He developed 700 acres (2.8 km2) into his own home called Windermere Ranch and surrounded it with olive, orange and lemon groves.

McNally built a plant to process the olive oil, which was of the best quality, as well as a railroad station on Stage Road.

McNally and Neff formed the La Mirada Land Company, which published a booklet entitled "The Country Gentleman in California", advertising parcels of land for sale including pictures, a map and descriptions of the scenic olive, alfalfa, lemon and grapefruit groves.

In 1946, "Along Your Way", a "Station by Station Description of the Santa Fe Route Through the Southwest," describes La Mirada with a population of 213, surrounded by orange, lemon, walnut and olive groves; oil wells; olive oil factory; and fruit packing houses.

In 1953, the land was sold to subdivisions for 5.2 million dollars, one of the largest real estate transactions in California.

In 1954, Louis M. Halper, a prominent Southland residential and commercial builder, purchased 2,100 acres of La Mirada land for $8,000,000.

Halper launched construction on what was to be a $150,000,000 community with schools, shopping centers, and 10,000 homes that he completed by the end of two years.

His firm had taken over the acreage from a group of corporations and Harold L. Shaw, who launched the original La Mirada development.

On November 8, 1960, voters approved a change of name to the current La Mirada, which was officially certified on December 15, 1960.

The cities that border it on the Los Angeles County side are Santa Fe Springs to the west and Cerritos to the southwest; and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County such as East Whittier, and South Whittier to the north.

The cities bordering it in Orange County are Fullerton and La Habra to the east and Buena Park to the south.

During 2009–2013, La Mirada had a median household income of $81,961, with 7.0% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Voters began electing council members by district in March 2017 in order to avoid litigation for alleged violation of the California Voting Rights Act.

The site was chosen as it provides first-in coverage to the city of La Habra, which funded half of the cost of the construction project.

The entire cost of the four-person crew is funded by the County Fire District in which La Mirada belongs.

Neighborhoods in eastern La Mirada that once experienced six-minute response (travel) times can now be reached in three minutes or less.

Crews from two nearby stations also include parts of La Mirada as their first-in district.

Engine 35, stationed in Cerritos on Artesia Boulevard, covers most of the industrial areas of the city that are south of Interstate 5.

Station 15 located in East La Mirada on Santa Gertrudes Avenue handles the north and northeast sections of town.

In the southern part of the city, resources based in Buena Park and South Santa Fe Springs respond to fires instead of County Fire resources further away and the favor is returned in designated areas outside of La Mirada.

Metrolink operates commuter rail service on this right-of-way; the nearest stations to La Mirada are Buena Park and Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs.

[47] The main arterial streets running west-to-east are Rosecrans Avenue, Alondra Boulevard, and Imperial Highway.

[48] Union Pacific Railroad operates a rail line along Interstate 5 and serves the southern industrial areas south of I-5.