| Lomita, California | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Nickname: | "The Friendly City"[1] |
| Pushpin Map: | USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the United States |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Mapsize: | 250x200px |
| Coordinates: | 33.7933°N -118.3161°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Los Angeles |
| Established Title3: | Incorporated |
| Established Date3: | June 30, 1964[2] |
| Government Type: | Council-Manager |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Mark A. Waronek |
| Leader Title1: | Mayor Pro Tem |
| Leader Name1: | Cindy Segawa |
| Leader Title2: | City council[3] |
| Leader Name2: | James Gazeley William Uphoff Barry Waite |
| Leader Title3: | City Manager |
| Leader Name3: | Andrew Vialpando |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [4] |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 1.91 |
| Area Total Km2: | 4.95 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 1.91 |
| Area Land Km2: | 4.95 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.00 |
| Area Water Percent: | 0 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [5] |
| Elevation Ft: | 95 |
| Elevation M: | 29 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [6] |
| Population Total: | 20921 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Pacific |
| Utc Offset: | -8 |
| Timezone Dst: | PDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -7 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 90717[7] |
| Area Codes: | 310/424[8] |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature IDs |
| Blank1 Info: | , |
Lomita (Spanish for "Little hill")[9] is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 20,921 at the 2020 census, up slightly from 20,256 at the 2010 census.
The Gabrielino were the first to settle in the area.[10]
The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the Viceroy of New Spain commissioned Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to explore the Pacific Ocean in 1542–1543. In 1767, the area became part of the Province of the Californias (es|Provincia de las Californias).
In 1784, the Spanish Crown deeded Rancho San Pedro, a tract of over 75000acres, to soldier Juan José Domínguez. The rancho changed in size over the years, as Domínguez's descendants partitioned the land amongst family members, sold parcels to newly arriving settlers, or relinquished some when validating their legal claim with the Mexican government in 1828, and with the United States government in 1858. The Domínguez family name is still applied throughout the area, including the Dominguez Rancho Adobe historical landmark, in the unincorporated community of Rancho Dominguez, located northeast of Lomita.
Lomita was incorporated as a city on June 30, 1964, to prevent further annexation by neighboring cities and in an attempt to curtail the development of high-rise apartment buildings.[11]
Lomita established a sister city relationship with Takaishi, Osaka, Japan, in October 1981.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.9sqmi, all of which is land.
Lomita originally spanned 7sqmi. However, over time, much of this area was annexed by neighboring cities. A notable example is "Lomita Fields", now Zamperini Field (the Torrance Municipal Airport).
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Lomita has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.[12]
Lomita was first listed as an unincorporated place in the 1960 U.S. census as part of the Palos Verdes census community division; and as a city in the 1970 U.S. census.
| White alone (NH) | 14,614 | 13,273 | 10,735 | 8,797 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 7,269 | 77.71% | 68.48% | 53.55% | 43.43% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 34.74% | |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 177 | 532 | 821 | 964 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 1,129 | 0.94% | 2.74% | 4.10% | 4.76% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 5.40% | |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 142 | 120 | 92 | 76 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 57 | 0.76% | 0.62% | 0.46% | 0.38% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 0.27% | |
| Asian alone (NH) | 949 | 1,665 | 2,241 | 2,850 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 3,456 | 5.05% | 8.59% | 11.18% | 14.07% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 16.42% | |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 102 | 112 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 128 | 0.51% | 0.55% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 0.61% | |||||
| Other race alone (NH) | 19 | 36 | 44 | 60 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 133 | 0.10% | 0.19% | 0.22% | 0.30% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 0.64% | |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | x | x | 759 | 745 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 1,078 | x | x | 3.79% | 3.68% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 5.15% | |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2,906 | 3,756 | 5,252 | 6,652 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 7,691 | 15.45% | 19.38% | 26.20% | 32.84% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 36.76% | |
| Total | 18,807 | 19,382 | 20,046 | 20,256 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 20,921 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 100.00% |
The 2020 United States census reported that Lomita had a population of 20,921. The population density was 10941.9sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of Lomita was 41.3% White, 5.8% African American, 1.2% Native American, 16.8% Asian, 0.7% Pacific Islander, 18.3% from other races, and 15.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.8% of the population.[18]
The census reported that 99.2% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.5% were institutionalized.[18]
There were 8,273 households, out of which 29.2% included children under the age of 18, 42.2% were married-couple households, 6.6% were cohabiting couple households, 32.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 19.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 27.9% of households were one person, and 12.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.51.[18] There were 5,340 families (64.5% of all households).[19]
The age distribution was 19.0% under the age of 18, 7.4% aged 18 to 24, 27.9% aged 25 to 44, 28.1% aged 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 41.3years. For every 100 females, there were 91.1 males.[18]
There were 8,593 housing units at an average density of 4494.2/mi2, of which 8,273 (96.3%) were occupied. Of these, 44.6% were owner-occupied, and 55.4% were occupied by renters.[18]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $92,920, and the per capita income was $44,522. About 6.0% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line.[20]
At the 2010 census Lomita had a population of 20,256. The population density was 10601.3sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of Lomita was 11,987 (59.2%) White (43.4% Non-Hispanic White),[21] 1,075 (5.3%) African American, 174 (0.9%) Native American, 2,923 (14.4%) Asian, 140 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 2,680 (13.2%) from other races, and 1,277 (6.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,652 persons (32.8%).[22]
The census reported that 20,089 people (99.2% of the population) lived in households, 57 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 110 (0.5%) were institutionalized.
