Hawthorne is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, situated in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city region known as the South Bay. As of the 2020 US Census, Hawthorne's population stood at 88,083. The city's origins trace back to its foundation in 1905 as the Hawthorne Improvement Company by real estate developers B.L. Harding and H.D. Lombard, inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne is bordered by Inglewood and Lennox to the north, Gardena and Athens to the east, Lawndale and El Camino Village to the south, and El Segundo and Westchester to the west. It lies near major transport routes such as the Century Freeway (I-105) and the San Diego Freeway (I-405). The city's ZIP codes are 90250 and 90251, primarily in the 310 area code. Hawthorne also shares its boundaries with communities like Del Aire and Westmont, emphasizing its strategic location close to Los Angeles International Airport. The city's history includes its time as part of the Rancho Sausal Redondo land grant, spanning several present-day South Bay cities.