Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 67,265, down from 69,772 at the 2010 census. Lynwood is located near South Gate and Compton in the central portion of the Los Angeles Basin. Incorporated in 1921, Lynwood was named after the Lynwood Dairy and Creamery, from which the local station of the Pacific Electric Railway had been named.

Lynwood's history began with a settlement colonized by Spanish aristocrats, or dons, and American pioneers who purchased, settled, and formed a small communal town in the area. It started with Don Antonio Maria Lugo. In 1810, Lugo was awarded 11 square leagues of land in California by the king of Spain for his military service during the establishment of the Francisco missions in the state. After Lugo received these tracts of land (29,514 acres), Lugo named the area Rancho San Antonio, possibly after birthplace at La Misión San Antonio de Padua, in Jolon, California. These tracts of land make up the bordering cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Maywood, Montebello, South Gate, Vernon, and Walnut Park today.

Once majority white non-Hispanic, Lynwood elected its first Black councilmember in 1983 and in December 1985, elected its first Black mayor, Robert Henning. Into the 1990s, the political establishment remained in the control of the Black population which was gradually eroded by ascendent Latino population. After a succession of African American mayors (Evelyn Wells, Paul Richards), Lynwood saw its first Latino mayor, Armando Rea, in 1997.

On March 20, 2006, Lynwood's longest serving former mayor Paul H. Richards II was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison after being convicted in 2005 on numerous corruption charges that centered on his funneling of $6 million in city business — including exorbitant no-bid contracts — to a "consulting company" controlled by him and his family. Richards had served on the City Council from 1986 until he was recalled by voters in 2003; during that time he served seven terms as mayor.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12 km), all land.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1930	7,323		—
1940	10,982		50.0%
1950	25,823		135.1%
1960	31,614		22.4%
1970	43,354		37.1%
1980	48,289		11.4%
1990	61,945		28.3%
2000	69,845		12.8%
2010	69,772		−0.1%
2020	67,265		−3.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

Lynwood, California – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	2,044	1,539	1,212	2.93%	2.21%	1.80%
Black or African American alone (NH)	9,118	6,752	5,301	13.05%	9.68%	7.88%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	103	76	64	0.15%	0.11%	0.10%
Asian alone (NH)	490	390	397	0.70%	0.56%	0.59%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	228	170	182	0.33%	0.24%	0.27%
Other race alone (NH)	50	167	278	0.07%	0.24%	0.41%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	309	226	404	0.44%	0.32%	0.60%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	57,503	60,452	59,427	82.33%	86.64%	88.35%
Total	69,845	69,772	67,265	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

At the 2010 census, Lynwood had a population of 69,772. The population density was 14,415.7 inhabitants per square mile (5,565.9/km). The racial makeup of Lynwood was 27,444 (39.3%) White (2.2% Non-Hispanic White), 7,168 (10.3%) African American, 464 (0.7%) Native American, 457 (0.7%) Asian, 206 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 31,652 (45.4%) from other races, and 2,381 (3.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 60,452 persons (86.6%).

The census reported that 67,120 people (96.2% of the population) lived in households, 449 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 2,203 (3.2%) were institutionalized.

There were 14,680 households, 9,790 (66.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8,303 (56.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3,266 (22.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,569 (10.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,281 (8.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 105 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,064 households (7.2%) were one person and 328 (2.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 4.57. There were 13,138 families (89.5% of households); the average family size was 4.62.

The age distribution was 22,977 people (32.9%) under the age of 18, 8,705 people (12.5%) aged 18 to 24, 21,245 people (30.4%) aged 25 to 44, 13,075 people (18.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,770 people (5.4%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 27.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

There were 15,277 housing units at an average density of 3,156.4 per square mile, of the occupied units 6,829 (46.5%) were owner-occupied and 7,851 (53.5%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%. 34,023 people (48.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 33,097 people (47.4%) lived in rental housing units.

At the 2000 census, there were 69,845 people in 14,395 households, including 12,941 families, in the city. The population density was 5,560.3/km (14,389.2/mi). There were 14,987 housing units at an average density of 1,193.1/km (3,087.6/mi). The racial makeup of the city was 33.62% white, 13.53% African American, 1.20% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.39% Pacific Islander, 46.14% from other races, and 4.36% from two or more races. 82.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 14,395 households, 63.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples living together, 20.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 10.1% were non-families. 7.7% of households were made up of individuals, and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 4.70 and the average family size was 4.76.

The age distribution was 38.0% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 13.5% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.2 males.

The median household income was $35,888 and the median family income was $35,808. Males had a median income of $23,241 versus $19,149 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,542. 23.5% of the population and 21.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 28.3% were under the age of 18 and 14.3% were 65 or older.

As of 2000, speakers of Spanish as their first language accounted for 77.43% of residents, while English was spoken by 22.13%, Thai was spoken by 0.16%, Samoan was spoken by 0.09%, Gujarati was spoken by 0.07%, Tagalog was spoken by 0.07%, Vietnamese by 0.05% of the population.

Lynwood went through five phases of demographic change in the 20th century. First, a colonial settlement. Second, a farming small town. Third, a mostly working-class white suburb from 1940 to 1970. Fourth, a majority African-American city between 1970 and 1990, and today, predominantly Latino.

In 2000, Mexican (68.1%) and Salvadoran (2.9%) were the most common ancestries in Lynwood. Mexico (84.0%) and El Salvador (7.8%) were the most common foreign places of birth.

The Long Beach Freeway (I-710) and Century Freeway (I-105) run through the city. The C Line of the Los Angeles Metro also runs through the city, in the median of I-105, and serves the city at Long Beach Boulevard station.

Fire protection in Lynwood is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The LACFD operates Station #147 at 3161 East Imperial Highway and Station #148 at 4262 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, both in Lynwood, as a part of Battalion 13 The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Century Station in Lynwood. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the South Health Center in Watts, Los Angeles, serving Lynwood.

Lynwood is represented in the 63rd Assembly District by Democrat Anthony Rendon and in the 33rd Senate District represented by Democrat Ricardo Lara. In the United States House of Representatives, Lynwood is in California's 44th congressional district, represented by Democrat Nanette Barragán. Janice Hahn represents Lynwood located in the Fourth Los Angeles Board of Supervisors District.

The United States Postal Service operates the Lynwood Post Office at 11200 Long Beach Boulevard and the East Lynwood Post Office at 11634 Atlantic Avenue.

The City of Lynwood operates three parks: Lynwood City Park, Lynwood Skate Park, and Yvonne Burke-John D. Ham Park.

Most of Lynwood is served by the Lynwood Unified School District. High schools include Lynwood High School, Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School, and Vista High School.

County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the Lynwood Library at 11320 Bullis Road.

• Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
• Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico
• Talpa de Allende, Jalisco, Mexico

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• St. Francis Medical Center
• South Central Los Angeles

• Official website