Chinese Population in California by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, California is home to 1.9 million Chinese residents. Los Angeles County contains the largest Chinese community with 519,936 individuals, followed by Santa Clara County (244,593), Alameda County (198,692), and several other counties contributing to this statewide total. The remaining difference may reflect Chinese populations in lower-population counties not listed above or minor reporting adjustments in the census data. This demographic breakdown ranks all counties in California by their Chinese population, offering insights into community patterns across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Chinese population in California

View All
  • 1
    Los Angeles County
    Chinese population in Los Angeles County is 519,936
    5.28% of Los Angeles County population is Chinese
  • 2
    Santa Clara County
    Chinese population in Santa Clara County is 244,593
    12.85% of Santa Clara County population is Chinese
  • 3
    Alameda County
    Chinese population in Alameda County is 198,692
    12.03% of Alameda County population is Chinese
  • 4
    San Francisco County
    Chinese population in San Francisco County is 193,694
    23.16% of San Francisco County population is Chinese
  • 5
    Orange County
    Chinese population in Orange County is 147,312
    4.66% of Orange County population is Chinese

Overview of Chinese population in California

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents California with 1.9 million Chinese residents (4.8% of 39.2 million total state population), ranking the state at the 100th percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Chinese demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate California's Chinese population of 4.8% exceeds the national average of 1.6% by a factor of 3.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates California's 1.9 million Chinese residents constitute 34.9% of the nation's total Chinese population of 5.4 million, placing the state among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 34.9% of all American Chinese Americans residing within state boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey document California with 12 Chinese Americans per square mile, more than seven times the national average density of 1.5 per square mile, placing the state among jurisdictions with significantly elevated demographic concentrations nationally.
  • Need additional overviews? Extended research data available for purchase and license. ➔

55 Counties in California Ranked by Chinese Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Chinese population in California distributed across multiple counties, led by Los Angeles County, Santa Clara County, Alameda County, and San Francisco County, while several other counties recorded no residents identified as Americans of Chinese ancestry. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all counties included in this analysis*.
counties in California ranked by Chinese population count
Rank by Chinese Population
County
Chinese Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total California Chinese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Los Angeles County 519,936 5.28% 27.79%
2 Santa Clara County 244,593 12.85% 13.07%
3 Alameda County 198,692 12.03% 10.62%
4 San Francisco County 193,694 23.16% 10.35%
5 Orange County 147,312 4.66% 7.87%
6 San Mateo County 111,541 14.97% 5.96%
7 San Diego County 86,137 2.62% 4.60%
8 67,249 5.79% 3.59%
9 62,174 3.93% 3.32%
10 59,250 2.71% 3.17%
11 37,349 1.52% 2.00%
12 16,459 2.09% 0.88%
13 14,868 1.77% 0.79%
14 13,809 6.34% 0.74%
15 10,741 2.38% 0.57%
16 9,850 0.97% 0.53%
17 8,165 1.98% 0.44%
18 7,894 1.78% 0.42%
19 7,215 1.49% 0.39%
20 7,211 2.79% 0.39%
21 6,937 0.76% 0.37%
22 5,366 1.23% 0.29%
23 4,862 1.83% 0.26%
24 4,822 0.87% 0.26%
25 3,542 1.26% 0.19%
26 2,756 1.43% 0.15%
27 2,257 0.47% 0.12%
28 1,826 1.34% 0.10%
29 1,620 0.77% 0.09%
30 1,313 0.46% 0.07%
31 1,248 0.69% 0.07%
32 1,186 0.88% 0.06%
33 1,046 0.66% 0.06%
34 1,045 0.68% 0.06%
35 916 1.01% 0.05%
36 888 1.07% 0.05%
37 872 0.85% 0.05%
38 860 0.48% 0.05%
39 549 0.81% 0.03%
40 395 0.60% 0.02%
41 384 1.34% 0.02%
42 352 0.36% 0.02%
43 261 0.64% 0.01%
43 261 0.60% 0.01%
44 234 0.43% 0.01%
45 206 0.45% 0.01%
46 202 0.31% 0.01%
47 179 0.57% 0.01%
48 126 0.46% 0.01%
49 51 0.27% 0.00%
50 39 0.18% 0.00%
51 17 0.20% 0.00%
52 10 0.05% 0.00%
53 2 0.02% 0.00%
54 0 - -
Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

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 county in California by their Chinese population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Chinese 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 Chinese 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 Chinese alone, while others identify as Chinese along with another race (such as Chinese and German).
  • We’ve used the “Chinese alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Chinese population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Chinese alone or in combination in county. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Chinese .
  2. % of Total California Chinese Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Chinese 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 Chinese 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.
  • County that don’t have any reported Chinese 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 Chinese populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

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