DUI in Los Angeles County by the Numbers

California DMV data, explained by a Los Angeles DUI attorney's office

DUI in Los Angeles County: What the Latest DMV Report Shows

Every year, the California DMV publishes a report on what happens to people arrested for DUI: arrests, convictions, sentences, and license actions. The latest edition (the 32nd report, published in 2025) covers DUI arrests from 2021 and court results for people arrested in 2020. Here is what it says about Los Angeles County.

1. About 54 DUI arrests a day in LA County

In 2021, there were 19,631 DUI arrests in Los Angeles County, about 54 a day. That is 17.8% of all DUI arrests in California (110,017). LA County arrests rose 10.4% from 2020 (17,780), when the pandemic kept many people off the road, but stayed below 2019 (23,529).

2. Most DUI arrests are misdemeanors

Of the 2021 arrests in LA County, 18,617 (94.8%) were misdemeanors, 982 (5.0%) were felonies, and 32 involved juveniles.

3. Many people arrested are young adults

Statewide, the median age of a person arrested for DUI in 2021 was 32, and 73.0% were 40 or younger. Women made up 22.2% of DUI arrests.

4. An arrest is not the same as a DUI conviction

For people arrested in LA County in 2020, DMV records showed:

• 59.6% convicted of DUI (statewide: 66.6%)
• 8.7% convicted of reckless driving involving alcohol or drugs, such as a “wet reckless” (statewide: 7.5%)
• 27.4% with no conviction on DMV records when the report was prepared (statewide: 23.6%)

The report does not break down why some cases showed no conviction. Some may still have been in court, since the pandemic delayed many cases in 2020.

5. What sentences looked like for first offenders

Among first offenders in LA County who were arrested in 2020 and convicted of DUI:

• 95.4% received probation
• 83.6% were ordered to complete a first-offender DUI program
• 30.6% received a jail sentence, compared with 69.8% of first offenders statewide (a jail sentence does not always mean time actually served in jail)
• 19.0% installed an ignition interlock device

6. Few first offenders are arrested again within a year

3.7% of first offenders in LA County arrested in 2020 had another DUI within one year (statewide: 4.4%).

7. The DMV case runs on its own track

In 2021, the DMV took 102,442 administrative license suspension actions (APS actions) statewide. This DMV case is separate from the court case. After an arrest, you generally have only 10 days to request a DMV hearing. Check your 10-day deadline.

8. Alcohol and drugs in serious crashes

In 2020, 4,089 drivers involved in fatal or injury crashes in LA County had alcohol and/or drugs reported.

What this means if you were just arrested

These are statewide and countywide numbers, not predictions for any one case. Every case depends on its own facts. If you or someone in your family was just arrested, the most urgent step is usually the 10-day DMV deadline. Talk to a DUI attorney about your situation.

Source: California Department of Motor Vehicles, 32nd Annual Report of the California DUI Management Information System (2025; updated November 17, 2025), Tables 1, 2, 6, 10a, 10b, 11c, 15, and 20. Arrest figures are for 2021; conviction and sentencing figures are for people arrested in 2020. This article provides general information only and is not legal advice.