Monterey Park is a city in Los Angeles County, California, in the western San Gabriel Valley about eight miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It is bounded by the 710 Freeway on the west, the 10 Freeway on the north, and the 60 Freeway on the south, giving it unusually convenient access to both downtown and the surrounding valley. Its population was 61,096 at the 2020 census. The city's story is closely tied to immigration and demographic change. Monterey Park began as a community of white and Mexican settlers and Japanese farmers, and by the 1950s it was sometimes called the "Mexican Beverly Hills." Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, it became a destination for Chinese and other Asian immigrants, earning recognition as one of America's first suburban Chinese-American communities. In 1983, Lily Lee Chen became the city's first Chinese-American mayor. Today the city is predominantly Asian American, with a substantial Latino population. That heritage is most visible in the city's food culture. Monterey Park is a celebrated dining destination, with a dense concentration of Chinese and pan-Asian restaurants, dim sum houses, bakeries, and large Asian supermarkets along corridors such as Atlantic Boulevard and Garvey Avenue. Residents and visitors alike come for its culinary offerings. Public schools are served by several districts — chiefly the Alhambra Unified School District for most of the city, with portions served by the Garvey, Los Angeles, and Montebello districts — and East Los Angeles College is located within the city. Barnes Park, an 11-acre park at the center of town, provides a community center, sports courts, an amphitheater, and picnic areas. The result is a mature, food-centered suburb with deep community roots, strong institutions, and a location that keeps the entire Los Angeles region within easy reach.