History of Central Americans in Los Angeles

The City of Los Angeles includes a prominent Central American population.

[1] In the 1970s the population of Central Americans were evenly distributed between the national origins and was relatively small.

David E. Lopez, Eric Popkin, and Edward Telles, authors of "Central Americans: At the Bottom: Struggling to Get Ahead", stated that the Central American groups with "runaway" growth were the Guatemalans and Salvadorans.

[4] In 2008 Esmeralda Bermudez of the Los Angeles Times wrote that by then there were strong relations between the Salvadoran community and the Mexican community, noting that they "have mingled at work, school and church for nearly three decades; they have intermarried, baptized each other's children and cried at each other's funerals.

[1] As of 1996 the predominant occupation of the Guatemalan and Salvadoran groups in Los Angeles are manufacturing and service jobs that pay low wages.

[7] As of 1996 the family size of Central American households is, according to Lopez, Popkin, and Telles, "considerably" above average.

[1] In August 2012, the City of Los Angeles designated a portion of Vermont Avenue in Pico-Union as the "El Salvador Community Corridor.