Population Dip Not Enough To Keep LA Region From Title Of 'Most Dense' In US
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — If you felt a little cramped on your way into work this morning, there's a good reason for that.
KNX 1070's John Brooks reports the swath of the land spanning Los Angeles and Orange counties is now the most densely populated region in the nation.
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The U.S. Census Bureau released new data this week showing the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area is more packed with people than the New York-New Jersey area.
The Southland region claimed the number one spot with an estimated 7,000 people per square mile in 2010, slightly down from the 2000 census that counted 7,068 people per square mile.
While the city of Los Angeles itself may not seem as crowded as other big U.S. cities like Manhattan or Chicago, the number of residents living in the suburbs surrounding the city have pushed the region's totals higher than any other U.S. region.
But despite ranking first in population density, growth has actually slowed somewhat between 2000 and 2010 when the local population grew by only 2.6 percent, a sharp drop from the decade between 1980 to 1990 when it soared by over 17 percent.
Robert, a cab driver in Beverly Hills, said he's noticed the uptick.
"I'm living 6, 7 years here in Los Angeles, and I've seen in that 7 years it changes lots because the population is much higher than 7 years ago," he said.
The state of California on the whole has 7 of the 10 most densely populated urban areas in the nation, contrasted with the entire New York area coming in fifth in overall density.
