La Puente is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city had a population of 39,816 at the 2010 census and is approximat…La Puente is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city had a population of 39,816 at the 2010 census and is approximately 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The original inhabitants of the area now occupied by the city of La Puente were the Tongva lived in a village called Awingna, which linguists translate as "abiding place." The Awingna chief Matheo was baptized at Mission San Gabriel in 1774.