To find the youth of L.A., look to the south

When it comes to youth, the Southside of Los Angeles is the place to look. The Times' Mapping L.A. project found that L.A. neighborhoods with the lowest median ages tend to be in working-class areas of South L.A. and vicinity. Watts has the youngest population, with a median age of 21. The Top 10 list of youngest neighborhoods includes several neighboring districts (as well as Wilmington down in the harbor area).

Median age reports the age of the person who falls exactly in the middle of the pack.

Watts 21

Central-Alameda 22

University Park 23

South Park 23

Florence 23

Historic South-Central 23

Broadway-Manchester 23

Wilmington 24

Vermont Vista 24

Vermont Knolls 24

Drilling into L.A. uses Times databases to mine interesting facts and trends about L.A.

Photo: Children play on a playground in Lake Balboa. Credit: Los Angeles Times