Paramount is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Gateway Cities region between Long Beach and Downey. The 2020 census recorded a population of about 53,700 within a compact area of just under five square miles, making it one of the more densely settled communities in the county. The city was formed from the towns of Hynes and Clearwater, incorporated as Paramount in 1948 and chartered as a city in 1957. Paramount's heritage is agricultural and, specifically, dairy. From the 1920s through the 1960s, Hynes and Clearwater were the center of the hay and dairy industry for Los Angeles and Orange counties, and the city's Hay Tree — a camphor tree planted in the late 19th century, where hay prices were reportedly set each morning — survives as a California Historic Landmark and a symbol of that era. Today the city is a working-class, predominantly Latino community with a young population and a strong sense of neighborhood identity. Public education is provided by the Paramount Unified School District, which operates about 20 schools enrolling roughly 12,000 students. The district is a central institution in city life, and its campuses are distributed across the community. Paramount's location is one of its chief assets. The Long Beach Freeway (I-710), Century Freeway (I-105), and Artesia Freeway (SR-91) frame the city, providing direct routes to downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach, and the South Bay, while the nearby San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605) extends access northward. Long Beach Boulevard connects the city to downtown Long Beach about five miles south. For homebuyers and renters, Paramount offers established neighborhoods, central freeway access, and relative affordability in a dense, connected corner of the Los Angeles basin.