There were 8,068 households, 2,479 (30.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,409 (42.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,160 (14.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 481 (6.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 491 (6.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 55 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,420 households (30.0%) were one person and 822 (10.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.49. There were 5,050 families (62.6% of households); the average family size was 3.12.
The age distribution was 4,378 people (21.6%) under the age of 18, 1,743 people (8.6%) aged 18 to 24, 5,699 people (28.1%) aged 25 to 44, 5,904 people (29.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,532 people (12.5%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 39.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.
There were 8,412 housing units at an average density of 4,402.5 per square mile, of the occupied units 3,738 (46.3%) were owner-occupied and 4,330 (53.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.4%. 9,183 people (45.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 10,906 people (53.8%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Lomita had a median household income of $60,398, with 12.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[21]
Mapping L.A. reported that in 2000, Mexican (19.4%) and German (10.3%) were the most common ancestries. Mexico (35.0%) and Korea (11.2%) were the most common foreign places of birth.[23]
Fire protection in Lomita is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department with ambulance transport by McCormick Ambulance.[24]
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Lomita Station in Lomita.[25]
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Torrance Health Center in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, near Torrance and serving Lomita.[26]
In the California State Legislature, Lomita is in, and in .[27]
In the United States House of Representatives, Lomita is in .
The United States Postal Service Lomita Post Office is located at 25131 Narbonne Avenue.[28]
The city of Lomita supported the Republican candidates for president in 1984 and 1988, but has since become a predominantly Democratic city.The city of Lomita has supported the Democratic candidate in the past seven consecutive presidential elections. In every presidential elections since 1984, with the exception of 2024, the percentage of the vote received by the Democrat has increased from the previous election.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Third parties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024[29] | 53.72% | 4,672 | 42.45% | 3,692 | 3.83% | 333 | ||
| 2020[30] | 58.46% | 5,823 | 38.86% | 3,871 | 2.68% | 267 | ||
| 2016[31] | 55.93% | 4,529 | 37.67% | 3,050 | 6.40% | 518 | ||
| 2012[32] | 55.43% | 4,352 | 41.67% | 3,272 | 2.90% | 228 | ||
| 2008[33] | 54.41% | 4,433 | 43.26% | 3,525 | 2.33% | 190 | ||
| 2004[34] | 50.77% | 3,106 | 48.07% | 2,941 | 1.16% | 71 | ||
| 2000[35] | 49.13% | 2,775 | 45.79% | 2,586 | 5.08% | 287 | ||
| 1996[36] | 44.62% | 2,573 | 40.38% | 2,329 | 15.00% | 865 | ||
| 1992[37] | 39.47% | 2,575 | 34.15% | 2,228 | 26.38% | 1,721 | ||
| 1988[38] | 38.44% | 2,496 | 60.10% | 3,902 | 1.46% | 95 | ||
| 1984[39] | 30.20% | 1,927 | 68.45% | 4,367 | 1.35% | 86 | ||
| 1980[40] | 31.08% | 1,892 | 59.38% | 3,615 | 9.54% | 581 | ||
| 1976[41] | 46.33% | 2,721 | 51.27% | 3,011 | 2.40% | 141 | ||
| 1972[42] | 35.04% | 2,505 | 60.51% | 4,325 | 4.45% | 318 | ||
Lomita residents are within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).[44] The area is within Board District 7.[45] As of 2008 Dr. Richard Vladovic represents the district.[46]
Elementary schools that serve Lomita include:
For a two-year period prior to 1991 Lomita attempted to secede from the LAUSD, but by that year abandoned its efforts.[49]
Nishiyamato Academy of California, a Japanese elementary and junior high school, is located in Lomita.[50] [51] The school opened in April 1993; at the time it was located in Rolling Hills Estates. It was founded by Ryotaro Tanose, a former Japanese Diet member, as a sister school of the Nishiyamato Gakuen Junior and Senior High School (Nishiyamato Academy) in Kawai, Nara Prefecture, Japan.[52]
