For thousands of years, the area of Torrance was occupied by theTongvaNative Americans. The land that is now part of the City of Torrance and much of the modern South Bay was part of the extensive marshlands.
In the early 1900s, real estate developerJared Sidney Torrance and other investors saw the value of creating a mixed industrial–residential community south ofLos Angeles. They purchased part of an old Spanish land grant and hired landscape architectFrederick Law Olmsted Jr. to design aplanned community.[14] The resulting town was founded in October 1912 and named after Torrance. The city of Torrance was formally incorporated in May 1921, the townsite initially being bounded by Western Avenue on the east, Del Amo Boulevard on the north,Crenshaw Boulevard on the west, and on the south by Plaza del Amo east of where it meets Carson Street, and by Carson Street west of where it meets Plaza del Amo.[15]
The first residential avenue created in Torrance was Gramercy and the second avenue was Andreo. Many of the houses on these avenues reached the centennial mark in 2012. Both avenues are located in the area referred to as Old Torrance. This section of Torrance is under review to be classified as ahistorical district. Some of the early civic and residential buildings were designed by the renowned and innovativeSouthern California architectIrving Gill, in his distinctive combining ofMission Revival and earlyModernist architecture.[16]
Torrance was planned as a new prototype of a balanced industrial city based on the principles of theGarden City Movement. The original tract developed by the Olmsted Brothers consists of 109 city blocks divided into three sub-districts: residential, commercial, and industrial. The plan is most notable for its axial landscaped downtown commercial neighborhood aligned to have a view of Mount San Antonio in the San Gabriel Mountains. The Olmsted Tract includes a number of buildings designed by the noted Southern California Architect Irving Gill, including the original train depot.[17]
The footprint of the downtown neighborhood, now called Old Torrance, was designed on a diagonal to allow the trade breezes coming from the Pacific Ocean to keep the air clean from industrial pollution for the residential and commercial neighborhoods. The industrial sections of the city were placed on the eastern side of the original tract.
Public transportation played a key role in the founding of Torrance. ThePacific Electric Red Car connected downtown Los Angeles to the new development of downtown Torrance. Designed in 1912 by Irving Gill, the terminus depot of the Red Car line was designed in a Spanish revival style popularized during this era.[18] In May 1913, thePacific Electric Railroad Bridge was built. Often called the "El Prado Bridge", it further expanded the industrial heart of the South Bay. The concrete double-tracked arch bridge was the Pacific Electric Railway's first interurban line that connected north–south to San Pedro via the Gardena Line.[19] The bridge was used for transporting freight and commuting workers to Torrance factories. The Red Car line connected under the bridge as it connected to the train depot located on Cabrillo Avenue. The bridge no longer carries any rail cars, with Pacific Electric closing the Red Car line to Torrance in the 1940s. The bridge became the city of Torrance's second entry in theNational Register of Historic Places on July 13, 1989, and is used as a logo for the city's new wayfinding signage and city materials.[20]
The Pacific Railroad Bridge, often called the El Prado Bridge, was designed by famed architect Irving Gill. The bridge stands as an icon for the city of Torrance.
Torrance Beach lies between Redondo Beach andMalaga Cove onSanta Monica Bay.[23] The southernmost stretch of Torrance Beach, on a cove at the northern end of thePalos Verdes peninsula, is known to locals asRat Beach (Right After Torrance).
Torrance has awarm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen:Csb), bordering with asemi-arid climate (Bsk). The rainy season is November through March, as shown in the adjacent table.[26] Summers tend to be warm but dry, despite Torrance's proximity to the coast.[27] TheSunset Western Garden Book places most of Torrance in Zone 22, part of a basin area in Greater Los Angeles where cold air can pool—hence the surprisingly chilly record low temperatures for each calendar month at the airport, which has risk of frost over six months. Milder microclimates are found upslope of the airport to the south (Zone 23—thermal belt) and in the western blocks bordering the beach communities andPalos Verdes Estates (Zone 24—marine influence dominant).[28]
Climate data for Torrance, California (Torrance Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1932–present
According to realtor websiteZillow, the average price of a home as of September 30, 2025, in Torrance is $1,155,339.[32]
As of the 2024American Community Survey, there are 52,611 estimated households in Torrance with an average of 2.5 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $113,095. Approximately 7.3% of the city's population lives at or below thepoverty line. Torrance has an estimated 59.2% employment rate, with 54.7% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.7% holding a high school diploma.[33] There were 56,540 housing units at an average density of 2,755.90 per square mile (1,064.1/km2).
