Afghan Population in Sacramento County, CA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Afghan population in Sacramento County, CA is reported at 18,146 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Several cities in Sacramento County - including Sacramento, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, and others - contribute to the Afghan population, but the total county figure of 18,146 indicates additional presence beyond municipal borders. The sections below explores how Afghan residents are distributed in California and the U.S.

Top 5 cities with the largest Afghan population in Sacramento County

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  • 1
    Sacramento
    Afghan population in Sacramento is 2,666
    0.51% of Sacramento population is Afghan
  • 2
    Elk Grove
    Afghan population in Elk Grove is 2,436
    1.37% of Elk Grove population is Afghan
  • 3
    Rancho Cordova
    Afghan population in Rancho Cordova is 556
    0.69% of Rancho Cordova population is Afghan
  • 4
    Folsom
    Afghan population in Folsom is 72
    0.09% of Folsom population is Afghan
  • 5
    Citrus Heights
    Afghan population in Citrus Heights is 31
    0.04% of Citrus Heights population is Afghan

Overview of Afghan population in Sacramento County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Sacramento County contains 18,146 Afghan residents (1.1% of 1.6 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 100th percentile nationally among counties and 98th percentile within California for Afghan demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Sacramento County's Afghan population of 1.1% surpassing both California's state average of 0.17% and the national average of 0.05%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey indicate Sacramento County's 18,146 Afghan residents constitute 27.1% of California's total Afghan population of 66,952, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 27.1% of all California Afghan Americans residing within county boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Sacramento County maintains 18.8 Afghan Americans per square mile, representing forty-three and three-quarters times California's average of 0.43 per square mile, establishing the county as an exceptional concentration center comparable to major metropolitan demographic areas.
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7 Cities in Sacramento County Ranked by Afghan Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Afghan populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Sacramento, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, and Folsom. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 7 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Sacramento County, CA ranked by Afghan population count
Rank by Afghan Population
City
Afghan Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Sacramento County Afghan Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Sacramento 2,666 0.51% 14.69%
2 Elk Grove 2,436 1.37% 13.42%
3 Rancho Cordova 556 0.69% 3.06%
4 Folsom 72 0.09% 0.40%
5 Citrus Heights 31 0.04% 0.17%
6 Galt 0 - -
6 Isleton 0 - -
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Sacramento County, CA by their Afghan population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Afghan population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Afghan ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Afghan alone, while others identify as Afghan along with another race (such as Afghan and German).
  • We’ve used the “Afghan alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Afghan population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Afghan alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Afghan .
  2. % of Total Sacramento County Afghan Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Afghan population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Afghan populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Afghan population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Afghan populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.