Carson is a city in the South Bay and the Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles (23 km) away from Los Angeles International Airport. It was incorporated on February 20, 1968. The city is locally known for its plurality of Filipino-Americans and immigrants. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 95,558.

Tongva Indians lived in the area. Carson lies on part of the Spanish land grant Rancho San Pedro, from the King of Spain in 1784. The Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum on Alameda Street in Compton (not far from Carson's city limits) is the historic ranch home of the grantees Juan Dominguez and Manuel Dominguez. Carson was named after George Henry Carson, who married a daughter of the Dominguez family in 1857 and managed the rancho.

The year 1921 marked the first drilling for oil at Dominguez Hill, on the northwest side of the Rancho San Pedro (also called Rancho Domínguez), site of the famous battle during the Mexican–American War called the Battle of Rancho Domínguez in 1846. The mineral rights to this property were owned by Carson Estate Company, the Hellman family, the Dominguez Estate Company, and the Burnham Exploration Company of Frederick Russell Burnham. On September 7, 1923, Burnham Exploration partnering with Union Oil brought in the first producer on the site: Callender No. 1-A well at a depth of 4,068 feet (1,240 m) and 1,193 barrels per day (189.7 m3/d).

In 2011, Shell was ordered by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to clean up the Carousel Tract neighborhood after the discovery of benzene and methane gas contamination, as well as soil and groundwater contamination.

In 2021, Carson was subjected to an air pollution event as a result of hydrogen sulfide emanating from the nearby Dominguez Channel.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Carson has an area of 19.0 square miles (49 km2). 18.7 square miles (48 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (1.29%) is water.

Carson is bordered by West Rancho Dominguez on the north, Rancho Dominguez and Long Beach on the southeast, West Carson on the southwest and Compton to the north.

Bixby Marshland, a 17-acre wetland habitat, is located in Carson.

Carson experiences a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb), similar to that of the Los Angeles Basin with noticeably cooler temperatures during the summer due to the nearby Pacific Ocean (which is approximately 6 to 8 miles away). Rainfall is scarce during the summer in Carson but receives enough rainfall throughout the year to avoid Köppen's BSh (semi-arid climate). Carson, like many of the Southern California coastal areas, is subject to a late spring/early summer weather phenomenon called "June Gloom." This involves overcast or foggy skies in the morning which yield to sun by early afternoon.

The U.S. Census accounts for race by two methodologies. "Race alone" and "Race alone less Hispanics" where Hispanics are delineated separately as if a separate race.

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the racial makeup (including Hispanics in the racial counts) was 11.85% (11,325) White, 22.76% (21,752) Black, 1.12% (1,066) Native American, 26.69% (25,501) Asian , 1.79% (1,713) Pacific Islander, 23.61% (22,557) Other Race, and 12.19% (11,644) Multiracial.

When residents of Hispanic or Latino ancestry were counted in their own category, the population was 6.87% (6,569) Non-Hispanic White, 22.25% (21,264) Non-Hispanic Black, 0.19% (185) Native American, 26.17% (25,011) Asian, 1.66% (1,585) Pacific Islander alone (non-Hispanic), 0.51% (484) Other Race alone (non-Hispanic), 2.95% (2,817) Multiracial and 39.39% (37,643) of Hispanic or Latino origin.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Carson had a population of 91,714. The population density was 4,835.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,866.9/km2). The racial makeup of Carson was 21,864 (23.8%) White (7.7% Non-Hispanic White), 21,856 (23.8%) African American, 518 (0.6%) Native American, 23,522 (25.6%) Asian (20.9% Filipino, 0.8% Japanese, 0.8% Korean, 0.5% Chinese, 0.4% Vietnamese, 0.4% Asian Indian, 0.2% Cambodian, 0.1% Pakistani, 0.1% Thai), 2,386 (2.6%) Pacific Islander (2.2% Samoan, 0.2% Guamanian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian), 17,151 (18.7%) from other races, and 4,417 (4.8%) from two or more races. There were 35,417 residents of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race (38.6%); 32.6% of the population was of Mexican ancestry, 1.1% Salvadoran, 1.0% Guatemalan, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.3% Cuban, 0.2% Honduran, 0.2% Peruvian, and 0.2% Ecuadorian.

The Census reported that 90,411 people (98.6% of the population) lived in households, 1,170 (1.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and 133 (0.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 25,432 households, out of which 10,980 (43.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,178 (55.7%) were married couples living together, 4,787 (18.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,761 (6.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. 3,776 households (14.8%) were made up of individuals, and 1,790 (7.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.56. There were 20,726 families (81.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.90. .mw-parser-output .us-census-pop{border-spacing:1px;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;background-color:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);padding:0.3em;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop caption{background-color:lavender;color:black;padding-right:0.2em;padding-left:0.2em;font-size:110%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-bottom:none}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop th[scope=col]{border-bottom:1px solid black}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop td:nth-child(2){text-align:right;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop td.us-census-pop-estimate{padding-left:0}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop td:nth-child(3){padding-left:0}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop td:nth-child(4){padding-left:0.5em;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop-footnote{border-top:1px solid black;font-size:85%;text-align:center}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop-right{float:right;clear:right;margin:0 0 1em 1em}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop-left{float:left;clear:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop-center{float:none;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.mw-parser-output .us-census-pop-none{float:none;margin:0 1em 1em 0}}

There were 21,992 people (24.0%) under the age of 18, 9,964 people (10.9%) aged 18 to 24, 23,105 people (25.2%) aged 25 to 44, 24,013 people (26.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 12,640 people (13.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

There were 26,226 housing units at an average density of 1,382.6 per square mile (533.8/km2), of which 19,529 (76.8%) were owner-occupied, and 5,903 (23.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%. 68,924 people (75.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 21,487 people (23.4%) lived in rental housing units.

