Chinese Population in San Diego County, CA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Chinese population in San Diego County, CA is recorded at 86,137 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Each city in San Diego County, CA has some Chinese population, but the county''s higher total suggests additional rural or non-municipal representation. The analysis below explores how Chinese communities are spread across San Diego County, CA and comparable counties throughout California.

Top 5 cities with the largest Chinese population in San Diego County

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  • 1
    San Diego
    Chinese population in San Diego is 56,501
    4.08% of San Diego population is Chinese
  • 2
    Carlsbad
    Chinese population in Carlsbad is 4,230
    3.69% of Carlsbad population is Chinese
  • 3
    Chula Vista
    Chinese population in Chula Vista is 3,953
    1.44% of Chula Vista population is Chinese
  • 4
    Oceanside
    Chinese population in Oceanside is 2,475
    1.43% of Oceanside population is Chinese
  • 5
    San Marcos
    Chinese population in San Marcos is 1,869
    1.99% of San Marcos population is Chinese

Overview of Chinese population in San Diego County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows San Diego County contains 86,137 Chinese residents (2.6% of 3.3 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 87th percentile within California for Chinese demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data documents San Diego County's Chinese demographic representation of 2.6%, exceeding the national average of 1.6% while remaining below California's elevated state average of 4.8%, placing the county above national concentration levels while below state demographic averages.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents San Diego County with 86,137 Chinese residents, representing 4.6% of California's total Chinese population of 1.9 million.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey shows San Diego County maintains 20.5 Chinese Americans per square mile compared to California's average of 12, indicating higher demographic concentration relative to state averages.
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18 Cities in San Diego County Ranked by Chinese Population

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ACS data [1] confirm Chinese populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in San Diego, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, and Oceanside. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 18 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in San Diego County, CA ranked by Chinese population count
Rank by Chinese Population
City
Chinese Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total San Diego County Chinese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 San Diego 56,501 4.08% 65.59%
2 Carlsbad 4,230 3.69% 4.91%
3 Chula Vista 3,953 1.44% 4.59%
4 Oceanside 2,475 1.43% 2.87%
5 San Marcos 1,869 1.99% 2.17%
6 Escondido 1,790 1.19% 2.08%
7 Poway 1,689 3.48% 1.96%
8 1,382 1.32% 1.60%
9 1,290 2.12% 1.50%
10 1,106 1.12% 1.28%
11 982 1.59% 1.14%
12 800 1.34% 0.93%
13 643 5.01% 0.75%
14 300 1.16% 0.35%
15 235 0.42% 0.27%
16 191 0.69% 0.22%
17 125 0.67% 0.15%
18 13 0.33% 0.02%
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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 San Diego County, CA 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 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 Chinese .
  2. % of Total San Diego County 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.
  • City 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.