The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a residential neighborhood with a low-income, aging population of about 7,800 residents.

The original Chinatown developed in the late 19th century, and was demolished to make room for Union Station, the city's major ground-transportation center.

[13] Near Broadway, Central Plaza contains a statue honoring Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Chinese revolutionary leader who is considered the "founder of modern China".

A large Chinese gateway is found at the intersection of Broadway and Cesar Chavez Avenue, funded by the local Teochew-speaking population.

[18] By 2000 many people had left the Chinatown for the City of Monterey Park, which is a part of the larger Chinese community in the San Gabriel Valley.

[22] Activists and city council members were concerned about rising rents and displacement of long time residents, many of them low-income as these revitalization projects were approved.

[24] Since 2019, the neighborhood has lacked a centrally located grocery store with a large selection, affordable prices and consistently high quality that opens early and closes late.

[27] The median household income in 2010 dollars ($29,000), was the third-lowest in Los Angeles County, preceded by Watts ($28,200) and Downtown ($24,300).

The percentage of households earning $20,000 or less (53.6%) was the third-largest in Los Angeles County, preceded by Downtown (57.4%) and University Park (56.6%).

[28] Small, specialized grocery stores are important to the aging population but few remain as gentrification impacts the neighborhood.

Few boba cafes have opened in Chinatown, but a large number are to be found in the Chinese enclaves in the San Gabriel Valley.

[30][31][32] As the action in Chinese cuisine became centered in the San Gabriel Valley, there were also places that offered Vietnamese pho noodle soup and banh mi.

[33] As downtown revives, Chinatown has been sparked into life by cheap rents, the gallery boom in the 2000s and deep-rooted sense of community.