<P> Los Angeles County , officially the County of Los Angeles , is the most populous county in the United States , with more than 10 million inhabitants as of 2017 . Its population is larger than that of 41 individual U.S. states . It is the third - largest metropolitan economy in the world , with a GDP of over $700 billion -- larger than the GDPs of Belgium , Saudi Arabia , Norway and Taiwan . It has 88 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas and at 4,083 square miles ( 10,570 km ) , it is larger than the combined areas of the U.S. states of Delaware and Rhode Island . The county is home to more than one - quarter of California residents and is one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the U.S. Its county seat , Los Angeles , is also its most populous city at about four million . </P>
population of los angeles county compared to states
larger than that of 41 individual U.S. states