Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Part of the Gateway Cities, the 14.7-square-mile (38.0 km2) city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census. Whittier was incorporated in February 1898 and became a charter city in 1955. The city is named for the Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier and is home to Whittier College. The city is surrounded by four unincorporated areas sharing the Whittier name, West Whittier-Los Nietos, North Whittier, South Whittier, and East Whittier, which combined are home to a larger population than Whittier proper.