Hawthorne is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, part of the South Bay subregion that also includes Inglewood, Lawndale, Gardena, El Segundo, and the beach cities. The 2020 census counted 88,083 residents. The city occupies a densely built urban landscape of single-family streets and apartment corridors, just east of Los Angeles International Airport and about four miles inland from the ocean. Hawthorne is defined by aerospace. Established in 1905 and named for the maiden name of founder B.L. Harding's mother, the city became an aviation manufacturing center when Northrop Corporation began operations there in 1939. The former Northrop plant later became the headquarters of SpaceX, which manufactures and controls its Falcon rockets from the site — an evolution that keeps Hawthorne at the center of Southern California's aerospace economy. The city is also known as the hometown of the Beach Boys' founding Wilson brothers. The city's population is diverse and largely working class, with a substantial Latino majority and many multi-generational households. Housing is a mix of older single-family homes, duplexes, and a large stock of apartment buildings, giving Hawthorne a denser, more urban feel than the beach cities to its southwest. Education is split between the Hawthorne School District for elementary and middle grades and the Centinela Valley Union High School District, which operates Hawthorne High School and Leuzinger High School. Transportation is a core strength: Interstates 105 and 110 and nearby Interstate 405 frame the city, the Metro C Line runs along the Century Freeway, and LAX is effectively next door. Residents draw on the surrounding region for much of daily life, from the retail corridors of Hawthorne and Prairie Boulevards to the beaches at Manhattan and Hermosa Beach and the entertainment complex around Hollywood Park in neighboring Inglewood.