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County profile California Metropolitan

Black health in Los Angeles County, California

795,300

Black residents (ACS)

8.09%

Of county population

$52,800

Median household income, Black

8.20%

Uninsured, Black residents

Los Angeles County has roughly 800,000 Black residents, the largest Black population of any US county. South LA, Compton, and Inglewood are the historical centres of Black Los Angeles; Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, an HBCU-affiliated medical school, graduates the highest share of Black physicians of any California medical school. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital (opened 2015, replacing the closed King/Drew Medical Center) is the county's safety-net hospital for south LA.

LA County Department of Public Health publishes Black-specific mortality gradients by service planning area; the county's African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Initiative (AAIMM) is one of the largest county-run Black maternal-health programs in the country.

Headline outcomes

Race-stratified county-level figures pulled from CDC WONDER small-area estimates, the annual County Health Rankings, and the CDC NVSS state/county life tables. County values with cell counts below CDC suppression thresholds are marked as data pending.

Life expectancy (Black)

75.50 yrs

At birth, CDC NVSS Small-Area LE

Infant mortality (Black)

9.70

Per 1,000 live births, CDC WONDER

CVD mortality (Black)

341.50

Age-adjusted per 100k, CDC WONDER I00-I99

County Health Rankings

#36

Overall rank in California (lower = better)

Policy context in Los Angeles

California has adopted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which gives low-income Black adults in this county a direct pathway to primary-care and prescription coverage. Medicaid in this state covers doula services. Postpartum Medicaid coverage extends for 12 months after delivery — the federal recommended standard, in place here.

Where to get help in Los Angeles

Find Black health providers & resources in Los Angeles

Black clinicians in Los Angeles

Directory filtered to this county & state

Federally Qualified Health Centers

Sliding-scale FQHCs across California

Crisis & support resources

988, postpartum helplines, Black-serving crisis lines

California state profile

Statewide context, Medicaid policy, all 10 health facets

References & primary sources

  1. Demographics: US Census ACS 5-year 2019–2023, Tables B03002 (race), B01003 (total population), S1903 (median income), B27010B (uninsured by race).
  2. Mortality and life expectancy: CDC WONDER county-level Multiple Cause of Death and Underlying Cause of Death, pooled 2020–2022; CDC NVSS Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates, 2016–2020 release.
  3. County Health Rankings: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2024 release.
  4. HRSA shortage-area designations: HRSA HPSA Find and MUA/P Find, current as of 2025.
  5. Rural-Urban Continuum Codes: USDA Economic Research Service, 2023 release.

Data refreshed:

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