The top five reported languages (people were allowed to report up to two languages, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (_%), Spanish (_%), Indo-European (_%), Asian and Pacific Islander (_%), and Other (_%).
The median age in the city was 43.7 years.
Torrance, California – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 census, there were 147,067 people, 56,655 households, and _ families residing in the city.[39] Thepopulation density was 7,167.71 inhabitants per square mile (2,767.5/km2). There were 58,775 housing units at an average density of 2,864.56 per square mile (1,106.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 38.99%White, 3.43%African American, 0.55%Native American, 35.70%Asian, 0.41%Pacific Islander, 7.75% from some other races and 13.17% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 19.09% of the population.[40]
The census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.5% were institutionalized.
There were 56,655 households, out of which 30.0% included children under the age of 18, 52.4% were married-couple households, 4.8% werecohabiting couple households, 25.8% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 25.6% of households were one person, and 11.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57. There were 38,894families (68.7% of all households).
The age distribution was 19.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% aged 18 to 24, 25.8% aged 25 to 44, 28.7% aged 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 43.0years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males.
There were 58,775 housing units at an average density of 2,864.6 units per square mile (1,106.0 units/km2), of which 56,655 (96.4%) were occupied. Of these, 54.1% were owner-occupied, and 45.9% were occupied by renters.
As of the2010 census, there were 145,438 people, 56,001 households, and _ families residing in the city. The population density was 7,102.16 inhabitants per square mile (2,742.2/km2). There were 58,377 housing units at an average density of 2,850.72 per square mile (1,100.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 51.11%White, 2.72%African American, 0.38%Native American, 34.54%Asian, 0.36%Pacific Islander, 5.37% from some other races and 5.51% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 16.12% of the population.
The Census reported that 144,292 people (99.2% of the population) lived in households, 506 (0.3%) homeless who lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 640 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 56,001 households, out of which 18,558 (33.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 29,754 (53.1%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 6,148 (11.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,510 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,152 (3.8%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 309 (0.6%)same-sex married couples or partnerships. 14,472 households (25.8%) were made up of individuals, and 5,611 (10.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58. There were 38,412families (68.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.14.
There were 31,831 people (21.9%) under the age of 18, 10,875 (7.5%) aged 18 to 24, 38,296 (26.3%) aged 25 to 44, 42,710 (29.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 21,726 (14.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.
There were 58,377 housing units at an average density of 2,840.3 units per square mile (1,096.6 units/km2), of which 31,621 (56.5%) were owner-occupied, and 24,380 (43.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%. 85,308 people (58.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units, and 58,984 people (40.6%) lived in rental housing units.
