East Los Angeles College (ELAC) is a community college of the Los Angeles Community College District in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park. Fourteen communities comprise its primary service area. With an enrollment of 30,000 students, ELAC is the largest campus in the Los Angeles Community College District, which itself is the largest community college district in the United States. It was located in northeastern East Los Angeles before that part of unincorporated East Los Angeles was annexed by Monterey Park in the early 1970s. ELAC is in the southern area of Monterey Park, which is primarily populated by second-generation Mexicans and other Hispanics.

ELAC is a two-year college, offering associate degree programs in over 25 fields as well as both occupational programs and also academic transfer courses to prepare students for admission to the University of California and California State University system.

ELAC is considered by many[citation needed] to be the primary accessible higher education stepping stone for East Los Angeles and its surrounding areas. ELAC offers high school students who did not acquire the GPA or missed the college & university deadlines an opportunity to acquire or further develop the necessary math, English, study, and discipline skills; explore majors and career fields; and be able to research four-year colleges and universities.