Prism Geo · city intelligence · pilot
Los Angeles · image via Wikimedia Commons
Prism Geo · United States · California · Los Angeles

Los Angeles

California, United States · updated 2026-08-06

Los Angeles looks unusually deep but unevenly resilient: creative services, technology, healthcare and university research create opportunity, while wildfire is crowding the civic agenda and protest attention is surging. Startup creation is vigorous, yet closures are real and the industrial base is thin. The city feels energetic but unsettled, with negative news and public safety pressures never far away.

Los Angeles · image via Wikimedia Commons
news reported (civic)
72,758
companies + mapped places
33,988 + 446
research works (est.)
≈179,711
govt money announcements
600
The city at a glance
economic fabric

What is Los Angeles made of?

🏟 Sports
10/10
🛍 Retail
10/10
💻 Technology
10/10
🏭 Manufacturing
10/10
🏥 Healthcare
9/10
🌱 Sustainability
8/10
🎓 Education
8/10
🚛 Logistics
8/10
🛕 Religion & tourism
8/10
🌾 Agriculture
6/10

news coverage + 3×registered companies + 2×mapped places, log-scaled vs strongest sector

momentum

What the city turned toward · Jan–Apr 2026

Each topic's share of news attention, January–April 2026 against September–December 2025 — news ingestion paused in May, so this is the latest complete window.

Protest

45 → 306 news reports
▲423%

Human Rights Social

5 → 17 news reports
▲161%

Elections Politics

24 → 81 news reports
▲159%

Corruption

55 → 171 news reports
▲139%

Employment

14 → 35 news reports
▲92%

Terrorism Conflict

76 → 11 news reports
▼89%

Missing Persons

129 → 52 news reports
▼69%

Public Safety

77 → 168 news reports
▲68%

Immigration Border

317 → 166 news reports
▼60%

Disasters Emergencies

301 → 184 news reports
▼53%

a rising share means the city's attention is turning toward it — not necessarily more incidents

top city themes

What Los Angeles's news is about

Themes across the city's entire news coverage — ≈864.2K located reports — with each theme's momentum, its most specific keywords, and how the coverage feels. A CRITICAL badge means most of that theme's coverage is extremely negative.

Entertainment

▲35.2% growing
Movie Awards · Nba Team Legends · Oscars · Grammys
68% positive coverage

Sports

▲38.2% growing
Nba Team Legends · Lakers Celtics Rivalry · Nba Franchise History · Mlb Player Performance
62% positive coverage

Business

▲31.1% growing
Class Action Securities Litigation · Shareholder Oppression Claims · Minority Shareholder Protections · Nba Team Legends
73% positive coverage

Politics

▼14.0% declining
Border Enforcement Practices · Street Protests · Police Violence · Fire Suppression
90% negative coverage

Football

▲8.9% growing
Nba Team Legends · Nfl Player Stats · Lakers Celtics Rivalry · Nfl Starting Lineup
59% positive coverage

Crime

▼2.1% declining
Multiple Victim Shooting · Murder Investigations · Police Violence · Mass Shooting
100% negative coverage

Technology

▲98.6% growing
Next-generation Ev Platforms · Ev Powertrain Advancements · Netflix · Smart Ev Technologies
85% positive coverage

Music

▲57.9% growing
Grammys · Grammy Voting · Award Ceremonies · Rock Concerts
87% positive coverage

Real Estate

▲2.6% growing
Fire Impact Study · Stadium Developments · Residential Construction · Wildfire Control
64% positive coverage

momentum window: Jan–Apr 2026 vs Sep–Dec 2025 · sentiment is a property of the news coverage, not a city rating

city signals

The character of Los Angeles

  • ✓Creative-services heavyweight— Marketing and advertising lead registries, with entertainment close behind
  • ✓Technology company magnet— Technology counts 4463 companies and 35 mapped places
  • ✓Healthcare hiring hub— Travel nurse recruiters, USC and UCLA Health rank among hiring leaders
  • ✓Research hospital powerhouse— UCLA, USC and Cedars-Sinai anchor institutional research
  • ✓Startup churn machine— 6839 firms formed since 2018; 9.2% of tracked companies closed
  • ✓Sports attention capital— Sports leads sector strength with 18769 local news items
  • ✓Professional-services streets— Agencies, accountants and financial planners dominate mapped businesses
  • ✓Venture-rich, not dominant— 4547 raised outside money, versus San Francisco's 12878 funded startups
everyday life