Torrance has the second-highest percentage of residents ofJapanese ancestry in California (8.9%), after the neighboring city of Gardena.[41]
The inside of the old demolished TorranceMitsuwa (relocated to theDel Amo Mall)
As of 2014, Torrance had the second-largest concentration of people of Japanese ancestry of any U.S. city, afterHonolulu. The city has offices of numerous Japanese companies, including those in the automotive industry.[22] Because of this, many Japanese restaurants and other cultural offerings are in the city, and Willy Blackmore ofL.A. Weekly wrote that Torrance was "essentially Japan's 48thprefecture".[42] Japanese supermarkets, schools, and banks serve the community.[22][43]
In the pre-World War II period, the South Bay region was one of the few areas that allowed non-U.S. citizens to acquire property, so a Japanese presence came.[citation needed] According to John Kaji, a Torrance resident quoted inPublic Radio International who was the son of Toyota's first American-based accountant, the Japanese corporate presence in Torrance, beginning with Toyota, attracted many ethnic Japanese. Toyota moved its operations to its Torrance campus in 1982 because of its proximity to thePort of Long Beach andLos Angeles International Airport, and many other Japanese companies followed suit. In 2014, Toyota announced it was moving its U.S. headquarters toPlano, Texas.[22]
As of 1992[update], about 60% of the Korean population in theSouth Bay region lived in Torrance andGardena.[44] In 1990, 5,888 ethnic Koreans lived in Torrance, a 256% increase from the 1980 figure of 1,652.[44]
TheDel Amo Fashion Center, at 2.5 million square feet (230,000 m2), is one of theten largestmalls in the United States by gross leasable area. The current mall was created when Del Amo Center, built in 1958, merged with Del Amo Fashion Square, built in 1972. Once located on opposite sides of Carson Street, an expansion of the mall spanning Carson Street joined the two centers by 1982, making it the largest mall in the world at the time. In 2005, the east end of the original mall north of Carson Street was demolished to make way for a new open-air shopping center, opened in mid-September 2006. This was followed in 2015 by the opening of an expanded northern Fashion Wing, withNordstrom as the mall anchor and supplemented by luxury retailers such asKate Spade,Hugo Boss,Uniqlo,Michael Kors, andBen Bridge.[47] TheOld Towne Mall was an entertainment-themed mall operating in the 1970s.
As a major oil-producing region, Torrance was once dotted with thousands ofoil wells andoil derricks. Though the oil wells are not as common as they once were, the Torrance oil refinery owned byPBF Energy in the north end of the city is responsible for much of Southern California's gasoline supply.[48] Torrance was an important hub and shop site of thePacific Electric Railway.[49]
Torrance has ageneral aviation airport, originally named simply "Torrance Airport" and since renamedZamperini Field after local track star, World War II hero and Torrance High graduateLouis Zamperini. The airport handles approximately 175,000 annual take-offs and landings (473 per day),[50] down from the 1974 record of 428,000 operations. Airport noise abatement is a major local issue.
Torrance is also home to the main bakery facility forKing's Hawaiian, the dominant brand ofHawaiian bread in North America.[51] Younger Optics, Torrance's 10th-largest employer, created the first seamless or "invisible" bifocal.[52]
All Nippon Airways operates its United States headquarters, a customer relations and services office, in Torrance.[55]
The Toyota Motor Company of Japan established a U.S. headquarters on October 31, 1957, at a former Rambler dealership in Hollywood. Toyota sold 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser during the company's first year of U.S. operation.[56] It movedToyota Motor Sales USA operations to Torrance in 1982, because of easy access to port facilities and the LAX airport. In 2013, it sold 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. In 2014, it announced it would move 3,000 of its white-collar employees toPlano, Texas to be closer to its American factories. Numerous other Japanese firms followed Toyota to Los Angeles, because of its location and its reputation as the national trend-setter.[57]
The Los Angeles South Bay area, as of 2014, has the largest concentration of Japanese companies in the United States.[22]
TheArmed Forces Day Parade in Torrance, which was first produced in 1960, is the longest-running military parade sponsored by a city. It is held annually on Armed Forces Day, and runs down Torrance Boulevard. The parade features military vehicles, school bands, and prominent community members.[58]
The Torrance Cultural Arts Center hosts cultural events year-round. In partnership with the City of Torrance, the Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation (TOCA) provides diverse cultural, educational and entertainment experiences. Additional performances are provided by the Torrance Performing Arts Consortium, includingThe Aerospace Players,Torrance Art Museum, Los Cancioneros Master Chorale, South Bay Ballet, South Bay Conservatory, and The Torrance Symphony.
In the 2010Rose Parade, City of Torrance's entry won the top Lathrop K. Leishman trophy for itsGarden of Dreams float, judged as the "Most Beautiful Non-Commercial" float.In 2011, Torrance won the Tournament Volunteers' Trophy for best floral design of parade theme under 35 feet in length.In 2012, the city's entry won the Governor's Trophy for best depiction of life in California.In 2015, an entry honoring Rose Parade Grand Marshal Louis Zamperini won the Theme trophy for excellence in presenting parade theme.In 2016, the City of Torrance float won the Princess trophy for most beautiful float 35 feet and under.[59][60][61]
Wilson Park at sunsetMadrona Marsh Park during springtime
The Torrance City Parks Department directs and maintains the thirtyTorrance City Parks.[62] They include:
Wilson Park – the 44 acres (0.18 km2) park has picnic and sports facilities, including a gymnasium, skatepark,[63] and roller-hockey rink. Wilson Park also hosts the Torrance Farmers Market.
