Pacific gateway with major ports, air corridors, and West Coast access to Asia and Latin America.

One of the largest U.S. metros, with deep immigrant networks and entertainment-industry concentration.

Global media, trade, logistics, and creative-economy engine; San Pedro Bay is a premier U.S. port complex.

Regional defense and aerospace presence without being a primary national command city.

National political weight is secondary to Sacramento and Washington, but the city shapes U.S. Pacific image.

Religiously plural and culturally influential, without a single global sacred role.

Twentieth-century rise as a Pacific and cultural capital rather than a civilizational seat.