Los Santos in GTA 5 is Based Primarily on Los Angeles and Southern California
Rockstar‘s impressive open world in Grand Theft Auto V – known as Los Santos and Blaine County – is a fictional take on the city of Los Angeles, California and the surrounding Southern California region. Through years of careful research and design, the city captures the essence of Los Angeles‘ distinct neighborhoods, landmarks and atmosphere within its interactive recreation.
The Neighborhoods of Los Santos Mirror Some of LA‘s Most Iconic Areas
Several of Los Santos‘ key districts take direct inspiration from their real-world LA counterparts:
Downtown Los Santos
The bustling downtown core area of Los Santos mirrors downtown Los Angeles in startling accuracy. It encapsulates the same imposing cluster of glass and steel highrises flanked by intricate freeway overpasses from the 110, 101 and 10 highways.
Landmarks faithfully recreated include the angular US Bank Tower, the Angel‘s Flight railway and the LA Convention Center. According to Rockstar developers, they spent weeks in downtown LA capturing thousands of reference photos to inform Los Santos‘ layout and appearance.
Rockford Hills
In Los Santos, Rockford Hills occupies a very similar geographical footprint and role to exclusive areas like Beverly Hills, Bel Air and the Hollywood Hills in LA. Palatial mansions snake across the hillsides, while Vinewood Boulevard (Sunset Boulevard) cuts through with its lines of high-end shops and cash-rich tourists.
Rockstar even pokes fun by having a Rockford Hills street sign right next to one for Beverly Drive.
Vespucci Beach
With its quirky boardwalk populated by bodybuilders, burnouts and street performers, Vespucci Beach is Los Santos‘ take on Venice Beach. The real life Venice Beach is known for its bohemian vibe and outdoor gym aptly called Muscle Beach. Vespucci Beach stays true to form with Zancudo Avenue aligning neatly with Venice Beach‘s famous Ocean Front Walk promenade.
Little Seoul
While Los Santos compresses LA’s Koreatown into a smaller land area, it still captures the core essence of street names lined end-to-end with Korean shops, restaurants and businesses. Some key real world parallels include the Seoul Street name being based on Western Avenue, while San Andreas Avenue reflects Koreatown’s main artery Wilshire Boulevard.
Other SoCal Towns and Cities Find New Life in San Andreas
Rockstar didn’t limit themselves to just Los Angeles when putting together Los Santos and the surrounding Blaine County. The region encompasses traits of other Southern Californian cities and towns too:
| Real City | GTA Version | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Desert Shores, Salton Sea | Sandy Shores | Down-and-out desert community sitting along dried lake beds |
| Cities near Palomar Mountain | Paleto Bay | Rural country charm, winding roads through forested hills |
| Central Valley | Grapeseed | Flat farming community known for crops |
Sandy Shores
Situated in the Grand Senora Desert with the Alamo Sea to the north, Sandy Shores mirrors the landlocked mortality seen in Salton Sea towns like Desert Shores. With abandoned and dilapidated buildings against a harsh, arid backdrop, it encapsulates economic depression.
Fun fact: The Alamo Sea’s 303 square miles of in-game water aligns with the real Salton Sea’s current 303 square miles surface area.
Paleto Bay
North along the Alamo Sea you’ll find lush forests, farmlands and winding country roads on the approach into Paleto Bay. With its homely small town appeal, relaxed rural pace of life and nearby wilderness, it takes cues from areas found in NorCal’s Palomar Mountain vicinity.
Grapeseed
True to its agricultural namesake, Grapeseed sits among vast stretches of farmland growing crops as far as the eye can see. This aptly reflects the reality of California’s Central Valley breadbasket region which supplies a sizable chunk of the nation’s produce.
Scale and Accuracy
While Los Santos crams in practically all of metro Los Angeles’ most recognizable attractions, its actual size is far more condensed. Los Angeles spans a massive 498 square miles whereas Los Santos clocks in at just 29 square miles – making the real city over 17 times bigger!
Regardless, accurate scale takes a backseat to creating an exciting open world environment with depth and personality. Not having to spend hours driving between places lets players fully enjoy the signature LA offerings like beach vibes, Vinewood glamor and bustling urban streets.
Key landmarks also emphasize geographical accuracy over scale. For example, the downtown Union Bank tower aligns directionally to be south of the Vinewood sign just as LA’s US Bank Tower sits south of the Hollywood sign.
Beyond Los Santos: Other GTA Cities Built From Real Cities Too
Rockstar’s penchant for morphing real life cities into captivating sandbox game worlds extends beyond Los Santos. Other flagship GTA installments took direct inspiration too:
Liberty City (based on New York City)
- Featured prominently in GTA 3 and GTA 4 alongside cameo appearances in later games
- Landmarks like Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty given a satirical twist
Vice City (based on Miami)
- First appeared as the starring locale in the iconic 2002 game GTA: Vice City
- Art deco flavor, neon-bathed resort hotels and pastel urban beach vibes straight out of Miami
According to recent leaks which have since been confirmed as credible, the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 plans to bring players back to Vice City – Rockstar’s past rendition of Miami and South Florida debuted way back in 2002‘s GTA: Vice City.
Seeing this vibrant, swampy, sun-drenched version of Miami re-imagined with modern graphics and mechanics has fans beyond excited. Given how Los Santos evolved things so drastically from the PS2-era San Andreas, Vice City in GTA 6 promises to uphold that substantial generational leap.
But could Los Santos still play a role? A 70s-80s timeline could see Vice City’s criminal entrepreneurs expanding into a growing yet troubled early-days Los Santos rife with opportunities. This potential crossover storyline combining GTA’s two most iconic cities together proves tantalizing…
At its core, Los Santos is Rockstar’s love letter to Los Angeles and Southern California. It brings together the signature hip urban energy, Hollywood glamor, sun-kissed coastal vibes and desert isolation into one incredibly well-realized fictional city.
This mix of painstaking real-world accuracy combined with satirical hooks gives Los Santos – and all GTA cities – such incredible familiarity and character. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next iconic real-world city translation when GTA 6 drops!