Living in Los Angeles means…

  • ✓planning around wildfire danger— Wildfire is the fastest-growing specific civic problem
  • ✓seeing protests reshape public life— Protest attention rose 423% in the latest period
  • ✓encountering healthcare-led hiring— Travel nurse firms, USC and UCLA Health rank highly
  • ✓using office software at work— Excel, Word and PowerPoint dominate requested skills
  • ✓absorbing a heavy news mood— 45% of local coverage reads negative
  • ✓having research hospitals nearby— UCLA, USC and Cedars-Sinai produce substantial research

read from the news record — not a survey

hidden depth

Things most people don't know

  • GreenSpark Software and Los Angeles-based ReMatter merged platforms serving the metal recycling industry.
  • Square Enix plans an officially licensed café and shop in Los Angeles alongside one in Shinjuku.
  • Netflix entered advanced talks to buy the historic, nearly 100-year-old Radford Studio Center.
  • The leading listed research topic about Los Angeles is Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis.
  • Among the biggest mapped business types, accountants carry a 4.87 rating, higher than agencies, software firms and attorneys.
The verdict & benchmarks — Los AngelesWhat the record is made of — Los AngelesJustice & accountability — Los AngelesEvents & specifics — Los AngelesThe civic record of Los AngelesWhat problems are increasing?What diseases are rising?What projects is my government investing in?What companies are hiring?What skills are in demand?Which industries dominate?The startup picture in Los AngelesIs this city good for manufacturing?What research is done in Los Angeles?What research studies Los Angeles?Who runs the political conversation?What is the news saying?
Safety & civic life
Civic intelligence · Prism engine

Where does Los Angeles stand against the developed world?

Six-nation developed-median report card (USA · UK · FR · DE · AU · CA) computed from the same data, like-for-like. ▼ worse than the norm, ▲ better.

Six-nation developed median (USA · UK · France · Germany · Australia · Canada) — ▼ worse than the norm, ▲ better

Fatality-linked News
18.3%here
15.3%benchmark
▼
Cases Concluded
6.9%here
5.5%benchmark
▲
Corruption Load
2.6%here
1.8%benchmark
▼
Communal Politics
2.9%here
3.6%benchmark
▲
Road-accident Accountability
5.9%here
5.8%benchmark
▲
Enforcement Action
20.4%here
20.3%benchmark
▲
Civic record homeBenchmarksThe recordJusticeEvents
Open the full data →

four chapters, plus the politics and money layers

Civic record

What problems are increasing?

disasters emergencies is taking the fastest-growing slice of the city's news (up 21.5 points), with protest civil unrest next (up 6.7). Crime still leads in volume, but its share is shrinking.

Each problem's slice of city news — change in points, 2024–26 vs 2021–23
Disasters EmergenciesDisasters EmergenciesDisasters Emergencies: +21.5 points of coverage share+21.5Protest Civil UnrestProtest Civil UnrestProtest Civil Unrest: +6.7 points of coverage share+6.7Immigration BorderImmigration BorderImmigration Border: +5.5 points of coverage share+5.5Missing PersonsMissing PersonsMissing Persons: +0.1 points of coverage share+0.1Terrorism ConflictTerrorism ConflictTerrorism Conflict: +0.1 points of coverage share+0.1Governance PolicyGovernance PolicyGovernance Policy: -3.4 points of coverage share-3.4Public HealthPublic HealthPublic Health: -4.7 points of coverage share-4.7Accidents Road SafetyAccidents Road SafetyAccidents Road Safety: -6.4 points of coverage share-6.4Crime ViolenceCrime ViolenceCrime Violence: -9.7 points of coverage share-9.7
Fastest-rising specific problems
wildfire +17.1 ptsfire +1.7 ptsforest fire +1.4 ptsimmigration protest +1.1 ptsdemonstration +1.1 ptscampus protest +1.1 ptsimmigration raid +0.7 ptsimmigration raid protest +0.6 pts
Summary

Wildfire is reshaping the civic agenda: disasters and emergencies take a bigger slice of city news, up 21.5 points, with wildfire alone up 17.12 points. Protests and street unrest are also rising, up 6.7 points, while crime and road-safety attention has receded.

WATCH Watch whether wildfire remains the force reshaping emergency planning and civic attention.
Open the full data →

72,758 pieces of news reported

Health

What diseases are rising?

No disease signal is rising in 2024–26 — outbreak coverage is receding. disease outbreak is the most-covered signal.

