Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has 1.5 miles of beaches on the Pacific Ocean and a moderate year-round climate with an average rainfall of 12 inches per year. The city is 21 miles miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles and is bordered by Gardena and Lawndale to the north, Lomita to the east, Rolling Hills and Palos Verdes Estates to the south, and Redondo Beach and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
Torrance was incorporated in 1921, and as of the 2010 census has a population of 145,438 residents. The city has 30 parks. The city consistently ranks among the safest cities in Los Angeles County. Torrance is the birthplace of the American Youth Soccer Organization. It also has the second-highest percentage of residents of Japanese ancestry in California after neighboring city Gardena.