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, elections, many county programs.
Starting point
Confirm the address is inside local limits first.
If the address is inside Long Beach, city offices may handle local permits, code, and services. If it is outside local limits, county planning or building may handle the work instead.
What changes the answer: A mailing city is not always the same as city government jurisdiction.
Place answer
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.
Read the local noteCity offices
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 guide
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 guide
Deeds, birth and death records, marriage records, and name changes
Los Angeles County recorder is the usual office for deeds and many public records. 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 rent and housing help
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 guide
CalFresh, Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, General Assistance, and IHSS
Los Angeles County social-services agency is the main local office. 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 local-office help
Potholes, streetlights, graffiti, trash, and service requests
For a city-maintained 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 reporting systems.
- School and care Open the school and care guide
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 parking help
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 official parking citations
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 emergency checks
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 check the matching state fire, smoke, road, or utility update.
Official city links
Start local when the address is inside Long Beach.
The official website is always listed. A direct service link appears only after an official public page has been checked; an unlisted service has not been guessed.
County offices
County offices still handle countywide work.
Long Beach does not replace the county for records, property taxes, courts, elections, benefits, or county alerts. Its independent city public-health link stays above; the county health link remains below for county-run services.
Los Angeles County
City, county, and district responsibilities
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 permit office
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, 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.
Practical notes
Office, map, permit, and paperwork notes for Long Beach
Place answer · Rules and licenses · Reviewed July 4, 2026
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.
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.
- 2025 population
- 450,469
- Land area
- 50.672 sq mi
- Water area
- 27.178 sq mi