Long Beach, California, United States

🇺🇸 Long Beach is a city in the U.S. state of California located within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. A charter city, Long Beach is the 7th most populous city in California. Incorporated in 1897, Long Beach lies in Southern California in the southern part of Los Angeles County. Long Beach is approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown Los Angeles, and is part of the Gateway Cities region. The Port of Long Beach is the second busiest container port in the United States and is among the world's largest shipping ports. The city is over an oilfield with minor wells both directly beneath the city as well as offshore.

The city is known for its waterfront attractions, including the permanently docked RMS Queen Mary and the Aquarium of the Pacific. Long Beach also hosts the Grand Prix of Long Beach, an IndyCar race and the Long Beach Pride Festival and Parade. California State University, Long Beach, one of the largest universities in California by enrollment, is within the city.

Economy The economic base has changed over the years. Oil extraction created a boom and continues to fund portions of the city budget. Long Beach was a Navy town for many years before the base closed. The aerospace industry played an important role. Douglas Aircraft Company (later McDonnell Douglas and now part of Boeing) had plants at the Long Beach Airport where they built aircraft for World War II, and later built DC-8s, DC-9s, DC-10s, and MD-11s. Boeing built the Boeing 717 until 2006 and the C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter until 2015, the plants were leased by Mercedes-Benz and Relativity Space. Even after greatly reducing the number of local employees in recent years, Boeing is still the largest private employer in the city. Polar Air Cargo, an international cargo airline, was formerly based in Long Beach. TABC, Inc., a part of Toyota, makes a variety of car parts, including steering columns and catalytic converters, in Long Beach.

Epson America, Inc. the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, is headquartered in Long Beach. Pioneer Electronics, the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Pioneer Corporation, is also headquartered in Long Beach along with SCAN Health Plan, a non-profit "Medicare Advantage" HMO for seniors. Molina Healthcare, Inc., a Medicaid management healthcare program, is headquartered in Long Beach. The real estate company HCP is based in Long Beach. Jesse James' West Coast Choppers custom motorcycle shop was in Long Beach, and much of the Monster Garage cable TV show was shot in Long Beach. Long Beach Green Business Association is an organization working to create economic growth through the promotion of green business and promoting a buy local program for Long Beach.

Economy: Top employers 1 Long Beach Unified School District - Education

2 City of Long Beach - Government

3 Long Beach Memorial Medical Center - Healthcare

4 California State University, Long Beach - Education

5 VA Long Beach Healthcare System - Healthcare

6 Long Beach City College - Education

7 Boeing - Aerospace

8 CSULB Research Foundation - R&D

9 St. Mary Medical Center - Healthcare

10 Molina Healthcare - Healthcare

11 United States Postal Service - Mailing

12 Verizon Communications - Telecommunications

Trade valued annually at more than $140 billion moves through Long Beach, making it the second busiest seaport in the United States. The Port supports more than 30,000 jobs in Long Beach, 316,000 jobs throughout Southern California and 1.4 million jobs throughout the United States. It generates about $16 billion in annual trade-related wages statewide.

Economy: Retail Los Altos Center is the only mall anchored by major department stores within city limits, while Lakewood Center mall is adjacent to Long Beach. Until the 1950s, Long Beach was the major retail hub between Los Angeles and Santa Ana. Buffum's, Walker's and Robert's all had their flagship stores in the city. Later the Long Beach Plaza and Marina Pacifica malls were built, since repurposed as retail power centers. The largest shopping centre within the city is the Long Beach Towne Center, a power centre opened in 1999 on the site of the Long Beach Naval Hospital. The Pike Outlets and 2nd & PCH are new retail centers.