SignalNews Reported2024–26 Trend
Disease Outbreak281▼ receding
Pandemic Outbreak115▼ receding
Coronavirus Outbreak58▼ receding
Viral Outbreak24▼ receding
Vaccine Preventable Disease Outbreak16▼ receding
Syphilis Outbreak8▼ receding
Pandemic Relief8— flat
Public-health coverage by year
2026: 862017202686
Summary

Across named outbreaks, the health warning lights are fading. Disease outbreaks remain the largest signal at 281 mentions, followed by pandemic outbreaks at 115; even vaccine-preventable outbreaks, at 16, are receding.

WATCH Watch whether vaccine-preventable outbreaks continue to fade.
Open the full data →

disease signals drawn from local news coverage

Money & governance
Public money

What projects is my government investing in?

other leads 600 tracked announcements — development-authority land purchase, Smart City works and national-highway tenders anchor the money trail.

Announcement themes
Largest place-directed announcements
DateThemeLevelAmountWhat
2026-05OtherState / Province$100 MillionCalifornia Governor Newsom proposed a $100 million fund to provide loan-loss guarantees to lenders…
2026-02TransportLocal$100 MillionThe City of Los Angeles is seeking an extension on state-mandated deadlines to retain $100 million…
2025-02Social WelfareState / Province$100 MillionCalifornia Governor Newsom proposed a multimillion-dollar mortgage relief package funded by a…
2025-01EnvironmentNationalUS$100 millionThe Federal Emergency Management Agency allocated US$100 million to clean up after wildfires…
2023-09Urban HousingLocal$99 MillionA state grant program awarded $99 million to the city of Los Angeles for four affordable housing…
2023-03TransportLocalUS$94.8 millionThe US Department of Transportation awarded US$94.8 million in grants to 59 projects for smart…
Summary

Government money leans toward household support, transport and housing. Social welfare leads with 115 announcements, transport and urban housing each have 68, and FEMA allocated US$100 million for cleanup after wildfires destroyed homes.

WATCH Watch whether promised housing, transport and wildfire money turns into visible delivery.
Open the full data →

amounts are announcement headlines — shown, never summed

Politics

Who runs the political conversation?

16858 statements track Los Angeles politics — communal-coded rhetoric runs 2.4% (developed-world median ≈3.65%; a typical Indian city runs ≈11%).

Loudest voices
Stance mix
supports · 6600opposes · 4964condemns · 2658proposes · 1837endorses · 284demands · 187
Summary

Political conversation is personality-led but relatively lightly religious or communal. Donald Trump is the loudest voice with 2490 mentions, while such framing appears in 2.4%, below the developed-world median of 3.65%.

WATCH Watch whether protest and election attention shifts the conversation toward local leaders.
Open the full data →

from political statements naming the city

Economy & work
Jobs

What companies are hiring?

Jobot leads 11,387 tracked postings; top advertised role: Project Manager.

Top hiring companies · May–Jul 2026
Hiring volume by month · May–Jul 2026
Summary

Hiring is recruiter-led and notably health-heavy. Jobot leads with 135 openings, followed by TravelNurseSource at 114 and AlliedTravelCareers at 110, while Deloitte, USC, UCLA Health and City National Bank add professional and institutional demand.

WATCH Watch whether the recent Atlanta–Los Angeles job cuts spread to other employers.
Open the full data →

11387 job postings tagged to the city in May–Jul 2026 (a floor, not a census)

Jobs

What skills are available?

Most-demanded skills: excel, microsoft office, word.

Most-demanded skills
Summary

Employers want practical office fluency before specialist technology. Excel leads with 583 mentions, Word has 251 and SQL just 89; PowerPoint, Outlook, accounting and customer-management tools reinforce the demand for people who can operate inside everyday business systems.

WATCH Watch for SQL and customer-management tools to gain ground on office basics.
Open the full data →

demand-side signal (what employers ask for), not a resident skill census

Economy

Which industries dominate?

Registered economy: marketing and advertising, entertainment, internet lead 33,988 tracked companies · biggest tracked employer: Lexus.

Registered companies by industry
Street economy — mapped places
Summary

The registered economy is service-heavy and creative, led by marketing and advertising with 1846 companies, entertainment with 1817 and internet businesses with 1624. Technology, finance, fashion, healthcare and real estate make the base broad rather than dependent on one trade.

