The city of Long Beach is the second largest city in the Los Angeles area and is home to 500,000 residents. According to a report by USA Today in 2000, Long Beach was the most ethnically diverse large city in the United States at that time. As of the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition of Long Beach was 44% White, 40% Hispanic or Latino, 15% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 11% Asian, 0.8% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 4% from two or more races, and 24% of some other race.

About 29% of the population is under the age of 18, 10% from 18 to 24, 32% from 25 to 44, 18% from 45 to 64, and 9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is about 31 years.

Prior to World War II, Long Beach had a significant Japanese American population. Today Japanese Americans make up less than 1% of the population of Long Beach, but the city still has a Japanese Community Center and a Japanese Buddhist Church.

In the 1950s, the city’s population was largely European-American and had been nicknamed "Iowa by the Sea" because of its many Midwestern migrants. The city has also been a major port of entry for Asian and Latin American immigrants headed to Los Angeles. The Harbor section of downtown Long Beach was once home to people of Dutch, Greek, Italian, Maltese, Portuguese and Spanish ancestry, most of them employed in manufacturing and fish canneries until the 1960s.

Long Beach includes the largest Cambodian community in the United States – a neighborhood along Anaheim Street is called "Little Phnom Penh". There are also immigrants and descendants from Vietnam and the Philippines, Samoa and Tonga. The city’s American Indians, about 0.8% of the city's population, arrived during the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs urban relocation programs in the 1950s.

The community of Long Beach has a long and diverse cultural history, from American Indians to Spanish explorers to European and Asian immigrants. This diversity makes Long Beach an exciting city to explore.