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The paltry showing has many here wringing their hands, wondering what has become of the city's residents. Is there no such thing as civic engagement in this sprawling metropolis? Are municipal elections really that boring, even as the city faces serious financial problems? After many here thought the stereotype of a vapid city was buried long ago, there is a renewed sense of a civic inferiority complex.

"I am in mourning," said Steve Soboroff, who ran for mayor in 2001 and received more votes than any of the candidates in Tuesday's election did. "The idea that it is socially acceptable not to vote, but people talk about where they get their shoes from, is shameful. I love L.A., and I am very proud of our city, but people here need to get a grip."

Much of the post-mortem over the primary, which sent two City Hall insiders to a May 21 runoff, has focused on the turnout. Newspaper editorials and blogs have called the numbers "pathetic," "embarrassing" and "stunning"; one columnist said they "redefined apathy."

Some have blamed lackluster candidates who did little to excite voters other than their closest supporters. Others attribute it to the timing: early March, when voters may have been fatigued just a few months after a presidential race. There is even some speculation that the weather, partly cloudy at 59 degrees, was chilly enough to keep some Angelenos at home.

Over all, 382,927 votes were cast in the election, according to the city clerk, although the number could change slightly when the votes are officially certified. In 2001, the last time there was a mayoral primary with no incumbent, 511,521 voters cast a ballot, a turnout of 34 percent. In Chicago's mayoral primary in February 2011, some 42 percent of voters turned out and elected Rahm Emanuel.

It is not as if the city is facing an easy future or that the stakes are not high. Los Angeles has a projected deficit of $216 million, and many worry that the pensions promised to city workers could force the city into bankruptcy. A ballot initiative for a half-cent sales tax increase was rejected by 54 percent of the voters, although there was no financing to campaign against the increase. Most polls had projected that the measure would pass, with a higher turnout.

"Voters who turned out get it — they're cynical and are saying, 'We're tired of all the promises,' " said Austin Beutner, who was an early candidate for mayor but dropped out when his campaign failed to generate enough interest. "Los Angeles sometimes lacks a unifying theme or identity, but as a community we need to rebuild that identity. The clear winner here was none of the above."

The total number of ballots cast is actually an increase from the last mayoral election, in 2009, when turnout was just 18 percent. But at that time, Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa was running for re-election in a field of mostly unknown challengers.

The 2013 race was highly contested. Television was brimming with campaign commercials, and there were some 40 debates among the top five candidates. But there were few policy differences among the candidates, and much of the campaign centered on their personal backgrounds. The campaigns turned particularly nasty in the final days before the primary, which may also have prompted voters to stay home.

The top two finishers in the primary were Wendy Greuel, the city controller, and Eric Garcetti, a city councilman who represents Hollywood.

"I think this shows people are generally frustrated," Ms. Greuel said in an interview. "Part of running is to try to change that. It is incumbent on us to create a vision and a sense of opportunity here."

Many argue that the state should move the general election to November, which would also save some of the $17 million the city is expected to spend on the elections this year. If she is elected, Ms. Greuel said, she will push for such a change. Mr. Garcetti said he would consider doing so. Both expect the turnout to be higher in the May runoff.

"We need to start thinking as a single entity. We can't be an island unto ourselves," Mr. Garcetti said. "We don't have as deep of a sense of civic culture as we do in other cities, which is part of the reason I wanted to run."

"We can't make it hard for people to vote and then blame them for not doing so," said Derek Shearer, a professor of political science at Occidental College in Los Angeles, who in the 1980s worked to move Santa Monica's municipal elections to November. "Changing the date would mean more people are paying attention and would dramatically increase turnout."

There is one way to view the low turnout in a positive light. The highest turnout for municipal elections in recent history followed the riots in 1965 and 1992, said Fernando J. Guerra, the executive director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.

"If the choice is between a riot and low turnout, I think people choose the low turnout," Mr. Guerra said. "But this really shows that the city is more of an abstraction for people. Yes, you're an Angeleno, but first you are from Boyle Heights or Westchester or Chatsworth. People have to be reminded that we're one city."