TheSouthern California Live Steamers Miniature Railroad is located at the Southeast corner of Charles H. Wilson Park. Free train rides on actual miniature live steam trains are given on the first Sunday and third Saturday of each month and the 4th of July. SCLS was one of the first live steam clubs in California started in 1946 with original members like Walt Disney, Olie Johnston and Ward Kimball all of Disney fame. The club moved to Torrance in 1986 after leaving the Lomita Railway Museum property.
Torrance Smart Gardening Center – Columbia Park features aCommunity Garden providing planting beds and "community" for residents. It is one of twelve county-operatedSmart Gardening Centers around the region.[67][68][69] Columbia Park additionally serves as home to the Home Garden Learning Center, and is a backyardcomposting demonstration center provided byLos Angeles County.[70][71][72]
Living Tribute Trees park program – The Torrance ParksLiving Dedication Tree Program is coordinated and by the city, so that families, individuals, and groups can sponsor the planting of a new tree in the park to honor a person or commemorate an event with a living tribute Tree Dedication.[73]
Torrance Beach Park, and the beach along the Pacific Coast of Torrance, known as "RAT Beach".
The City of Torrance is acharter city. The original city charter was voted on and ratified by the qualified electors at an election held August 20, 1946, and filed with the Secretary of State January 7, 1947. The elective officers of the city are the mayor, six members of the City Council, five members of the Board of Education, the City Clerk and the City Treasurer.[74]
Using the council-manager form of government, the City Council, as the elected body, adopts legislation, sets policy, adjudicates issues, and establishes the budget of the city. The City Council appoints the City Manager and the City Attorney. The city has 13 appointed boards and commissions which advise the council on matters of concern to local residents, such as the city airport, arts, parks, and libraries.[75]
TheUnited States Postal Service operates the Torrance Post Office at 2510 Monterey Street,[79] the Marcelina Post Office at 1433 Marcelina Avenue,[80] the Walteria Post Office at 4216 Pacific Coast Highway,[81] the North Torrance Post Office at 18080 Crenshaw Boulevard,[82] and the Del Amo Post Office at 291 Del Amo Fashion Square.[83] Zip codes 90277, 90501, 90503, 90504, 90505.
Torrance Fire Department staffs seven Engine Companies, five Paramedic Rescue Squads, and two Truck Companies. The department operates out of six Fire Stations providing Fire and EMS coverage for the City and Mutual Aid to the surrounding communities. Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Little Company of Mary Hospital, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Kaiser Hospital-South Bay, and Memorial Hospital of Gardena are receiving hospitals for residents in Torrance who call 911 for medical assistance. The department is a Class 1 rated Fire Department, the Fire Chief is Martin Serna. Ambulance transportation is provided through McCormick Ambulance.[87]
Torrance Police Department provides 24-hour law enforcement coverage to the city. The department is broken down into four major divisions, each with its own subdivisions. The department has one main station located at the Civic Center near City Hall. It houses the administrative offices, the city jail, and the public safety dispatch center. The department works closely with other local law enforcement agencies for training and SWAT operations. The police chief is Jeremiah Hart.
Torrance operates its own 911 dispatch center located at the police station, and is responsible for all 911 calls originating in Torrance. The communications center answers emergency and non-emergency calls and requests for assistance in addition to dispatching for both the Fire and Police Departments.
The City of Torrance operates a main library facility (named after former mayorKaty Geissert) in the city Civic Center, as well as the North Torrance, Southeast, Walteria, El Retiro, and Isabel Henderson branch libraries.[88]
There have been proposals to expand theLA Metro to Torrance, but these proposals have faced opposition by Torrance politicians. In 2023, members of the Torrance City Council, Aurelio Mattucci and Jon Kaji, sought to block the expansion, arguing that the Metro would bring crime and homelessness to Torrance.[90]
Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) was established in 1947 and unified in 1948. The district comprises the City of Torrance, bordered by the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the south, the cities of Redondo Beach and Gardena on the north, the City of Los Angeles (Harbor Gateway) on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The district's jurisdiction covers approximately 21 square miles (54 km2), and it operates 17 elementary schools, eight middle schools, five high schools (one of which is a continuation school), three adult education centers, and a child development center.
