People who have never been to L.A. really have no idea how insanely huge it is. Driving to my apartment from the start of city (before you even get to L.A. county) and having the city just keep going and going and going for two hours and not because of traffic jams is something you have to experience to truly understand.
Maybe it was based off the 2020 census where it had a higher population, but even then it had less than Michigan, so idk where this is coming from.