WATCH Watch whether technology growth broadens beyond the city's creative and service core.
Open the full data →

company registry (startup-skewed) + mapped business places

Economy

Is this city good for manufacturing?

Weak Base (0/4 signals) — each signal below is a live threshold that can fail.

  • 1866 of 33988 registered startups/companies (5%) are manufacturing-adjacent
  • infrastructure news share falling (down 0.6 points)
Summary

Manufacturing has visibility without a deep industrial base. Only 5% of registered companies are manufacturing-adjacent, the industrial-base measure scores 0/4, and infrastructure gets a smaller slice of city news, down 0.6 points.

WATCH Watch infrastructure investment and whether more local firms build production capacity.
Open the full data →

computed verdict — each signal is a live threshold that can fail

Startups & capital
Startups

Is there VC activity?

4,547 of 33,988 tracked companies have raised outside money — #2 among its peer set.

Funded startups — peer cities
Summary

Venture backing exists at scale but lacks San Francisco's depth. Los Angeles has 4547 companies that have ever raised outside money, against San Francisco's 12878 funded startups, while 3112 local companies have shut down.

WATCH Watch whether more young companies move from unfunded status into seed backing.
Open the full data →

round amounts sparse for tier-3 cities — counts shown, dollar totals withheld

Startups

Is a startup ecosystem forming?

Formation is real — 6839 companies founded since 2018 — but capital progression is weak: deadpool 9.2%, and stages are dominated by Unfunded.

Companies founded by year
2026: 512008202651
Stage distribution
Unfunded · 9956Deadpooled · 3250Acquired · 1434Funding Raised · 1352Seed · 1087Private · 684
Summary

Startup formation is prolific but fragile. Some 6839 companies were founded from 2018 onward, while 9.2% of all tracked companies have shut down; the large unfunded tier suggests plenty of entrepreneurial activity still searching for durable backing.

WATCH Watch whether new founders secure funding before closure pressure catches them.
Open the full data →

gate: ≥150 companies & ≥20 recent founds — passed (33988/6839)

The knowledge engine
Research · Prism stance layer

What research is done IN Los Angeles?

University of California, Los Angeles leads ≈179,711 estimated works. 49% of oriented output reads promising/breakthrough — clusters in machine learning, children's health, neuroscience.

Institutions (papers in sample)
Research orientation
Opportunities (promising + breakthrough)
Machine Learning · 233Children's Health · 202Neuroscience · 197Women's Health · 191Healthcare · 158Mental Health · 135Breast Cancer · 131
Cautions (cautionary + critical)
Women's Health · 85Children's Health · 79Healthcare · 53COVID-19 · 50Men's Health · 40Mental Health · 32Breast Cancer · 32
Problems flagged
Healthcare · 196Women's Health · 134COVID-19 · 106Children's Health · 105Mental Health · 80Research · 51Public Health · 47
Also: research ABOUT Los Angeles →
Summary

Research is deep, concentrated and strongly medical. UCLA contributes 13212 papers and USC 9502, with Cedars-Sinai and several medical centers extending the network; machine learning leads the identified opportunity areas at 233.

WATCH Watch whether machine learning translates into stronger health and child-focused work.
Open the full data →

figures marked ≈ are scaled estimates from a partial sample · Prism stance layer over 2017+ papers

Research · Prism stance layer

What research is done FOR Los Angeles?

Narrower but distinct: 41904 title-matched works study Los Angeles itself — led by microbial natural products and biosynthesis, forest ecology and biodiversity studies, species distribution and climate change.

Top topics in city-focused research
Works about the city by year
2026: 202000202620
Summary

Research about Los Angeles is unexpectedly ecological and biological. Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis leads with 235 papers, ahead of Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies at 225 and Species Distribution and Climate Change at 208.

WATCH Watch whether climate and forest research keeps leading work about the city.
Open the full data →

papers whose title or entities mention Los Angeles (any author location) · partial sample · distinct from research done at the city's institutions

The pulse
News pulse

What is the news saying?

News attention is 45% negative-toned (typical for city civic coverage) — the volume trend tracks total attention on Los Angeles.

Monthly news-feature volume
2026-05-01: 882023-012026-0588
Summary

The news mood is tense and increasingly protest-focused. Some 45% of coverage reads negative, while protest attention rose 423% and corruption attention 139%; public safety and election coverage also gained ground.

WATCH Watch whether protests remain the main driver of the city's news mood.
Open the full data →

from location-tagged news · sentiment skew is a property of news, not the city

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