City
Long Beach
Long Beach is an incorporated city in Los Angeles County with an estimated 2025 population of 450,469. It handles many rules and services inside its limits. The county still handles property records, taxes, courts, elections, many county programs.
Starting point
Confirm the address is inside local limits first.
If the address is inside Long Beach, city or town offices may handle local permits, code, and services. If it is outside limits, county routing may be the better first stop.
What changes the answer: A mailing city is not always the same as city government jurisdiction.
How local government works here
The city line changes some rules, but not every public office.
The mailing address can say Long Beach even when the property sits outside local limits. Check the city line before relying on a local rule or permit page.
City limits choose the local counter
Inside Long Beach, the city usually handles permits, zoning, parking, business licenses, and local code. Outside the city line, start with county planning or building.
The county still handles county work
Los Angeles County handles property value, tax bills, deeds, court, elections, and many aid programs. Long Beach runs its own city health department, so public-health work is an important exception.
A provider can have its own boundary
Water, sewer, fire, schools, transit, trash, and power may belong to a special district or other provider. Use the address, parcel, or service bill to find the right agency.
Place answer
Long Beach business licenses start with the business type
Long Beach routes business-license questions through Financial Management, with different paths for online applications, in-person help, renewals, location changes, and required extra permits.
Read the full explanation2025 population
450,469
Land area
50.672 sq mi
Water area
27.178 sq mi
Local front desk
Start with the task in front of you.
Long Beach is incorporated. Start with the city for work inside its limits, while Los Angeles County still handles property records, taxes, courts, elections, many benefits, and county alerts. Long Beach also runs an independent city public-health department.
- Property Open the property-tax path
Assessed value, exemptions, tax bills, and appeals
Los Angeles County assessor handles value and exemptions. The clerk of the board handles a formal value appeal. The tax collector handles the bill, payment, and penalties.
- Records Open the records path
Deeds, birth and death records, marriage records, and name changes
Los Angeles County recorder is the usual deed and public-record door. Vital-record access depends on the record and year. A legal name change or divorce decree can involve Superior Court.
- Property work Open official city planning
Building permits, ADUs, zoning, code, water, and septic
Start with the city planning or building office for an address inside Long Beach. Start with the county for an address outside local limits.
Browse planning and building offices - Housing Open the housing path
Rent rules, repairs, notices, and eviction papers
Start with a local rent, housing, or code office if one serves the address. Court papers go to the Superior Court self-help path, and the deadline on the papers keeps running.
- Household help Open the benefits path
CalFresh, Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, General Assistance, and IHSS
Los Angeles County social-services agency is the main local door. Coverage, food, cash aid, and in-home support remain separate programs with separate notices.
- Public health Open official city public health
Vaccines, disease reporting, health records, and local health programs
Long Beach is one of California's three cities with an independent local health jurisdiction. Start with the city department for city-jurisdiction public-health services.
Browse independent city public-health departments - Business Open official business licensing
Business setup, seller's permits, local licenses, and regulated work
State filings and tax accounts do not replace Long Beach zoning, licensing, building, fire, or health approvals for the address.
Browse business licensing offices - Neighborhood services Open the local-office path
Potholes, streetlights, graffiti, trash, and service requests
For a city-owned street or service inside Long Beach, start with the local request system. County roads, Caltrans routes, utilities, private property, and separate service providers use different doors.
- School and care Open the school and care path
School enrollment, student records, and child-care checks
The school district handles assignment and records. County offices can help with some family services, while the state licenses child-care facilities.
- Parking Open the parking path
Residential, guest, overnight, and local parking permits
A local parking permit is separate from a citation, moving ticket, and toll notice. Match the permit to the address, vehicle, district, or parking facility.
- Tickets Open the official parking path
Traffic court, parking citations, and toll notices
Los Angeles County Superior Court handles traffic court matters. A city or issuing agency handles parking. The toll operator handles toll notices.
Browse parking citation offices - Safety Open the emergency path
Emergency alerts, evacuations, smoke, roads, and power
Use the county or city alert system for local warnings. Follow the local emergency office for evacuation wording, then use the state fire, smoke, road, and utility sources for the matching layer.
Official city doors
Start local when the address is inside Long Beach.
The official website is always here. Direct service links appear only when the California Porch source trail supports them; an unlisted service has not been guessed.
County handoff
Keep the county layer close.
Long Beach does not replace the county for records, property taxes, courts, elections, benefits, or county alerts. Its independent city public-health door stays above; the county health link remains below for county-run services.
Los Angeles County
Practical notes
Office, map, permit, and paperwork notes for Long Beach
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 3, 2026
Long Beach utility bills start with the city portal
Long Beach utility customers can use the MyUtility Portal for bills, quick pay, start-stop-transfer service, payment plans, and account help; trash and recycling details sit with city environmental services.
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 4, 2026
Long Beach trash questions have a request navigator
Long Beach's refuse page separates special pickups, dumped items, cart changes, and missed pickups into separate online request forms.
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 14, 2026
Alert Long Beach is operating on its new platform
Alert Long Beach is the city's signup for localized phone, text, and email messages. Most local landlines and Wireless Emergency Alerts follow different paths.
Place answer · Cars and driving · Reviewed July 5, 2026
Long Beach street sweeping depends on the posted curb
Long Beach street sweeping parking rules depend on posted signs, weekday time windows, holiday exceptions, and colored curbs that may still be enforced on holidays.
Place answer · Cars and driving · Reviewed July 3, 2026
Long Beach parking citations start with the city parking page
Long Beach parking citations can be paid or contested through the city's parking citation page, with timing and documentation important for review requests.
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 14, 2026
Long Beach tsunami zones and warning signs
Use the hazard map to plan ahead, Alert Long Beach for official messages, and natural warning signs as a reason to move inland and to higher ground right away.
Stories & Notes
Stories and local context in Los Angeles County
Place story · Outdoors
El Dorado Nature Center gives Long Beach a quiet habitat pocket
El Dorado Nature Center sits between the San Gabriel River and the 605 Freeway, giving Long Beach trails, water, trees, and a calmer nature stop inside the city.
Place story · History and culture
Rancho Los Alamitos carries Tongva and rancho layers together
Rancho Los Alamitos in Long Beach brings together Tongva place memory, the sacred village of Povuu'ngna, a rancho house, gardens, barns, and city-owned public history.
Place story · History and culture
The Port of Long Beach keeps the city tied to the working harbor
The Port of Long Beach gives the city a working-harbor layer where ships, rail, trucks, jobs, air programs, public projects, and regional goods movement meet.
Place story · History and culture
The Queen Mary gives Long Beach a ship with a whole second life
The Queen Mary began as a grand 1930s ocean liner and has been part of the Long Beach shoreline since 1967.
Place story · Outdoors
El Dorado East gives Long Beach lakes, trails, and picnic space
El Dorado East Regional Park has 388.2 acres with bike trails, fishing lakes, picnic areas, playgrounds, archery, and a nature center.
Countywide story · Outdoors
The San Gabriel Mountains are close enough to feel local
The national monument north of the Los Angeles basin protects more than 452,000 acres of mountains, canyons, history, habitat, and recreation land.
County place story · History and culture
Alhambra's name began with a book and a family idea
Alhambra's name traces back to Benjamin Wilson's 1874 tract and a family reading of Washington Irving's stories about the palace in Granada, Spain.
County place story · History and culture
Blackbird Airpark gives Palmdale the secret-aircraft close-up
Blackbird Airpark gives Palmdale a rare outdoor look at Cold War flight-test aircraft, including an SR-71A, its A-12 predecessor, a D-21 drone, and a U-2D.