As of the census of 2000, there were 89,730 people, 24,648 households and 20,236 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,762.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,838.7/km2). There were 25,337 housing units at an average density of 1,344.7 per square mile (519.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 25.69% White, 25.41% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 22.27% Asian, 2.99% Pacific Islander, 17.98% from other races, and 5.09% from two or more races. 34.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $60,457, and the median income for a family was $66,468. Males had a median income of $33,579 versus $31,110 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,107. About 7.2% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over. Carson has the distinction of being the only incorporated city in the United States where the black population has a higher median income than the white population.

Philippines (43.7%) and Mexico (39.3%) are the most common foreign places of birth in Carson.

Irish, German, English, Nigerian and African are the most common ancestries. The most common non-English languages spoken in Carson are Spanish and Tagalog.

As of 2021, the top ten employers in the city were:

Nissan previously had its North American headquarters in Carson. The 42-acre (17 ha) property consisted of 13 buildings, with a total of 700,000 square feet (65,000 m2) of office and light industrial space. One of the buildings, a nine-story tower, had the Nissan logo on it. Vincent Roger of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it "was a familiar sight to drivers passing the intersection of the Harbor and San Diego freeways." Around 2006 the company had 1,500 employees at the headquarters. In 2005 a leak revealed that Nissan planned to move its offices to Tennessee. In the summer of 2006, the Nissan headquarters completed the move. Over half of the employees chose to stay in the Los Angeles area.

County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the Carson Regional Library and the Dr. Martin Luther King Library. Both libraries are in Carson.

Carson is the site of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). CSUDH is a major commuter school, particularly for students from the surrounding cities of Long Beach, Compton, and the census-designated place of West Carson. It was founded as "South Bay College" and then renamed California State University at Palos Verdes. It moved to the City of Carson to meet a significant need for higher education opportunities in the largely black middle class suburbs of Los Angeles. Today it is among the most racially diverse campuses in the United States. The student body does not have a racial or ethnic majority.

Carson is also the location of Dignity Health Sports Park, a sports complex including a soccer-specific stadium used by the Los Angeles Galaxy and formerly the Los Angeles Sol, C.D. Chivas USA, and the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL), a tennis stadium which hosted the LA Women's Tennis Championships, and a track and field facility.

Carson Mall, now SouthBay Pavilion, opened in 1973 and is located at the Avalon Boulevard exit off the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405).

One professional sports team currently plays their home games in Carson;

The Los Angeles Chargers of the NFL played their home games in Carson from 2017 to 2019.

Rugby union, modern pentathlon, tennis, field hockey and track cycling will all be held in Carson during the 2028 Summer Olympics.

As Carson has large tracts of undeveloped land, unusual for a city in such close proximity to metropolitan Los Angeles, various plans for the use of the land have been proposed. One such tract of land located at Del Amo Boulevard, west of the 405, attracted particular attention in the past as a potential site for a National Football League stadium. An outdoor power center complex called Carson Marketplace was originally planned for the site. In February 2015, however, the Marketplace plans were scrapped in favor of a $1.2 billion NFL stadium, backed by Goldman Sachs, that would have hosted both the then-Oakland Raiders and the then-San Diego Chargers. The NFL had previously considered the site as a location for a stadium, but the plans stalled after it was discovered that the site was once used as a toxic waste dump and would require an extensive clean-up operation before construction was legally allowed to commence. In May 2015, the Carson City Council allocated $50 million to clean up the site for either the dual NFL stadium or the originally planned Carson Marketplace as a fallback should the NFL stadium not come to fruition.

On January 12, 2016, NFL owners rejected Carson's bid to host an NFL stadium in favor of the competing bid of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood backed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

According to the city's most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $96.3 million in revenues, $81.8 million in expenditures, $611.4 million in total assets, $129.2 million in total liabilities, and $187.2 million in cash and investments.

In the California State Legislature, Carson is in the 35th Senate District, represented by Democrat Steven Bradford, and in the 64th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Blanca Pacheco.

In the United States House of Representatives, Carson is in California's 44th congressional district, represented by Democrat Nanette Barragán.

See List of mayors of Carson, California

Most of Carson is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District. A portion of Carson is in the Compton Unified School District.

High schools serving LAUSD portions of Carson include Carson High School in Carson, Rancho Dominguez Preparatory School in Long Beach, and Banning High School in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles. The area is within Board District 8.

Magnolia Science Academy-3, a public span school (serving grades 6-12) in Carson, is a Magnolia Public Schools campus.

Circa 2019 there were plans to open a campus of the charter school Ganas Academy on the campus of the LAUSD public school Catskill Avenue Elementary School, but there was opposition to this move.

Although the California Academy of Mathematics and Science is located in Carson on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, it is actually a part of the Long Beach Unified School District. The school accepts residents of LBUSD, Compton USD, portions of LAUSD (including sections serving Carson), and other districts.

LA County Library operates the Carson Branch.

Fire protection in Carson is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department which operates out of Fire Stations 10, 36, 105, 116, and 127. Ambulance transportation is provided by McCormick Ambulance Service Station 17. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Carson Station in Carson.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Torrance Health Center in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, near Torrance and serving Carson.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city operated the Carson Circuit bus that serves the local community and connects to other bus and rail transit services including the Los Angeles Metro A Line at the Del Amo Station. Service was suspended on March 28, 2020. However, their Dial-A-Ride services remained in service during that time.

Historically, the city was served by the Pacific Electric Long Beach Line.