Much of the area is serviced by the post office in Torrance. Thus, being a Torrance P.O., and therefore having a Torrance zip code, residents and businesses of West Carson put "Torrance, CA" on their mail. For instance, the mailing address of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is 1000 W. Carson Street Torrance, CA, because it is a Torrance P.O., but it is actually located in West Carson, CA.
Geography
West Carson is located at , or about two miles west of Carson. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of, over 99% of it land. The north to south boundary of this unincorporated area is 190th Street to Lomita Boulevard; the west to east boundary is Normandie Avenue to the Harbor Freeway. The incorporatedCity of Los Angeles area Harbor Gateway lies west of West Carson, and the incorporated city of Carson lies east of the Harbor Freeway from West Carson.
At the 2010 census West Carson had a population of 21,699. The population density was 9,522.0 people per square mile. The racial makeup of West Carson was 7,630 White, 2,330 African American, 185 Native American, 6,730 Asian, 301 Pacific Islander, 3,411 from other races, and 1,112 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7,100 persons. The census reported that 20,493 people lived in households, 176 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,030 were institutionalized. There were 7,166 households, 2,236 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,634 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 978 had a female householder with no husband present, 450 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 311 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 46 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,687 households were one person and 712 had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.86. There were 5,062 families ; the average family size was 3.40. The age distribution was 4,066 people under the age of 18, 1,816 people aged 18 to 24, 5,805 people aged 25 to 44, 6,109 people aged 45 to 64, and 3,903 people who were 65 or older. The median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males. There were 7,426 housing units at an average density of 3,258.7 per square mile, of the occupied units 5,459 were owner-occupied and 1,707 were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 15,074 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,419 people lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States Census, West Carson had a median household income of $62,100, with 8.6% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
2000
At the 2000 census there were 21,138 people, 7,156 households, and 5,052 families in the CDP. The population density was 9,355.3 inhabitants per square mile. There were 7,406 housing units at an average density of 3,277.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 41.99% White, 11.75% African American, 0.66% Native American, 25.07% Asian, 1.20% Pacific Islander, 13.94% from other races, and 5.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.44%. Of the 7,156 households 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 24.0% of households were one person and 9.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.41. The age distribution was 22.6% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males. The median household income was $49,118 and the median family income was $55,000. Males had a median income of $41,085 versus $32,032 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $21,023. About 7.4% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.4% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
