Census data reveal how West Hollywood is changing, for better or worse

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New data released by census.gov show a West Hollywood in flux, with nonwhite populations growing, wealth disparity deepening and a workforce evolving.

WeHo lost 2.5 percent of its population from 2020 to 2021 —about 896 people.

Less than 4 percent of WeHo residents are under 18 years old, and only 45 percent are female. White people still dominate the landscape at more than 70 percent. Hispanics come in at second at 14 percent, with mixed race residents following closely behind at more than 8 percent — begging the question, why don’t we have a Hispanic/Latino/Spanish-language Advisory Board?

Nearly a quarter of residents are foreign-born, and nearly a third speak a language other than English at home.

WeHo residents are on average very educated and almost all have access to the internet. Nearly 60 percent have a college degree — but about 12 percent live below the poverty line.

Another set of data from cleargov.com delves into WeHo’s finances, which confirms just how much the city is spending on public safety.

POPULATION ESTIMATES ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Population Estimates, July 1 2021, (V2021)34,938
Population estimates base, April 1, 2020, (V2021)35,848
Population, percent change – April 1, 2020 (estimates base) to July 1, 2021, (V2021)-2.50%
Population, Census, April 1, 202035,757
Population, Census, April 1, 201034,399
AGE AND SEX ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Persons under 5 years, percent2.30%
Persons under 18 years, percent3.90%
Persons 65 years and over, percent15.80%
Female persons, percent45.10%
RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
White alone, percent77.30%
Black or African American alone, percent(a)3.60%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, percent(a)0.40%
Asian alone, percent(a)6.20%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, percent(a)0.10%
Two or More Races, percent8.10%
Hispanic or Latino, percent(b)13.40%
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, percent71.30%
POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Veterans, 2016-2020902
Foreign born persons, percent, 2016-202024.60%
HOUSING ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Owner-occupied housing unit rate, 2016-202019.80%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2016-2020$743,700
Median selected monthly owner costs -with a mortgage, 2016-2020$3,179
Median selected monthly owner costs -without a mortgage, 2016-2020$962
Median gross rent, 2016-2020$1,744
FAMILIES AND LIVING ARRANGEMENTS ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Households, 2016-202022,845
Persons per household, 2016-20201.55
Living in same house 1 year ago, percent of persons age 1 year+, 2016-202084.90%
Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2016-202027.20%
COMPUTER AND INTERNET USE ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Households with a computer, percent, 2016-202094.30%
Households with a broadband Internet subscription, percent, 2016-202090.00%
EDUCATION ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2016-202096.60%
Bachelor’s degree or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2016-202060.10%
HEALTH ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
With a disability, under age 65 years, percent, 2016-20206.70%
Persons without health insurance, under age 65 years, percent6.10%
ECONOMY ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
In civilian labor force, total, percent of population age 16 years+, 2016-202079.30%
In civilian labor force, female, percent of population age 16 years+, 2016-202075.40%
Total accommodation and food services sales, 2017 ($1,000)(c)968,345
Total health care and social assistance receipts/revenue, 2017 ($1,000)(c)3,599,418
Total transportation and warehousing receipts/revenue, 2017 ($1,000)(c)3,788
Total retail sales, 2017 ($1,000)(c)1,424,383
Total retail sales per capita, 2017(c)$39,904
TRANSPORTATION ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16 years+, 2016-202029.4
INCOME AND POVERTY ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Median household income (in 2020 dollars), 2016-2020$71,692
Per capita income in past 12 months (in 2020 dollars), 2016-2020$69,589
Persons in poverty, percent11.60%
All employer firms, Reference year 20173,018
Men-owned employer firms, Reference year 20171,889
Women-owned employer firms, Reference year 2017644
Minority-owned employer firms, Reference year 2017451
Nonminority-owned employer firms, Reference year 20172,313
Nonveteran-owned employer firms, Reference year 20172,694
GEOGRAPHY ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Population per square mile, 202018,939.10
Population per square mile, 201018,225.60
Land area in square miles, 20201.89
Land area in square miles, 20101.89

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Randy
Randy
2 years ago

It seems pretty simple to me. Number one, this city has become unaffordable. Number two, they are tearing down multiunit dwellings, and replacing them with these mini mansion things. It has happened up and down my street. So the wealthier can move in, and the less wealthy have to move. And this decreases the housing stock, allowing both of those things to take place at once. Covid forced a lot of people out of the city. They just couldn’t afford it anymore. Especially with losing their jobs. I have a friends who were even well to do, and they move… Read more »

Erik R
Erik R
2 years ago

I agree whole heartedly. Why don’t we have a Latino/a advisory board? With a population size much larger than our Russian neighbors, there needs to be better services for our Latino/a community members.

JR Birdsong
JR Birdsong
2 years ago

WeHo was founded on the principle of being a Gay Mecca. NOT so much anymore! People are fleeing to other neighborhoods. Rents are out of control. There needs to be a moratorium on rent increases for 3-5 years! Massive amounts of vacant commercial space. Small businesses cannot afford the high rents. WeHo is now just a place for out-of-city folks to come to get drunk and cause damage.

Steve Carry
Steve Carry
2 years ago

The fact that 80 percent of people living in WH rent, speaks volumes.

Joe Bologna
Joe Bologna
2 years ago

WeHo has changed considerably. For. The. Absolute. Worst.

JF1
JF1
2 years ago
Reply to  Joe Bologna

Yup. With the current council it sure has.

KDS
KDS
2 years ago

Wait, the percentage of single people living alone is… 0.8%? There are literally like 25 single non-seniors living in West Hollywood? Um, is that the correct number from the Census Bureau or is that an error somewhere else? Not that I believe the percentage is all that much higher than this, but 0.8%? If it is true, then than, too, is a tragedy: we have priced youth out of the market, and are left with an old folks home no one can afford.