Torrance also has several private schools. Catholic schools under theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles includeBishop Montgomery High School, Nativity Catholic School, St James Catholic School and St Catherine Laboure Catholic School. Protestant private schools include Ascension Lutheran School and First Lutheran School.[92]
In 1980 theLycée Français de Los Angeles bought the 6.2-acre (2.5 ha) former Parkway School property, located in the Hollywood Riviera section of Torrance, from TUSD.[93] This property became the Lycee's Torrance campus, and as of February 1990 the campus had 100 students. In November 1989 the Lycee sold the property for $2.65 million to Manhattan Holding Co. and scheduled to transfer the students to its West Los Angeles campuses. As of February 1990 neighbors of the campus site were asking the City of Torrance to not modify the zoning of this property. The Lycee stated that the campus closed due to low enrollment.[94]
At one time, Coast Christian Schools (nowValor Christian Academy) maintained a high school campus in Torrance.[95]
Torrance is in theEl Camino Community College District. The campusEl Camino College is mostly outside the city limits in unincorporatedAlondra Park, while a portion is in the Torrance City limits.[96][97] El Camino College was founded in 1947, and the campus covers 126 acres (0.51 km2). As of 2011, the college enrolls over 25,000 students each semester.[98]
TheDaily Breeze, a 70,000-circulation daily newspaper, is published in Torrance. It serves theSouth Bay cities ofLos Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor". Herald Publications, media group started theTorrance Tribune, a community newspaper, which was started November 2010, it has a distribution of 15,000 newspapers to single-family homes and businesses in the City of Torrance.
Torrance CitiCABLE, shown on KNET 25.2, Spectrum 3, Frontier FiOS 31 is the government access channel. Programming includes news, sports, entertainment, information, public affairs, and city council meetings.
In 1973, Torrance established a sister-city relationship withKashiwa, Chiba,Japan, as part of theSister Cities International program.[135] Since then, citizens of Torrance have regularly engaged in cultural exchange with Kashiwa through the guidance of the Torrance Sister City Association, which facilitates a Japanese cultural festival, a yearly student exchange program, and contact between officials of the two cities.North High is the official sister high school of Kashiwa Municipal High. Torrance has also had a sister-city relationship withKonya,Türkiye since 1958.
^Robert Cameron Gillingham, 1961,The Rancho San Pedro, Cole Holinquist
^Ogden Hoffman, 1862,Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Numa Hubert, San Francisco.
^"Famous People From Torrance".Discover Torrance.Archived from the original on May 23, 2025. RetrievedNovember 7, 2025.Torrance native Brian Bonsall is a former child actor best known for his child role as the son of Worf and K'ehleyr onStar Trek: The Next Generation from 1992 to 1994.
^Matera, Joe (Winter 2003)."John Butler Trio".Australian Musician (34). Archived fromthe original on October 13, 2009. RetrievedDecember 7, 2013.
^McCall, Michael (August 18, 2000)."Traveling in Life's Slow Lane Is Fine With Larry Carlton".Los Angeles Times.Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. RetrievedNovember 7, 2025.The 51-year-old native of Torrance may have once ranked among the busiest studio guitarists in Los Angeles, but these days he prefers a quiet home life that he interrupts only for his own recordings and concert tours.
^"Sen. Ted Lieu's biography". California State Senate: Select Committee on Air Quality. RetrievedApril 30, 2012.
^McMenamin, Dave (July 24, 2014)."Jeremy Lin welcomed by Lakers".ESPN.Archived from the original on July 25, 2014.Lin, who was born in nearby Torrance, California, but spent his youth growing up in Palo Alto, California, chose to sign with the Golden State Warriors, who had made a similar offer to the Lakers', to be closer to home.
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