Echo Park

Echo Park, Central Los Angeles, California

Echo Park is a densely populated neighborhood of 43,000+ residents in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It has one high school and eight other schools. It has been home to many notable people and is centered on the lake of the same name.
Echo Park is a densely populated neighborhood of 43,000+ residents in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It has one high school and eight other schools. It has been home to many notable people and is centered on the lake of the same name.
The 2000 U.S. census counted 40,455 residents in the 2.4-square-mile neighborhood—an average of 16,868 people per square mile, one of the highest densities in Los Angeles. In 2008 the city estimated that the population had increased to 43,832. The median age for residents was 30, about the same as the city norm.
Echo Park was considered moderately diverse ethnically. The breakdown was Latinos, 64%; Asians, 18.8%; whites, 12.9%; blacks, 2%, and others, 2.3%. Mexico (41.3%) and El Salvador (15.2%) were the most common places of birth for the 53% of the residents who were born abroad, a figure that was considered high compared to the city as a whole.
The median household income in 2008 dollars was $37,708, a low figure for Los Angeles, and a high percentage of households earned $20,000 or less. The average household size of three people was about the same as the rest of the city. Renters occupied 76% of the housing units, and house- or apartment owners the rest.
Eighteen percent of residents 25 and older have a four-year degree, about average for the city and the county, but there is a high percentage of residents with less than a high school diploma.
In 2007, LAUSD used eminent domain to remove 50 homes in order to build a new school. Within Echo Park are the following schools:

  • Elysian Heights Elementary, 1562 Baxter Street (LAUSD). This school was home to “Room 8 the Cat”
  • Clifford Street Elementary, 2150 Duane Street (LAUSD)
  • Mayberry Street Elementary, 2414 Mayberry Street (LAUSD)
  • Golden West Christian, 1310 Liberty Street (private)
  • Gabriella Charter, 1435 Logan Street (LAUSD)
  • Logan Street Span School, 1711 West Montana Street (LAUSD)Serving K to 8th grade
  • Rosemont Elementary, 421 N. Rosemont (LAUSD)
  • Betty Plasencia Elementary School, 1321 Cortez Street (LAUSD)
  • DC Academy, 626 Coronado Terrace (private)
  • Baxter Montessori, 2101 North Echo Park Avenue (private)

Los Angeles Public Library operates two branches in Echo Park: Echo Park Branch and Edendale Branch.