Steve Martin
Steve Martin
2 years ago

If our population is down and the number of residential units we have constructed since that last census is up, who is in all those “vacant” units? It would appear that the City’s efforts to build housing are being off set by that lack of enforcement of Air BnB and “extended stay” facilities. When housing costs are through the roof, this is not a situation we should tolerate.

Last edited 2 years ago by Steve Martin
C.R.
C.R.
2 years ago
Reply to  Steve Martin

As someone running for city council, do you support vacancy taxes both in residential and in commercial property to help curtail chronic vacancies and help make rents more affordable?

Steve Martin
Steve Martin
2 years ago
Reply to  C.R.

As I said at the recent Council meeting, I thought the idea had merit but unless the majority of the City Council was actually going to campaign for it, it would not have a chance of passage.
The Council voted not to put the measure on the ballot. I also think that we don’t have good numbers on the residential vacancy rates as there are a large number of Air BnB or the like that are simply not being reported as the City is not being aggressive in locating these units.

TomS
TomS
2 years ago

Do not kid yourself with BS and these statistics.
Hundreds of thousands of gay people can not stand Weho and would never live here or go out here. That’s a fact of life. No matter what race they are or where they come from.
And if anyone does not know or admitted it, you have been living under a rock for the last 30 years.

Terry Oleson
Terry Oleson
2 years ago
Reply to  TomS

There are many young gay men who can no longer afford to live in WeHo as when I was a Baby Boomer college student. At the same time, there are more crowded gay bars in WeHo than ever. It has always been a popular sport to “Hate West Hollywood Queens,” yet the Millennials have little problem coming to our gay bars just like in the good old days when young gay males constituted a larger percent of the population who rented apartments in WeHo.

Westmount Dr Resident
Westmount Dr Resident
2 years ago

This is an odd dissonance – the demographic data reflects by a large the editorial stance Wehoville has had under Larry (pro-policing, anti-increased housing density) but it seems like you somehow want to paint this mutli-year trend as a result of the current administration, which has been in place for, what, two years? More old, rich, white people is the exact outcome of what Lauren Meister is advocating through her policies. The only sizable workforce housing on tap in the entire city has been roundly and aggressively attacked on this site. You are literally getting the city you want… and… Read more »

Larry Block
Admin
2 years ago

Why not? Sounds like you blame me for the census and I didn’t even read the story, just arrived back from out of town.

Steve Martin
Steve Martin
2 years ago

Seriously?? Sepi has only been in office 20 months, hardly enough time to have impacted the housing situation in any meaningful way. West Hollywood’s inclusionary housing is way more demanding and effective than surrounding communities and if you look at the numbers, we have been successful in allowing thousands of long term tenants from being force out of our city. The numbers don’t lie but I suppose you can manipulate them if you can find a gullible audience.

West
West
2 years ago

The poverty level in our little town is shocking, meanwhile our electeds are trading service contracts, management salaries and endless favors for the political class & glitterati

David Reid
David Reid
2 years ago

With 94% of the citizens wired to the internet, you’ d think that the city leaders would provide free Wi-Fi for all the residents. After all, they spent nearly $40,000 per resident on the new park. There’s not even a band shell.

greeneyedguy
greeneyedguy
2 years ago
Reply to  David Reid

People would complain about free wi-fi attracting homeless people.

John Staples
John Staples
2 years ago
Reply to  David Reid

I recall reading years ago how an outdoor performing arts facility for a corner of the park was offered to the city as donation. What happened to that?

David
David
2 years ago
Reply to  David Reid

New park improvements and adjacent recreation center was about $110,000,000 / 35,000 people is about $3,200 per person.

Randy
Randy
2 years ago

Great article. I like seeing a growth in ethnic minorities. Not growth in the wealthier.

Hispanic/Latino/Spanish-language Advisory Board is a great idea. Or maybe an Ethnic Minority Advisory Board?

Ryan Gierach
2 years ago
Reply to  Randy

You missed a key point. A couple of weeks ago I engaged with some white supremacists on this site one of which, for instance, suggested that racial discrimination against Blacks in WeHo was due to the fact that Blacks are not “charming” enough to avoid discrimination. Almost to a one, this vast number of commentators denied being in any way racist. Things fell apart when I compared the percentage of Blacks living west of to to number living east of La Brea. The number I used then, 3.9 percent of Blacks in WeHo, has reduced, now doubt through self segregation,… Read more »

WeHo Remembers
WeHo Remembers
2 years ago
Reply to  Ryan Gierach

Ryan: where is it you are now living that is so superior? Btw, that term you used, ‘tamale hombres’, as you call them, some consider a racist and highly offensive generalization.

Ryan Gierach
2 years ago
Reply to  WeHo Remembers

I will begin by saying that you just, quite literally, proved my point. WeHo is overwhelmingly populated by White fools who know little about other cultures and make all other cultures squeamish about even visiting, let alone living among you. A Tamale Hombre walks the streets and with alarge container and sells tamales to the folks and workers in the neighborhood. There’s one who I see virtually every single day. A really, super nice guy with a huge smile. But you live in WeHo, where the only Tamale Hombres are dancing at a bar, but have to live in East… Read more »

J Cross
J Cross
2 years ago
Reply to  Ryan Gierach

Stay in your lane whitey

Kyle
Kyle
2 years ago
Reply to  Ryan Gierach

Your comment is meaningless. Magic Johnson is a black millionaire as was Quincy Jones. Neither moved to Compton when they racked up coins. They moved to upscale, predominately white communities. It’s not a matter of discrimination but where you want to live and can afford. To live.