Afghan Population in United States by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, the Afghan population in the United States stands at 166,723 individuals. Los Angeles contains the largest Afghan community with 3,637 residents, followed by Houston (3,524) and San Antonio (3,504), with many other cities across the country home to active Afghan communities of varying sizes. This nationwide ranking highlights how Afghan populations are distributed across American cities, offering a broader view into their settlement patterns and regional diversity.

Top 5 cities with the largest Afghan population in United States

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  • 1
    Los Angeles
    Afghan population in Los Angeles is 3,637
    0.09% of Los Angeles population is Afghan
  • 2
    Houston
    Afghan population in Houston is 3,524
    0.15% of Houston population is Afghan
  • 3
    San Antonio
    Afghan population in San Antonio is 3,504
    0.24% of San Antonio population is Afghan
  • 4
    New York
    Afghan population in New York is 3,303
    0.04% of New York population is Afghan
  • 5
    Fremont
    Afghan population in Fremont is 3,264
    1.43% of Fremont population is Afghan

U.S. Cities by Afghan Population : National Rankings

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show significant Afghan populations in leading metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles, Houston, San Antonio, and New York, while numerous other incorporated cities recorded minimal or zero residents identified as Americans of full or partial Afghan ancestry. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in United States ranked by Afghan population count
Rank by Afghan Population
City
Afghan Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total United States Afghan Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Los Angeles 3,637 0.09% 2.18%
2 Houston 3,524 0.15% 2.11%
3 San Antonio 3,504 0.24% 2.10%
4 New York 3,303 0.04% 1.98%
5 Fremont 3,264 1.43% 1.96%
6 Queens borough 2,772 0.12% 1.66%
7 Sacramento 2,666 0.51% 1.60%
8 2,541 1.88% 1.52%
9 2,436 1.37% 1.46%
10 2,224 0.24% 1.33%
11 2,031 0.66% 1.22%
12 2,003 0.14% 1.20%
13 1,984 1.27% 1.19%
14 1,789 1.12% 1.07%
15 1,728 1.65% 1.04%
16 1,693 1.36% 1.02%
17 1,662 0.76% 1.00%
18 1,624 0.17% 0.97%
19 1,575 1.65% 0.94%
20 1,361 0.05% 0.82%
21 1,302 1.12% 0.78%
22 1,188 1.74% 0.71%
23 1,116 0.09% 0.67%
24 1,110 1.57% 0.67%
25 1,035 1.90% 0.62%
26 988 0.33% 0.59%
27 955 1.37% 0.57%
28 911 0.06% 0.55%
29 886 0.58% 0.53%
30 816 0.51% 0.49%
31 813 0.61% 0.49%
32 793 2.79% 0.48%
33 722 0.94% 0.43%
34 665 1.03% 0.40%
35 657 0.23% 0.39%
36 650 0.07% 0.39%
36 650 0.52% 0.39%
37 638 0.65% 0.38%
38 618 0.72% 0.37%
39 582 0.17% 0.35%
40 570 0.10% 0.34%
41 556 0.69% 0.33%
42 550 0.55% 0.33%
43 529 0.96% 0.32%
44 527 1.12% 0.32%
45 518 0.05% 0.31%
46 515 0.68% 0.31%
47 507 0.51% 0.30%
48 502 0.59% 0.30%
49 498 0.10% 0.30%
50 487 0.12% 0.29%
51 458 2.22% 0.27%
52 456 0.65% 0.27%
53 445 0.46% 0.27%
53 445 0.05% 0.27%
54 443 0.57% 0.27%
55 417 0.05% 0.25%
56 412 0.15% 0.25%
57 410 0.57% 0.25%
58 407 0.28% 0.24%
59 401 0.15% 0.24%
60 398 2.73% 0.24%
61 396 0.46% 0.24%
61 396 0.46% 0.24%
62 386 1.80% 0.23%
63 383 0.30% 0.23%
64 376 0.16% 0.23%
65 372 0.52% 0.22%
66 366 0.96% 0.22%
67 358 0.57% 0.21%
68 350 4.52% 0.21%
69 346 0.62% 0.21%
70 342 0.08% 0.21%
71 340 0.25% 0.20%
72 329 0.51% 0.20%
73 326 1.00% 0.20%
74 319 0.70% 0.19%
75 316 0.05% 0.19%
76 310 0.05% 0.19%
77 305 0.04% 0.18%
78 300 0.05% 0.18%
78 300 0.06% 0.18%
79 299 0.07% 0.18%
80 298 0.54% 0.18%
81 293 0.51% 0.18%
82 292 0.91% 0.18%
83 291 0.12% 0.17%
84 290 0.06% 0.17%
84 290 0.06% 0.17%
85 286 0.02% 0.17%
85 286 0.12% 0.17%
86 285 0.20% 0.17%
87 283 0.04% 0.17%
88 282 0.11% 0.17%
88 282 0.02% 0.17%
89 281 1.41% 0.17%
90 280 0.24% 0.17%
91 277 0.40% 0.17%
92 276 0.09% 0.17%
92 276 0.27% 0.17%
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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 United States 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 United States 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.