Photo: Wikipedia
Demographics of Burbank, CA
Affluence Level in Burbank, CA
An upper-middle-class area. Household wealth, education levels, and homeownership run ahead of national benchmarks.
People of Burbank, CA
The people of Burbank, California today form a dense, middle-to-upper-middle-class community of 105,165, marked by a distinctive blend of entertainment-industry professionals, long-standing white and Hispanic families, and growing East/Southeast Asian populations. With 46.0% of adults holding a college degree and a foreign-born share of just 8.3%—well below the Los Angeles County average—Burbank is notably more native-born and educated than its neighbors. Its identity is shaped by a strong sense of local pride, anchored in the city’s historic role as the “Media Capital of the World,” and a demographic profile that remains majority-white (54.1%) but is steadily diversifying, particularly in its eastern and southern neighborhoods.
How the city was settled and grew
Burbank’s population history begins not with Spanish missions or Gold Rush settlers, but with a single land grant and a deliberate industrial pivot. The area was originally part of the 1843 Rancho San Rafael Mexican land grant, but its modern settlement dates to the 1870s when Dr. David Burbank, a dentist and entrepreneur, purchased 9,000 acres and established a sheep ranch. The real population wave came after the 1887 arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which turned Burbank into a stop for citrus and wheat shipments. By the early 1900s, the city’s first distinct neighborhoods emerged around the downtown core—Downtown Burbank (centered on San Fernando Boulevard) and the Magnolia Park district—where Midwestern transplants and white Protestant families built bungalows and small businesses. The 1920s brought a second wave: the aerospace industry. Lockheed Aircraft Company opened a plant in 1928, drawing thousands of skilled workers—mostly white men from the Midwest and South—to new subdivisions like Rancho Equestrian and the Burbank Hills. This industrial boom, combined with the later arrival of Warner Bros. and Disney studios, cemented Burbank as a white, middle-class, union-friendly city through the 1950s. Hispanic residents, primarily of Mexican descent, worked in agriculture and service roles but were largely confined to the San Fernando Boulevard corridor and the southern edge near the Los Angeles River.
Modern era (post-1965)
The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act opened the door for new populations, but Burbank’s demographic shift was slower and more modest than in neighboring Glendale or Los Angeles. The city’s white share remained above 70% into the 1990s, sustained by the stability of the entertainment and aerospace sectors. However, the 1980s and 1990s saw a steady influx of Hispanic families—now 24.6% of the population—who moved into older housing stock in Magnolia Park and the Media District (around Olive Avenue and Hollywood Way), often drawn by service jobs at the studios and construction work. East/Southeast Asian communities (10.2% of the population) began arriving in the 1990s, primarily Filipino and Korean families, settling in the Burbank Hills and the newer developments near Verdugo Avenue. Indian-subcontinent residents (1.4%) are a smaller but growing presence, concentrated in the Rancho Equestrian area. The Black population (3.3%) has remained small and stable, with most families living in the Media District and near Burbank High School. Notably, Burbank’s foreign-born share (8.3%) is less than half the Los Angeles County average (roughly 33%), reflecting the city’s continued appeal to native-born professionals who work in media, tech, and healthcare.
The future
Burbank’s population is slowly becoming more diverse, but the pace is gradual. The white share is projected to decline to around 48-50% by 2035, driven by an aging white population and the out-migration of younger families to lower-cost suburbs. Hispanic growth is expected to continue, potentially reaching 28-30% by 2040, as second- and third-generation families remain in Magnolia Park and the San Fernando Boulevard corridor. East/Southeast Asian communities—particularly Filipino and Korean—are likely to grow modestly, with new arrivals drawn to the Burbank Hills and Verdugo Avenue areas for their good schools and proximity to Glendale’s Asian commercial hubs. The Indian-subcontinent population, while small, is growing faster than any other group, with new families settling in Rancho Equestrian and near the Burbank Town Center. The biggest wildcard is housing: Burbank’s strict zoning and high home prices (median over $1.1 million) limit in-migration, meaning the city will likely remain a relatively stable, majority-white, college-educated enclave with a growing Hispanic and Asian minority presence. The cultural identity is shifting from “old Burbank” (white, studio-centric, union) to a more pluralistic, professional-class city where the entertainment industry still dominates but tech and healthcare are rising.
For someone moving in now, Burbank offers a rare combination in Southern California: a safe, walkable, media-driven city with excellent schools and a low crime rate, but with a demographic profile that is still majority-white and native-born. The city is becoming more diverse, but slowly and without the rapid ethnic turnover seen in neighboring communities. New residents—especially families—will find a place where the old guard of studio workers and the new wave of tech and healthcare professionals coexist, and where the neighborhoods of Magnolia Park, Rancho Equestrian, and the Media District each offer distinct flavors of Burbank life. The bottom line: Burbank is a stable, increasingly professional, and gradually diversifying city that rewards long-term investment but offers limited demographic dynamism.
* Values derived from national, state, county, city and local statistics and may differ in a specific area. Last updated: 2026-08-20T05:11:06.000Z
Narrative content on this page is AI-generated and may contain mistakes. Verify any details that matter before acting on them.
ReloMaps may earn a commission from affiliate links at no extra cost to you.
