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

The Chinese population in Sonoma County, CA is recorded at 7,215 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Each city in Sonoma 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 Sonoma County, CA and comparable counties throughout California.

Top 5 cities with the largest Chinese population in Sonoma County

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  • 1
    Santa Rosa
    Chinese population in Santa Rosa is 2,990
    1.69% of Santa Rosa population is Chinese
  • 2
    Petaluma
    Chinese population in Petaluma is 1,296
    2.18% of Petaluma population is Chinese
  • 3
    Rohnert Park
    Chinese population in Rohnert Park is 786
    1.77% of Rohnert Park population is Chinese
  • 4
    Windsor
    Chinese population in Windsor is 208
    0.79% of Windsor population is Chinese
  • 5
    Sebastopol
    Chinese population in Sebastopol is 168
    2.25% of Sebastopol population is Chinese

Overview of Chinese population in Sonoma County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Sonoma County contains 7,215 Chinese residents (1.5% of 485,642 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 96th percentile nationally among counties and 65th percentile within California for Chinese demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data indicate Sonoma County's Chinese population of 1.5% remains below California's state average of 4.8% and the national average of 1.6%, placing the county below demographic benchmarks across multiple geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates Sonoma County contains 7,215 Chinese residents, representing less than 1% of California's total Chinese population of 1.9 million.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Sonoma County's density of 4.6 Chinese Americans per square mile remains below California's average of 12 per square mile, with relatively sparse community distribution compared to state demographic concentrations.
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9 Cities in Sonoma County Ranked by Chinese Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] confirm Chinese populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, and Windsor. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 9 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Sonoma County, CA ranked by Chinese population count
Rank by Chinese Population
City
Chinese Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Sonoma County Chinese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Santa Rosa 2,990 1.69% 41.44%
2 Petaluma 1,296 2.18% 17.96%
3 Rohnert Park 786 1.77% 10.89%
4 Windsor 208 0.79% 2.88%
5 Sebastopol 168 2.25% 2.33%
6 Sonoma 88 0.82% 1.22%
7 Healdsburg 71 0.63% 0.98%
8 65 0.86% 0.90%
9 51 0.57% 0.71%
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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 Sonoma 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 Sonoma 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.