For over a hundred years Los Angeles has been one of the most effective growth machines ever created. This area of the West Coast is blessed with abundant opportunity for prosperity, a good climate, and great natural beauty, such as can be found nowhere else on earth. The region has a distinct entrepreneurial culture and a depth of intellectual curiosity that makes it a place of constant discovery, and a place of almost continuous growth. Until every acre of this earthly paradise is occupied, people will continue to move here.

• Los Angeles County is the world’s 18th largest economy.
• The LA five-county area is the world’s 11th largest economy in gross domestic product, ahead of the Netherlands, South Korea, and Mexico, and just behind Canada, China, and Spain.
• With about 200,000 small business, Los Angeles is the entrepreneurial capital of the world. That’s nearly twice as many small businesses as can be found in any other region of the United States.
• As a manufacturing center LA ranks second in the country, behind only Chicago, and ahead of Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis / Saint Paul.
• On the basis of population, Los Angeles County would be the ninth largest state in the United States. The LA five-county area is only less than that of California, Texas, and New York. Its population, 15 million, is greater than that of every other state.
• LA is the largest retail sales market in the country, with $75 billion in sales in 1996.
• Los Angeles is the largest international trade center in the United State. In 1996 LA county led the nation, with two-way trade over $170 billion through the LA Customs District.
• Los Angeles International Airport is the third largest airport in the world.
• Los Angeles / Long Beach harbor is the largest and busiest port complex in the United States.
• LA’s technology industries have four times the gross domestic product and diversity of Silicon Valley.
• Los Angeles is the world’s entertainment center, where every day there are a hundred TV and movie production crews on location.
• LA has 1.2 million college graduates in a labor force of 7.4 million.
• LA had 23 million tourists and other visitors in 1996 who spent $10.5 billion.
• Los Angeles comprises 88 vibrant and diverse cities, and many more smaller communities.
• LA’s lifestyle is the envy of the world.

LA is a fantastic place to live. People here share the dream of opportunity and adventure in a climate of year-long outdoor living, especially remarkable for its winters with lots of sunshine. The region has a unique combination of ocean, beaches, desert and mountains.

Los Angeles is a very large market in its own right, and it’s still growing. It has a diversified economic base and excellent access to national and international markets. LA is a leader in technology, engineering design, environmental technology, and health services; a leading tourist destination; a transportation leader; an excellent environment for entrepreneurs; a major cultural center; a major center for higher education; a major force in the entertainment industry; and renowned for its weather and geography.