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is a district in the northwest portion of the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States.
It is bounded by Chatsworth on the south and west, Northridge on the south, and Granada Hills on the north and east. The Santa Susana Mountains, which separate the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, lie to the north. The principal thoroughfares are Corbin Ave., Tampa Ave. and Reseda Blvd., running north-south, and Sesnon Blvd., Rinaldi St. and the Ronald Reagan Freeway (State Route 118), running east and west. The Porter Ranch ZIP code is 91326.
In the late 19th century, Benjamin Porter purchased a large tract in the foothills of the Santa Susanas above Northridge. Primarily wheat fields for its first several decades, the relatively isolated area later became the site of numerous movie stars' horse ranches. As with the rest of the San Fernando Valley, suburban development eventually came to Porter Ranch. However, the area was the last portion of the San Fernando Valley within the Los Angeles city limits to be developed, with major construction not occurring until the 1970s. Large portions of the 1982 blockbuster film E.T. the Extra-terrestrial were filmed in Porter Ranch. The Spielberg classic includes several shots looking down on the Porter Ranch neighborhood beneath the ridge in Palisades Park. Although Elliot's house from the movie is actually located in Tujunga beneath the San Gabriel Mountains, nearly all of the film's street scenes were filmed in Porter Ranch. Brasilia Dr., Killimore Ave. and Granada Circle appear most often in E.T. Porter Ridge Park, at the north end of Reseda Blvd., was used for the park scene at the end of the movie.
Today, the district is largely composed of gated communities of upscale single-family homes. Most residents commute by automobile to the high-tech industries of Chatsworth, Simi Valley, Downtown Los Angeles and the commercial hub of Woodland Hills, at the San Fernando Valley's southwest corner. The community is also close to the Chatsworth and Northridge stations served by the Metrolink commuter rail system that links the San Fernando Valley with Downtown Los Angeles and Ventura County.
As of the 2000 census, and according to the Los Angeles Almanac there were 15,840 people and 5,271 households residing in Porter Ranch. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 61.66% White, 31.25% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.86% African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.51% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. 6.19% of the population were Hispanic of any race. 38.83% of the population was foreign born; of this, 79.3% came from Asia, 7.5% from Europe, 7.0% from Latin America and 6.2% from other parts of the world.
Median household income in 2000 was $94,584, with 47.7% of households having incomes over $100,000 (4 times the US average).