It is one of two community colleges serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles.

LAHC serves mainly students from Harbor City, Carson, San Pedro, Gardena, Lomita, Wilmington and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

LAHC accommodates over 8,900 students per semester and is located between Wilmington and Harbor City, the heart of the Los Angeles harbor region.

As of 2010, 37% of LAHC's population were part-time students, with 65% describing themselves as full-time.

Like most community colleges in the state of California, LAHC offers programs for students to eventually transfer to a four-year university as well as occupational training programs in business and office administration, electronics technology, computer technology, and nursing.