Greater Los Angeles Area

The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the group of metropolitan areas over five counties in the southern part of California. It includes Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County. It has been one of the fastest growing regions in the United States for decades. The growth started in Los Angeles County, then Orange County, and now in the Inland Empire. As of 2005, the population of the Los Angeles metropolitan area was more than 12.9 million people. In 2009 the larger five-county region had a population of over 17.6 million. It is the second-largest statistical area in the country. Only the New York metropolitan area is larger. 
The Greater Los Angeles area is centered on the county of Los Angeles, California. The term is defined to refer to the area from Ventura to the southern border of Orange County, and from the Pacific Ocean to the Inland Empire. The Greater Los Angeles area includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the Inland Empire, and Ventura County. The term "Greater Los Angeles" does not include San Diego and Imperial counties. 
The United States Census Bureau has named the five county region as the "Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA" combined statistical area. Their January 1, 2009 population estimate was 17,786,419 people. The Los Angeles metropolitan area has a total area of . The wider combined statistical area covers . More than half of this is the thinly populated eastern areas of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Main cities.
The following is a list of main cities in the Greater Los Angeles Area with estimates of their population: