsidelosangeles
The Westside as seen by aircraft departing Los Angeles International Airport

Unincorporated areas

Population

In the 2000 census, the Westside (as defined by the Los Angeles Times) had a population of 529,427. In 2000, non-Hispanic whites made up 63% of the population. The areas within the city of Los Angeles that Los Angeles Almanac recognized as part of the Westside had a population of 413,351.

Education

Fifty-three percent of West Los Angeles residents aged 25 and older had earned a 4-year degree by 2000, according to Census Bureau figures quoted by the Los Angeles Times. They included 89,620 people with master's degrees or higher and 117,695 with bachelor's degrees. In addition, 95,187 people in that age range had some college experience. There were 46,823 with high school diplomas but 40,451 who had dropped out before graduating. As of 2019, the median income of the neighborhood was about $96,300.

The Westside is home to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a public research university in the Westwood neighborhood. It is the second-oldest of the ten campuses of the University of California system. UCLA is considered a flagship campus of the University of California system, along with UC Berkeley. It offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. With an approximate enrollment of 28,000 undergraduate and 12,000 graduate students, UCLA is the university with the largest enrollment in the state of California and the most popular university in the United States by number of applicants.

Other post-secondary schools in the Westside are as follows:

  • Santa Monica College, first opened in 1929 as Santa Monica Junior College. Current enrollment is over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study.
  • West Los Angeles College, which offers associate degrees, vocationally oriented programs and transfer programs to four-year universities.
The view from the Getty Center, centered on the Westside as the 405 goes through the Sepulveda Pass in the Santa Monica Mountains and down through the city
kids search engine
Westside (Los Angeles County) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.