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

The Chinese population in San Francisco County, CA is reported at 193,694 residents, according to the latest census estimates - all of whom reside within San Francisco, the only incorporated city in San Francisco County included in this analysis*. With no presence recorded outside San Francisco, the community''s footprint is fully concentrated within the city''s municipal limits. The analysis below takes a closer look at how Chinese residents are situated within San Francisco County and how this compares to other counties across California.

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

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  • 1
    San Francisco
    Chinese population in San Francisco is 193,694
    23.16% of San Francisco population is Chinese

Overview of Chinese population in San Francisco County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document San Francisco County with 193,694 Chinese residents (23.2% of 836,321 total county population), placing the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 92nd percentile within California for Chinese population density, with demographic concentrations among the highest nationwide.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show San Francisco County's Chinese population of 23.2% surpassing both California's state average of 4.8% and the national average of 1.6%, 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 San Francisco County's 193,694 Chinese residents constitute 10.4% of California's total Chinese population of 1.9 million, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 10.4% of all California Chinese Americans residing within county boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate San Francisco County contains $dem_per_sqmi Chinese Americans per square mile—three hundred forty-five and a half times California's average of 12 per square mile—placing the county as a demographic outlier with one of the most concentrated Chinese communities documented in United States demographic research.
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Chinese Population in San Francisco County — San Francisco

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] indicate Chinese population in San Francisco County, CA at 193,694 residents — all of whom reside within San Francisco, the only incorporated city included in this analysis*. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data.
cities in San Francisco County, CA ranked by Chinese population count
Rank by Chinese Population
City
Chinese Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total San Francisco County Chinese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 San Francisco 193,694 23.16% 100.00%
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 city in San Francisco 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 Francisco 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.